dozer took a bath

[eianewb]

hey all, i am looking at a D5B. i will try to get pics uploaded soon, but i have a couple questions. the current owner said it was dunked in a river. is this a big concern?? i know he has flushed the fluids, except the torque converter i think he said. and i also know he has been using it, and it seems to run good. it doesn't seem to smoke much, but he says it uses oil. it looks like a descent machine, i think he takes care of it. what do you all think??

thanks for your thoughts!

 

[watglen]

More details needed on this "dunk". Pictures if you can get them! lol

 

[CMSMOKE]

A few more particulars would be nice. How did it happen? Was the machine parked in a low area that flooded? Did it roll down a hill while it was running and end up in the water? Was the water clean or muddy? It sounds like you are looking at basicly a "flood vehicle". If all the fluids were drained and refilled with filter changes, the injectors pulled and the water pumped out (this could cause a hydraulic lock and bend connecting rods, valves, push rods or do other damage to related parts... remember water won't compress) the machine may be allright but, only time will tell. Moisture in the gauges, wiring connectors, starter and alternator could also develope issues.

 

[eianewb]

well i dont have any pics of it under water, if thats what you are hoping for, lol. i just have pics of the machine for the mechanics, to see what kind of overall condition it is in, the tracks ect.

the owner is the one that dunked it. all he said was it had a lil run in witht the river. and they had to find machines to dig/pull it out. he had a d3 and a tractor there as well. i wish i know how long e has been running it after this happened. if it happened a few years ago... then maybe it is fine?? if it happened a month ago.. maybe it is not fine?? i dont know. what do you think?

like i said he is using it, and it looks and runs good. it is a lgp, is this good or bad when just pushin dirt? i am not in swamp ground, we have clay hills. will a d5 size move enough dirt for normal farmer type work? such as terraces and land clearing?

thanks!

 

[D6c10K]

Since you're in eastern IA, hopefully "had a lil run in with the river" doesn't mean the Mississippi...

 

[SE-Ia Cowman]

I would be very leary of it if it went in far enough to get water in the transmission or torque converter. I was a mechanic for John Deere for a number of years. I know that water in a transmission will cause the glue that bonds the clutch material to the steel to separate. It does not happen right away but after time it will. You could probably tell if he got water in the transmission if the fluid is milky it can take many complete changes to get rid of it completely. If you are very intrested in it I would pull a sample and send it to cat sos. As for the rest of the machine it dosnt have enugh electronics for water to give to much trouble and you could send a engine oil sample also. I think the D5 would be a nice size for light farm work terraces waterways and such it wont be a great clearing machine for large trees 12'' and up just because of the small size and low weight. I like lgp dozers for most work in Iowa they are good finish machines because they usualy have a extra roller in the frame and we dont have much rock and usualy the clay is wet enugh they still bite well. The undercariage will have a shorter life expectancy than a machine with 24''s but you probably wont wear it out very quick just doing your own farm work. We have a 750c deere lgp with 3900 hrs on it and the rails are complety shot I would say there on run out. Good Luck and send us some pictures. Rember to do your home work dont make a hasty move and buy yourself another job.

 

[eianewb]

pic, hopefully.

trying to resize stuff, i have more, but am running out ot time right now.

 

[stumpjumper83]

Seeings that its a "b" series I would be a whole lot less worried about water problems than if it was a newer "g" or "k", they have alot more wires and computer controllers that might not like water so much. If the accident happened a year or so ago and they haven't had a bunch of electrical issues, I'd be ok with it.

I imagine we all would be suprised if used machines could talk and tell us all the dumb stuff they have done.

 

[Kman9090]

Ive seen a 6N hungup in water deep enuff that the fan was in it!

 

[Aussie John]

As CMSMOKE said, get some Cat SOS bottles and take samples of all the oils, including hydraulic and both final drives. This will indicate any water / mud still in the compartments and also indicate if wear is occuring due to contaminated oil or rusted bearings etc. If these tests show up ok, do some engine / converter / transmission / hydraulic performance tests as per Cat procedures and if OK, tractor should be OK if the price is right.

Regards,
John

 

[Dozerboy]

X3 get the oil sampled

 

[eianewb]

some more

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[eianewb]

more

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[eianewb]

last ones

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[powerjoke]

You're fine, It looks like a nice little dozer,

dont worrie about the water in the the fluids, change 'em and run it a few hours and keep changing them untill fluid isnt milky colored.....if its not milky now dont worrie about it tommorrow

we've had machines flooded before and no big deal, the only time i worry is when sandy silty water gets higher than the turn table on a excavator.

and as far as the motor .....if she aint knocking you're fine there too..... you could sample everything but it's almost guranteed that it'll come back some sort of water contamination,....the guy isnt hiding the fact that she's been swiming, save your money from the sample bottles and buy a case of beer and go play on the new little dozer

as far as the LGP thing goes.....personally I dont like them due to internal pin and bushing premature wear but we are typically a little rockier than you guys up in IA, But remember you arent buying it new and if you get a good deal what does it matter just buy what you can.

I know you didnt ask about price but check out machinerytrader.com on the AUCTION results and see what a comp machine is selling for dont just base your price opinion on what they are listed for sale for on the MT website, I have seen tons of machines on there for well over a year.

Pj

 

[eianewb]

well i looked at machinery trader auctions, and similar machines sold for around what he is asking. there were more that sold cheaper than those which sold higher, but i think he is prolly in the realm of reason.

does the leaky throttle body cause any concerns with anyone?

i am goin to call him tomarrow and see how long it has been since he dunked it.

just out of curiosity, from the pics... how much of the UC is left? the pins and bushings have not been turned yet.

thanks.

 

[Taylortractornu]

Thats a new one on me. I run a D5B every day and never seen a wide pad machine. I have to agree though they are good sized machines. Im looking at one now thats a low hour govt machine.

 

[Abscraperguy]

My Grandpa used to tell me stories about using a dozer in northern Manitoba. It happened a few times where they had to move a dozer across a lake in summer. So they put extensions on the intake and exhaust and put er wide open and sent er across the lake. They somehow rigged up some lines to their controls so the guys in the boat that was following it could kinda steer it. He said it looked kinda funny to see the just the two stacks poking out of the water and this boat following it. Once they got it across they always immediately drained and replaced all the fluids and put er right to work.

 

[powerjoke]

My Grandpa used to tell me stories about using a dozer in northern Manitoba. It happened a few times where they had to move a dozer across a lake in summer. So they put extensions on the intake and exhaust and put er wide open and sent er across the lake. They somehow rigged up some lines to their controls so the guys in the boat that was following it could kinda steer it. He said it looked kinda funny to see the just the two stacks poking out of the water and this boat following it. Once they got it across they always immediately drained and replaced all the fluids and put er right to work.

lol, sounds cool as hell too bad there arent any pictures around of that

Pj

 

[powerjoke]

does the leaky throttle body cause any concerns with anyone?

not at all, it's prolly just a shaft seal or something. and besides that, who knows how long its been since its been cleaned.....you could have 400hrs of buildup there

I would guess around 65% remaining without being able to actually feel it

Pj