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977H Crawler

Started by johnjbc, June 13, 2004, 05:15:38 AM

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johnjbc

Have been wanting to build a pond and cut level benches for my cabin and saw shed. So when I saw a farm sale listing a 977H I though I would go have a look.  ??? ???
Has some rough spots but the undercarriage isn't to bad, no wear on the pins and the sprockets don't have points.  8)
My brother works on heavy equipment and I have been picking his brain about what to look for. :P :P Hope he taught me well. :D
Now all I need to do is get it delivered and learn how to drive  it, :P :P
 

LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

Tom


Patty

You got that at a Farm sale? Whoa! We don't have cool stuff like that at farms sales around here. We need one just like that only with a blade instead of a bucket.
Good luck with it. And HAVE FUN!  8)
Women are Angels.
And when someone breaks our wings....
We simply continue to fly ........
on a broomstick.....
We are flexible like that.

Ed_K

 Patty, went to a farm auction in Vt. yesterday, JD 450 D went for 27,5 . But everything was high  :o good for the farmer this time  8).
Ed K

yieldmap

My neighbor has one.  He's been digging a pond with a 225B and the 977.  I've driven it a few times, pretty cool machine.

Don't let it fool you...that thing will lift a house.  Don't expect to start it when it's very cold out.  They don't like cold, cold weather.


johnjbc

The new toy has a name "Big Beaver". Real Beavers have a pond started and the tractor is to make it a little bigger hence the name.
Went  to York and picked up Big Beaver from the sale site. Here is a picture of my little brother loading him on the trailer.


Little Brother Danny (my technical consultant on heavy equipment



This is me


We were going to take him directly to Beaver Camp  but decided It would make sense to let him reside at my brothers until we get  some welding done on the bucket and give him some exercise to make sure he is in top physical condition . That way he is closer to his ride.
Spent about an hour learning how to drive him and made a pretty good sized pile of dirt. (See picture) .



So far we have found an oil leak on the rear clutch, have a missing bucket tooth , and need to weld a new bucket brace on the side of the bucket.. Knock on wood.
The next step is to find where they hid the S/N and find a place that sells manuals.
John
LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

Mark M

The serial number should be on the rear of the main frame. Usually the top left side (above the drawbar).

johnjbc

Saturday afternoon we finally finished the repairs to the 977H that I bought last June. Now known as "Big Beaver". I have been taking of Fridays and spending Friday and Saturday's at my brothers working on it. It felt really good to see it loaded on the trailer for delivery to camp.
Now we can clear a 2000' right away for electric service, dig a cabin foundation,  level a spot for a sawmill shed, relocate 1 1/4 mi of road, and dig a pond.
Thought I would post some pictures I took during the repairs.


First we removed the bucket and rebuilt it with all new pins and bushings, replaced the side cutting edges, and replaced the bottom with 1/2 inch plate. The thousand pound of metal we added would of made a bood load for my Kubota.


Making new bushings for the bucket.


We had a leak in the right hand final drive. To get to it first we had to remove the track. Some one had used a blue wrench to removed the master link and had welded it back together. So the track had to go to the track shop for one new link.



Next we removed the track frame. Half of the bolts were missing or broken and someone had welded it in place




The  oil leak ended up being loose tapered bearings.  The manual called for 175 to 250 pounds on the end of a 5'  spanner. After we put it backed together it still leaked and we could wiggle the sprocket with a pry bar. The fix was to back out one of the sprocket nuts so it hit the spanner and turned it with the engine. When  the play was gone it was tight and quit leaking.

We had to drop the belly pans to replace track  frame bolts and replace the oil drain doors

The belly pans were bent so we had to straighten them



We also had a bad leak from the hydraulic shift control that ended up being a stripped bolt. To get at it we had to remove the seat, batteries, seat frame, fuel tank (89gl.), hydraulic tank (34gl.),  hydraulic hoses, and shift linkage. It took two days to get it all disconnected and two to put it back

It  takes 205 quarts of oil to do an oil change, not counting 7 5gl. bucket of hydraulic fluid




LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

FeltzE

I think your brother is related to my brother, My brother fixes heavy equip for a living If it moves he can fix it!

