As a Red Seal Technician, a truck push and safety officer on big inch pipeline projects I'm going to start using parts of this video in my site orientation. I was literally yelling at my screen... The fact that all this actually happened and wasn't done by stunt men leaves me amazed.. While entertaining, I'm amazed these gents still have their arms and legs, let alone a heart beat. A little saying we safety professionals tell the cowboys who say I've done it a hundred times without incident and nothing has ever happened... "FOR EVERY TIME IT HASN'T HAPPENED, THAT'S ONE TIME CLOSER TO IT HAPPENING! " Stay safe guys
This guy likes starting fluid. He holds the record. I've seen a few pieces of equipment that had been sitting along time ruined by the hook and drag technique. Always try and turn by hand first. Check oils for both quantity and quality. Fuel same thing. And check the air cleaner . I hope it's repaired to working condition rather than scraped. Back when made in the USA was the norm. Nothing built today will last like that . Good luck with it. It's a beauty
@@mrbrown3462 I agree with that for the most part. However if you don't check things out before dragging cranking pushing or whatever, you can greatly increase your odds of ending up with scrap metal. A stuck valve or hydrolocked cylinder would quickly destroy hard or impossible to find parts. Just a few possible senarios. I've brought back a few engines and machines in my time and caught a couple of disasters before they became one. I hope it's not too expensive of a fix and it lives on instead of going to China and coming back as a bunch of cheap hand tools!
This is very interesting for me, i'm 80yo now and when i was a boy at Westport New Zealand, our family lived near the Government Public Works Dept workshops where servicing was done on D8 Caterpillars, plus other big machines and Dart and Euclid dump trucks used for removing overburden at the Stockton and Millerton open cast coal mines not far from Westport, so we were very familiar with these machines which we played on as kids on Sundays when the mechanical team were not there. Sometimes we managed to start one and didn't know how to stop it, luckily there was a neighbour nearby who did, LOL. Bob. NZ.
Lovely old girl . Bit of love and some hard work and she will be fine and dandy and ready to work again . Built in the day when you didn't scrap you repaired. Seen some sketchy things in my time but standing on the blade arm while the tracks are moving is something I wouldn't recommend .
I have an oil pump from a sb Chevy mounted in a 5 gallon bucket which I run with a cordless drill. I hook an oil line from this to oil pressure switch line and pressurize oil system before ever turning engine over so engine isn’t first turned in possibly dry bearings to prevent damage. I have started ones which have sat 15 to 25 years as long as the exhaust was covered. It’s generally more work to get the pony motor running than the diesel. Keep up the good work.
My mum used to operate a D8 skidder when her and dad were logging over in Fernwood, Idaho in the mid 70's. She was also setting her own chokes with a 42 LB bell.
that little steel chain pulling 25 tons... DAMN! IT SHOULD HAVE SNAPPED ...SOON AS THEY STARTED PULLING! AMAZING TENSILE STRENGTH! interesting video... thanks.
“Could be, haven’t checked, we don’t know......” this old girl was in a better state than your thinking that’s for sure. It is a miracle that you got it running at all and an even bigger miracle if that engine survived after torturing it while running down that hill. This machine is pure quality, reason it started, even by a bunch of guys capable of killing it for ever in just minutes.
I know little to nothing about the workings of an engine even less about heavy plant diesel engines but pulling it along and bump starting it made me cringe to be honest!
Thanks for total experience...background explanation... beautiful scenery....my grandpa had 2 D8s loved the music and machinery audio... a trip to a beautiful place l can never see or go to....quite entertaining... Butch from Florence Texas
Jerry Snoor Jr Almost positive its Utah. Thought I saw a lic plate. And I think I've hired that truck to move an excavator couple times. I live here. A company called Atlas uses an owner operator to move there mid size machines. He's probably moved more excavators with old trailer then any one alive.
@@Peterbilt359 See, this is the fun part of the internet.. Searching really cool places and trying to figure where exit to Union Park Avenue is 1/2 mile off of whichever interstate highway
Cdntrvler54 Rewatched it saw he has Atlas hat. Atlas machinery is equipment dealer in north Salt Lake I was there today and bought a compactor, nice guys. They own about 60 trackhoes and rent them out and sell them. This guy moves most of them, he has old truck and trailer and has probably moved more excavators then any one in the world. I'll bet there are days where he has moved 10 a day and has been there forever. Gave me a bill once, I paid him extra and told him he was to cheap. These are old time Utahns Salt of earth people very self reliant and simple and fun to hang around. People say in comments he could get hurt. He isn't getting hurt.
