Hello Everyone!
I joined to learn more about Komatsu dozers. But apparently new members need to post replies 3 times to start threads. So I'll begin here.
About a decade ago I had an old D2 Cat. Finally it became damaged beyond repair and I let it go. But I've always missed having a dozer around. Now I'm considering getting one again. The purpose would be for my own property as well as residential jobs, as I did before. I seemed to have a knack for dirt work and stayed busy most of the summer. I worked it 5 years.
Recently I started familiarizing myself with the market, looking mostly at Cat D3's and JD. Then I came across Komatsu. I've seen them on job sites but know little about them. Today I went to a dealer of used Komatsus and looked at three. To be honest, I was not impressed. The 2 he got started had problems and he said they just needed to be adjusted. My first thought was why would he put them in the yard for sale without doing that first? The third, and nicest one, wouldn't start. Of those that did start, they both had serious blow-by and the engines make a lot of racket when they first started up until the oil worked it's way around. I don;t recall hear my Cat do that. One of them wouldn't turn left while backing up a slight incline and the gears grinded on the other one when trying to shift into gear. I noticed something else - all the Hobbs Meters read about the same - between 2500 and 2800 hours. He said they replaced a transmission in one, then corrected himself and said they replaced the clutch. I don't know enough about them to know if 2600 hours is typical for a clutch to need replacing, but it seems early to me. I spoke with another dealer who was candid and admitted Hobbs Meters can be turned back the way they used to do older cars back in the day. I don't like being cynical, but I've learned to listen to my instincts and something tells me this picture doesn't look right. These dozers looked and operated like dozers with much more time.
My original reason for posting here was to ask for testimonials from Komatsu owners. I would also be curious to know if anyone else has had the suspicions I've mentioned.
Thanks in advance...
Dan