Common Parts to Fail on Cat D-Series Skidders

[eSavassini]

Hello my friends, the company I work for acquired a 2016 CAT 555D Forestry Skidder, and we have no experience with Caterpillar D series machines, and we work in a very isolated region with difficult access to parts, and we want to stock up on parts that are most common to fail. Would anyone who has worked with this D series know which parts on these machines regularly cause problems and should be kept in reserve?

Sorry about English, it's not my native language.

[mudfarmer]

I can't really help but see you have had no responses so far -- Looks like it has Cat 7.1 ACERT engine? This video goes into quite a bit of depth about it The Cat 7.1 Diesel Engine. Know Your Engine. Facts, Review and Whether it is Good or Bad. - YouTube might give some hints

Your English is better than some native speakers

[eSavassini]

I can't really help but see you have had no responses so far -- Looks like it has Cat 7.1 ACERT engine? This video goes into quite a bit of depth about it The Cat 7.1 Diesel Engine. Know Your Engine. Facts, Review and Whether it is Good or Bad. - YouTube might give some hints

Your English is better than some native speakers

Hello my friend, I watched the video you recommended and I understood most of it, that the engine will basically last around 12,000 hours. But what I really want to know are the small parts like: relays, fuses, solenoids, etc. If these parts give problems easily.

[newoodguy78]

@kiko This guy doesn't post a lot but if he chimes in it'll be worth taking notes. Wish I had some firsthand experience to share.

[kiko]

I have no experience with the 555D. I do have experience with all below 545 535 525D.   
Currently the upper turbo is not available anywhere even in Europe because i have searched there as well'
All the plastic fuel lines would be good to have, they get brittle and break
Water pump and thermostat, Cat elc coolant, coolant hoses, air to air boots.
BLOW BY FILTER !!!!  so many people miss this part of service
Electric fuel supply pump
U joints, Those things are huge and are not parts store items   
A couple of control valve solenoids
Dampener and drive shaft behind the engine is a common failure but a very expensive parts
Fuel cap
A wiring schematic or access to Cat sis would be invaluable.
The electric joysticks are also a common failure point
Cylinder seal kits.  On the dual function i am familiar with use the same kits , but arch and boom cylinders are different in stroke length.
If it not weight reduced  A DEF header, heated lines , DEF injector and air throttle
Engine door latches, Esp. the service doors they will damaged instantly if they come open or left open
Fan actuator solenoid

This does not really apply to your question but there is a grease fitting on the grapple rotator that is hidden, Find it!  I can post a picture of location tomorrow.

[kiko]

This is the location of that grease fitting


 

This plate need to removed to access it. It will be down in there next to the rotate ports


 

You can make an extention hose and run it out the drain hole for easier access to zerk.



 

This is what happens to the service doors



 

[eSavassini]

@kiko Thanks for the tips, we're going to make a small stock of these pieces, so when we start logging we'll have everything available. Where we work is isolated and the service time is short, around 4 months, and we cannot waste time waiting for parts to arrive.