I've helped on a couple of jobs had a piece of a dozer fall on my foot once, fortunately the bones in the top of my foot prevented damage to that steel! Of course I needed a little medical help after that

That is going to be one nice machine after you get it all together! Those 977's are incredible machines, a lot of push power and a lot of breakaway lift power!.

If your going to work in soft areas with that machine I hope you have a winch and point to cable to because you don't have much float on the quarry tracks!

Oh I ment to say you got a terrible deal, but I'll trade you my AC 5050 farm tractor for it.... :D

Eric

Tom

Wow!  Good post!

You are going to enjoy having your own heavy equipment.  

My choice was a rubber tire back hoe and my neighbor's choice was a little case dozer.  I think we are both a little jealous of the other at times

shopteacher

Wow, what a learning experience that must have been.  Looks like you got yourself one lean, mean clearing machine there.  You might want to buy a little stock in Shell Oil if you plan on changing oil very often.  Nice going.
Proud owner of a LT40HDSE25, Corley Circle mill, JD 450C, JD 8875, MF 1240E
Tilt Bed Truck  and well equipted wood shop.

Buzz-sawyer

Ah the memories you stir up............Oh yea thats why my int T9 is sitting where I left it...........If the wheels are steel its a job to fix anything...........anybody want a dozer?   :)LOL
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Gilman

Great post John, Thanks.

I really liked the stack of oil required.

Any details on that orange off road fork lift?  Never seen one like that before.

WM LT70, WM 40 Super, WM  '89 40HD
Cat throwing champion 1996, 1997, 1999. (retired)

johnjbc

Feltze
Thanks for the offer but really  don't need a farm tractor.  I plan to stay out of soft areas   ??? but will have some short lengths of cable handy.  I'm told that if you cable a 10" oak log about 10 feet long to the tracks you can back up and lift your self out of the mud. :o

Tom
I have a backhoe and they are very handy but couldn't cut into the slate rock very well. The layers run vertical so you can't get under it and peal it back. :o  Hoping this works better.

Gilman
It's a 1959 Lull. Has a Chrysler flat head 6 in it.
LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

J_T

John unless you have done that pole trick it can get bad fast :'( We used link chain that would hook on the outher link just stout enough to hold everything in place the pole not over stout either .Then when you move and it comes up under the belley it will snap apart and you are free or farther back we hope . We got stuck once in a pond and slid a rail off and looking like rain. ;D
Jim Holloway

OneWithWood

the fun is just beginning  :)
You haven't lived until you drop a track at the bottom of the pond just as the rain is starting  :o :o
Gives a whole new meaning to slinging mud  ;D
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

johnjbc

OneWithWood
I wish you wouldn't make predictions like that. >:( >:( They have a way of coming true.
But first. Now that the weather has warmed up and my camera is working here are  some pictures of what I have been doing with it. The  next 6 pictures are of clearing 2000' X 50' right of way to bring in power.

This was taken from the Camp end looking down across the first valley and up the first ridge
This is the first  325 ' of about 2000'



This view is looking back toward where the first picture was taken from.
Shows how steep the hills are.



This is the next section running along the top of the ridge



Logs that still need to be cleaned up



More logs



22" white Pine that I pushed a little to hard :D :D



Now for OneWithWood's prediction – The last ¼ mile of our lane is down along the creek and it washed out 3 times last year. So the plan is to cut in a new road about 50 yards up the side of the valley. Got about 100 yards open and one of the 2 ½" loader pins broke. Last weekend I took the new pin out and installed it. And got all but 50 yards open when the track came off.







The next 2 will give you an idea of where it is setting.






