953 loader opinions

[pittsburgh cat man]

The only thing I will say it won’t hurt the machine to turn tight but it always seemed if you do a lot of spot turns it accelerates track wear what do you mean chokes down?

 

[BC Placer gold]

I absolutely love this machine. It’s rain for three straight days here gonna post a picture of the leak.

It does get choked down fairly easily, but I believe where it’s going to shine is reaching up high and pushing over large trees and pushing up lots of brush and debris. It’s very good at that.

The machine also turns very well. I just wonder if I should turn the machine very tight or should I make it to take my time to Make turns

As you gain experience you will get a 'feel' for when the machine is cresting a 'hump' (even a very subtle ground rise...) this will greatly facilitate turning, while minimizing stress on the track chain/rails. When sharp turning keep in mind the twisting stress on the pins/bushings of the track group. Also rails 'grinding' into rollers/front idler flanges/drive sprocket...

Personally I prefer to do sweeping turns/multipoint turns whenever possible...

Sometimes tight turns are necessary, in that case I wouldn't stress to much about it; and just operate as the job requires.

 

[nicky 68a]

I agree with the above poster.
Nice and steady turns will keep meat on the tracks and money in your wallet

 

[Welder Dave]

You can counter rotate for tight turns if necessary. That's one of the benefits of hydrostat machines. One thing the OEM'S always stress is to not always turn in the same direction as it will accelerate wear on one side. If loading trucks or something try to load from both sides to even undercarriage wear. I make gradual arc turns when loading the dump truck instead of backing up straight and doing a 90 deg. turn to load the truck. Sometimes I park the truck parallel with the pile and back up fairly straight and then drive forward making just a slight turn to line up with the truck. It depends on how much room you have to maneuver the truck. I wish I had a hydrostat loader like a 943 but having the backhoe gives me a much more versatile machine.

 

[pittsburgh cat man]

We could always tell if the operator was right or left handed even with steering clutches

 

[Ralph Harris]

Another question is there a way to upgrade the bucket control to a joystick or single lever control?

 

[Ralph Harris]

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t see them before. I asked the last question. I’m trying to be easy on this machine because I want it to last a long time.

 

[pittsburgh cat man]

Actually the two leaver was a attachment The single stick was the standard. It probably wouldn't be hard to find a single stick control on one they were disassembling I believe I would try to get the linkage the whole way to the tank it would probably the way to go with the least aggravation

 

[Welder Dave]

Or get used to 2 levers. A loader is much simpler to operate than a backhoe with controls that are odd to you.

 

[Ralph Harris]

 

[Ralph Harris]

I’ve got the four bolts out of the plate next to the loader the plate drop down about 3 inches and even with a hydraulic jack under it I couldn’t break it loose in the rear is there a hinge do I have to drop the rear plate as well?
The problem is it’s pouring fluid towards the front of the machine

 

[Ralph Harris]

The picture was taken before I got the bolts out. There’s some recessed holes on the backside of the plate. There’s bolts up in the hole, but I don’t think they hold the plate.

 

[Nige]

There’s some recessed holes on the backside of the plate. There’s bolts up in the hole, but I don’t think they hold the plate.

You'll have to remove the three bolts at the back end of the plate in addition to the four at the front. Your bottom guard setup is as shown on the illustration below.

 

[pittsburgh cat man]

Yes the pans are hinged but be careful they are sometimes damaged and yes the bolts in the holes are holding the belly pans

 

[Nige]

Also be careful of the weight. If there is an accumulation of oil-soaked dirt on top of the guard it could catch you unawares.

 

[Ralph Harris]

thanks guys y’all know your stuff the three bolts at the back are out the plate is down the right it had more dirt and grease probably than the plate weighs

I pressure washed everything under there. I found where the hydraulic oil is coming from. It’s pouring out from underneath the hydraulic tank.

It honestly looks like I’m gonna have to pull the hydraulic tank out to find the leak unless there’s an alternative

 

[pittsburgh cat man]

I would pull the cover over top or tank also look at drain valve for seal leaking between valve and tank if the tank is leaking between the halves there is a big o ring that seals the halves. that age of machine should have a cab jack there should be a safety in the tool box for the cab at 24 degrees you only have to disconnect steering linkage and tran linkage might give you better view one more thing depending what you have to do removing fuel tank might be a better option

 

[Welder Dave]

Look and see if oil is running down from a fitting or hose on or near the tank. That would be easier to fix than if you had to weld the tank. If you drain the oil you could apply some air pressure to help find the leak. No more than 5 PSI though. Leak might be obvious or you'd need to spray some soapy water to find it.

 

[Ralph Harris]

Thanks guys. I spent about three hours on the machine yesterday. I pulled the front plate and pressure washed everything it was a mess I found where the fluid is coming from. There are a group of steel lines and junctions on the front left of the machine right next to crossmember matter fact, they tucked just above the crossmember on the left side fluid is pouring out from underneath there I’m hoping it’s not a pump seal. I’ll try to post pictures. Thanks again everybody

 

[pittsburgh cat man]

These be the lines in question? Those are lift lines