Posted by Sherman in Idaho [72.47.153.29] on Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 15:10:20 :
I've had a later 7U series D4 cat for years that was about worn out when I got it and is even more worn out now -- uses a gallon of oil in the diesel and a quart in the pony, in a day's work, has to crank for 10 minutes on the pony to start, spews antifreeze on my foot when it gets hot, right steering brake shot, and left one barely grabs. Etc. Found an older D4 in Montana for a good price and bought it. Doesn't use any oil or leak any oil or coolant. Steering brakes work with a feather touch, starts quickly. Cleats on tracks are twice as long as my other one.
But now I have a dilemma. Here's a 64 year old machine that's never been worked hard, abused or worn out. It's one of the earliest 7Us, unfortunately, which means no handy port for adjusting the clutch and no separate cover for the clutch compartment, so you have to remove the whole transmission cover to work on the clutch. It also has the fuel tank sticking out back from the seat where it's liable to get hit by falling snags and rocks. But it's essentially a museum piece being in such good condition.
The question is, do I beat it up working it hard like I did my other one, or do I coddle it and just use it for light work? I really have roads to build, and that means prying apart freshly-broken rock, crabbing along steep hillsides, pushing over trees and snags that might drop pieces on it, getting brush wedged in the tracks and mud all over things, etc. The blade isn't as heavy as on my old one (looks like a newer custom-fabricated job)
I only pose the question here, because we get into the same thing with our old trucks -- restore them as a showpiece, or use them and put dents and scrapes in them and risk breaking something that's older than we are.
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