Will be making another post about the old airport gas tank that I couldn't use Big Beaver to unload.(24' X 6') And how/if I get the track back on ::).
LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

beenthere

John
Sure don't envy you the task of getting that track back on, and will be real interested in how it goes for you, and what scheme you use to go about it.

I recall walking off the track (my buddy wanted to run it!) of my small 420 Deere crawler, while it was sitting pointed down a steep hill deep in the woods, and a big snowstorm was in its initial stages. And that was no picnic, but not near the massive size of your Cat (if that is a 'feral' cat, maybe shooting at it will help  :) ).  Hope you can get close to it with a tool carrier, so carrying all that support equipment is a bit easier.

Wish you good luck with the fixin'
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

FeltzE

At least your not in the MUD!!! ::)

Eric

firtol88

Funny thread I started out Jealous and now I feel for ya. Here's to hopin I'm back to jealous real soon.   ;D
There's men who drink Guinness, and there's men who drink what's left when we're done with it.

* Note to Democrats, yes please flee to Canada!

woodhick

My uncle a few years back had a older D6 cat with a cable blade.  Now  he loves to work on these things but he is no operator.   He was cutting a road around his farm on the hillside.  Run one track off and trying to "play" operator and run it back on he slid the dozer off the road over the hill into a 20" poplar and knocked the other track off!!  >:( :o  So he calls ma and says could you help me for about 30 minutes!  7 hours later tracks back on and runnign again.
;D  Good luck and be carefull because I have seen blocks fly out from under these things with some pretty amazing force when something shifts a little. :o
Woodmizer LT40 Super 42hp Kubota, and more heavy iron woodworking equipment than I have room for.

Quartlow

Looking at that spun track makes me glad I have a little 500c IH , but its still a lot of fun even when its buried to the top of the tracks  ::) Good thing the 4520 JD is darn double its weight ;D
Breezewood 24 inch mill
Have a wooderful day!!

OneWithWood

John,
This is all good experience.  You will get better at it every time you do it. :-\
Throwing pins and dropping tracks has become a way of life with my JD450C.  If I wasn't so cheap I would replace the badly worn chain ( and if I could find 14" grouser tread so I would not have to dismantle the current ones ).  One trick that has helped me a lot is to place a chunkj of blocking between the bucket and the front idler.  Use the hydraulics on the bucket to collapse the tensioner to its min point, that will help a bunch when you lever the chain over the idler.  If all esle fails or you threw a pin, you can use a winch on the tractor or truck to pull the track tight to slide the pin in.  If possible I use the rear sprocket as a jig to line up the track and place a couple bar clamps accross the tread to line up the eyes of the chain so the pin just slips in.  Of course the grouser tread gives me something to grab with the clamps.  Not sure how to do it on your flat tread. 
My earlier comment about throwing a track at the bottom of a freshly deepened pond actually happened to me.  I got it together and out just before we had a gully washer of a storm :o
Goodl luck, and be careful. ;)
One With Wood
LT40HDG25, Woodmizer DH4000 Kiln

Corley5

And I worry about throwing a track on our little JD MC ::)  Good luck with it.  Everything on that machine looks heavy
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

junkyard

Corly5
Horay for the MC. Lots of guts plenty of power for the size of the blade, but light enough that the old 8N will help it out of most problems. If not the neighbors big 4 wheel drive JD with loader can pick them up and carry them out. MC is a 1948 and 8N is 1952 both work like they were ment to.
                   Junkyard
If it's free, It's for me. If for pay, leave it lay.