Lever on the right arm rest to release brake , direction lever back ,third gear,pull the clutch in, decompression lever off then throw over when oil pressure up.
One does not have to be a mechanic to know the machine has to be checked for oil and water. A lot not seen on that video. Who lifted the blade. Surely not held erect for 15 years. Won't be watching part 2. Just couldnt
Brings back memories. My grandfather had a cattle ranch in southern Arizona, south of I10 near the New Mexico border. He had a D8 that he used to keep up the dirt roads and build cattle pounds for water. I spent summers at the ranch when I could. Was able to get a ride a few times. Last I heard it set about 10 miles from the house when he was not able to start it. He died and it was still their when my uncle sold the place 15-20 years later. Some moved it as I tried finding it on google earth with no luck.
I think I would have poured in a little diesel on top of the pistons either via the injectors or glow plugs 24 hours before so as to unstick the piston rings, and to help with initial lub...standing for 15 years is a long time.
It's amazing how you could have turned the engine over backwards that much and not mess anything up to the point where it still started up absolutely amazing piece of equipment there and how they didn't end up dying that's a pretty big accomplishment like holy crap they deserve an award or something
Just watched part 1&2 of the retrieval of the D8....awesome! A great testament to the perseverance and tenacity of the American spirit....great job guys!!!
Wow! Starting before you even knew if you had coolant. Maybe a little bit in a hurry to hear it run? Could have blown it up and wasted all your efforts. Glad you got it going!
It is very hard on that turbo having it going full bore and then shutting down the engine. The shaft connecting the compressor and turbine is spinning at 50-75k and is riding on a thin film of pressurized oil which is also helping to dissipate some of the heat. The oil pressure goes away and now that shaft is turning on what's left of the oil which is being heated to coke by residual heat from the turbine and it's housing. I know you guys didn't do it on purpose the second time but that's why you don't want to. Also why it's a good idea to let a turbocharged vehicle sit and idle for a few minutes when working it hard prior to shutting the engine off.
old cats are stout as hell, and will survive being beaten within an inch of their life every day for years. Yeah, its good practice to let the turbo spin down, but it most likely didn't do as much damage as youd think.
@@natehill8069 Yeah very true. I don't understand the way they went about getting that machine. I would have known if it had water or coolant in it before I tried to start it. I don't even think they checked their fuel filters to see if they had diesel or diesel water before trying to start it. Not the best way to save yourself expensive repair parts.
@catmodelt Who are you to this video anyway? Your first post was "They just killed the poor thing a little bit more." and now you seem to be saying they did everything right? So what are you just a troll?
In Seward, Alaska my friend George keeps the 1943 D-8 running good. My mom's dad had the 3rd D-8 thatCaterpillar made, he bought it in 1938, I believe it is still on his farm near Garden Plains, Illinois. D-8's created inprovement on alot of infrastructure around the world. Your D-8 looks like a 1950 model. It will need a full service and repairs, so good luck and Best wishes.
We have a d9h at work, , it has a hydraulic blade and ripper, we picked it up off the ground and then worked the clutches, set it back down and we determined the left cluthc is shot and so are both brakes, so we jus idle down and shift fnr, and use the right clutch in f and r to steer :) forward right and backward right=left . Still theese are the most awesome machines to run!!!
Spent a few years in the lower article building log homes. Learned to use a d8 same as this one always ad a sore back never pushed over a big tree .iliked the old thing. Please be kind to these old guys. I was 80 and doing this grading the air field.
I used to operate a D9 of the same layout . It had a 6V battery for the pilot motor . I do remember the mechanic hooking up a 400 amp DC welder to the main starter.I didn`t see what he connected ,but I do remember he arced a welding rod to the starter. Boy did that spin it .No mucking around with valve lifters either ,just throttle . Hope this idea helps in future.
@catmodelt That would have been a great time , That D9 had more than 21 thousand hours o it & that was nearly 50 years ago (73) I remember the morning starting ritual still , I loved the delicate touch needed for blade work & the whistle of the turbo . My all time favorite machine . I did see a picture of one in a German museum I think , while mine was in outback South Australia . So your own work traveled far & wide across the world helping countries build & rebuild.
@@papasoldmachinegarage2 oh yes. we are watching you from far away. The world is now a small place to live in.we are happy with what you post for us. we take it as a learning platform.