Corley5


That's my son Zach and his Grandpa on our MC.  They are a neat little machine.  This one is 48 model too.  My Great Aunt's husband bought it new.  Grandpa tried for years to get Uncle Glen to sell it to him to no avail.  A year ago with both of them now gone :( :'( :( Aunt Barbara and her son Chuck offered to sell it to us 8)  We've used it quite a bit around the farm.  Pretty handy :) :)
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

johnjbc

Been pretty busy and haven't had time to update this thread. Due to my slow typing I elected to cut and paste from our camp log. So please excuse the format.  ::) ::)


Camp Report 4/23/05

My son-in-law Tim came down for a visit so I took off Thursday and Friday to go out and work on the right away.
Till we got the Kubota loaded and everything packed it was 10:00 AM So we didn't get there till after lunch.
Unloaded the Kubota and spent 2 hr. grading the road. It's much better than it was during Hunting season. :D

Next task was to hook up the water system. Between getting the valves in the right place, and the pump pressure switch all working in harmony took until 4:00 PM. Left the water on so next trip all we need to do is fill the barrels.

Spent the next couple hours, and until lunch time, cutting and dragging trees, and stumps off of the hill above camp. Still one big tree and several stumps to go.

After lunch Larry showed up. And we decided to work on Big Beaver.
We hooked a 1 ton come-along  to the bottom of the track and a 10 ton
Porta Power to the top and tried to pull the track back on. Wouldn't go so, Larry crawled under in the mud, and saw the track was hanging down a foot and jammed side ways agents the bank. Took an hour jacking, prying, hoisting, and blocking to get it up level with the bottom rollers. Then back to the come-along and Porta Power and with a lot of prying we got the chain back on the rear sprocket.
Now for the front sprocket. Not so good. Thought we could use the loader hydraulics to pull the track back over the front sprocket, but after numerous tries all we managed to do was to get the back off again. ::) ::)
After getting the rear on again we decided to make a level spot behind Big Beaver with the backhoe and move him onto the level.
It worked, buy using the hydraulics of the backhoe and what little grip a half mounted track gives, we were able to get him moved onto the level.
Now it should be a piece of cake. Started jacking and the light drizzle we had been getting most of the day turned into a down poor. Will try again next week.

We found where the track was spreading, one of the cross pin's appears to be broken between the links on the outside. So once we get it off the side of the mountain the track will need to go into the shop.

Still haven't heard weather Jane left Larry into the house without a strip and hose down to get the mud off.

Saturday Tim and I started working on the other end of the right-way as I need to talk to the neighbor in the new house. We cut and bucked the trees along the road to his house and when he heard the Chain saws he came out.

We got the trees on the far end all cut but they still need to be dragged out.
A couple more days should do it.

Will be going out again this Friday weekend if the rain holds off

Game report 
Larry saw the only deer on the way back the road.

Attached is the picture of the tank I promised to send last trip

Camp Report   2005-05-01

Went out to camp Thursday evening pulling George's old trailer to use to bring fire wood out of the woods.
G showed up Friday morning and we worked on clearing the camp end of the power line. By lunch we had removed everything but some stumps we couldn't move. So we start pulling the trees up the steep grade at the far end with the winch. We had a couple causalities, first the cable came off the winch drum and then G had a little problem with a vines getting caught in his feet and needs to be awarded a Purple Heart for executing a swan dive over a tree top. He lived but was sore for a week.  Found that It was much quicker to use a cable and the Kubota to pull trees up.

Next we decided to try to finish rescuing Big Beaver. Took the Kubota and started cutting a road back to him from the far end. About half way a hose on the backhoe came un-crimped and sprayed hydraulic oil all over. We were stuck without pressure to the hoe, we couldn't remove it or lift the jack pads to drive out. ::) ::)
Some how we managed to crawl under and get the hose loose. :)

Saturday morning we were at the Kubota Dealer at 7:30 when he opened and got the hose repaired. By 11:00  we had the hose on, and the road open to Big Beaver.

We put all the jacks , chains, and come-along in the loader and went to work on Big Beaver's front sprocket. By 2:00 we had the track back on and drove him out the gravel pit. Time to celebrate, with the help of TIM, Larry, and G over 2 weekends, Big Beaver has been rescued. 8)








Sunday morning I made a couple passes out the new road and back with the Box Blade and made the first Traverse with the Dodge. Wouldn't try it with a car yet and Ford's and Chev's should have a rescue plan in place before attempting it.