It's bad enough these guys are using a chain, sorry I thought it was a cable, whatever, but they don't even know that it's pretty close to a runaway diesel. The old guys just standing on the blade frame. Duh, hey George, tell me about the rabbits again, ha ha.
A run away is obviouslly with a fuck ton of smoke the rack is stuck wide open the engines fine just running throttle shes fine ive seen much worse happen and beleive Me this dozer has seen full throttle its whole life and if anything that was good for it it had oil pressure .... spinning it backwards now that may have done something but no full throttle it dont give a flying fuck frankly it spins to slow i dont even think the d342 engine this has goes to 2000rpm as peak power is rated at fucking 1300rpm and I've seen them run at what sounded like 200rpm in a cold start for 2 or 3 minutes till it picked up
@@21babydew Not always, if the racks stuck wide open the governor has no control over the rack so no control of engine rpm - that's still a runaway engine that can rev to destruction, especially if the engines under no load. When an engines governed to say 2100rpm max how do you think that's achieved? The governor pulls the rack back.
Its a damn shame. Such beutiful n powerful machines that represents an era in American history. Its very sobering to see that there r ppl like u atleast making an effort to save an era. That our kids n grand kids really should see n learn abt!
I'm going to part 2 now. I was thinking about a runaway when they started tightening that injector. I'm wondering if water didn't get down into the pump and stick the rack open. The smoke looks like blowby, no one mentioned what it smelled like. I ran a newer H model back in the 1980s and found out that the transmission can run out of oil and lose power if you get on too steep of a slope. It's moving, so the transmission is probably ok. I'd say the problems are in the brakes and final drives as seen, I probably would have checked all the oils before moving it. I didn't hear a crankshaft knock. That the old engine tolerated that runaway I'd say makes it probably salvageable, but I would've probably tried to do a fix on the injector pump before moving it more. And yeah, I agree with a lot of others, I probably wouldn't have stood on the blade arm while this tractor was moving. That's another thing, I was waiting to see it go over the side of the road when that guy was walking it down the hill due to not being able to steer it, brake it and with the motor running away- it looked like the clutch was still stiff and iffy. That would have been too bad so I was glad to see him steer it. If you need an economical D8, without seeing the rest of the videos, my guess is that this one will be salvageable. Lets see.
Didn't sound like the motor was running away at all. A diesel running away is hard to mistake and SCARY! I heard a Detroit 4-53 2-Stroke run away. Think the mechanic had screwed up the rack adjustment somehow or maybe injector stuck. They got it shut down by tripping the blower intake but it was pretty interesting for a few seconds. LOL Also worked with a guy that had worked in another shop on the Detroit's. Forget now if it was a 8V-71 or a 16V-71. He said a guy there had all the air box covers off bumping the engine over to check piston rings and it fired up. Not sure why---didn't have the governor lever in the fuel off position or there was a problem with the governor? OR it may have been an electric shut off that doesn't stay in the fuel off position after shutdown. We had equipment with both styles.
@@coltonstevens1 Just common sense..Been to many service calls when foreman were spazing out to get the machine running right now. You got to keep your focus dont over think it from there pressure on you.Thats when shit will go south. Remember your the boss of the situation not them.
I was waiting for the trunnion/blade arm to shear clean off the track frame when they were pushing it around on the end of the blade with the wheel loader. 😂
Funny video I still have the black sticker on my toolbox. 36 years playing with these machines. everything they did was dangerous as hell. I was waiting for hold my beer and watch this
I was a Cat mech/training instructor back in the '70s. I can't believe how that slender chain could pull the D8 without breaking. The black smoke on initial start-up was unburned fuel. The white/blue smoke is burned oil. The gasoline starting engined D8s our shop worked on had two sets of air cleaners and two stacks coming through the hood; one set for the diesel (thick exhaust stack), and one set for the starting engine (narrow exhaust stack). Every once in awhile a D9 would come in for work.
Looks like the rings are stuck to the pistons causing all that blowby. Put some oil in the cylinders and run it. They should break free and expand out. Might take a few applications of oil but those 342 engines can take a lot of abuse. The engines with the spacer plate between the head and block are a little higher horsepower and require a little more fuel. Please remember that starting fluid does have some lubricant in it but engine should not be run on starting fluid alone. Prime that fuel system right up to injectors , get some fuel smoke then apply starting fluid. Your engine will thank you for it. Also pull out compression release for a solid 30 seconds to get oil pressure and fuel pressure up. Then let it rip...will sound like a freight train but that is how it is supposed to sound starting up. Good luck with that old girl