Next I made a level place below camp to work on Big Beaver. The track has to be removed to go to the shop to have a new pin installed.



Jacking him up pushed the 12" log sections into the ground about 2' before he came up. After getting him up in the air just high enough to clear the idler wheels I used a hydraulic jack to collapse the adjusters. Got ~ 5" of slack. With a cable to a tree at an angle, the high lift jack some wedges and a digging bar I was able to get the track off of the front sprocket. Then with the Dodge pulling the top back at an outward angle I used the end of the forks to push the track free of the sprockets. Then with the truck pulling at an angel and the Kubota pulling side ways The track slid out from under the sprocket.



Now to get it on the trailer to take to the shop, only problem is the Kubota can't quite lift the track. The solution was to use the loader without a bucket or forks and then I could just barely lift them.

Loader is rated 3000 pounds at the pivot pin and the hydraulic pressure has been set up to 2900 pounds. Track weigh is well over 1 1/2 tons.

Only took 8 hours from the time I started jacking till the tracks were loaded on the trailer.
Took the tracks to Danny's and dropped off the trailer and back to Carlisle by 11:30 PM. Boy did the bed feel good.
With a little luck Big Beaver will be back in service this weekend better than new.








Camp Report 5-31-2005
Over Memorial Day Weekend I went out a dug  400" of ditch across the neighbor's back yard, and buried conduit for power and phone. So there is 1 span of overhead, 400" buried, and the remaining 1850' is overhead






Camp Report 6-10- 2005

Going out to finish up the power line work.  The poles are in and I can fill in the holes shown in the pictures and plant grass.
Also need to mount the meter box on the service pole so I can get it inspected.  Then one more trip to get it inspected and we should have power.
Can't wait for my first warm shower.




Camp Report 6-12-2005

This weekend went pretty well.  When I got there Valley Electric had all of the poles in, the wire in the air, and the conduit hooked up on the underground section.
First task was to put the sweeps on the conduit I installed for phone service and secure it to the pole. Next step was to backfill around the poles and make about 200 passes with the York rake to get the neighbors back yard ready for grass seed. I pulled the rock out into the woods and left it spread over about 150 foot of the road. There was enough rock for about 12 foot wide and 8 inches thick.
After hand raking the  stones that the York Rake missed I spread grass seed.
Just as I was finishing the sky opened and it started poring down rain.

The next morning I started mounting the meter box and fuse panel. Took the 12 foot step ladder to the pole and I could only get half way up. Pulled the Kubota over and the loader just cleared the top of the ladder. Maybe Big Beaver will go high enough.
Took the new O-Ring up on the hill and installed it in the hydraulic line and put the oil back in.

At this point I got side tracked and decided to work on a tree-stand. I had saved a multiple trunked Maple Root ball when clearing the power line. I cut the multiple trunks of at about 20', dug a hole and stood it up in the hole. After the dirt packs down round the root I will build a platform with a roof and be able to watch about 100 yards either way.

Drove Big Beaver down the hill and backed him up beside the service pole.
I assembled the conduit wire and service head. I leaned it between the bucket teeth and was able to slide it up the pole and get the bottom brackets installed.
I climbed up the ladder into the Kubota bucket and then into the Cat bucket and was able to install all but the 2 top brackets. Will need to go back out with a ladder to get them. Next step was to assemble the Meter Base to the Fuse panel and there is a problem. One has a 2" hole and the other 1 ¾" have to take them back so it looks like I will need another trip before I can get my electrical inspection done.




Game report
2 Deer
1 Small Black Snake 3'
4 Turtles
LT40HDG24, Case VAC, Kubota L48, Case 580B, Cat 977H, Bobcat 773

Buzz-sawyer

I lost my passion for steel wheels due to this.....tracks........anyone want a T_9 :D :D :D
    HEAR THAT BLADE SING!

Kirk_Allen

Buzz, shoot me some pics.  Our farmer might be interested.


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