My head was spinning in the start of the video. A “cat” with a Jimmy? Did not compute. Now I get it. You will have hours of fun with that, and it will probably outlive you.
Starts on the button One oil leak No crazy smoke Brakes are free Cleats are not missing Hydros work (and don't leak) Blade isn't tore up or gouged out Can shift into fast travel Treads are not sagging Bogies are working (and not missing) Made it up Dyno Hill in one shot Other than deferred maintenance, cosmetics and the winch, she's got better than great bones to start with. Fantastic find, Scott.
Apart from oil leak from a visual on your video it looks like a great bye , maybe upgrade the roll over canopy with something will withstand a tree or roll over for operator safety cheers.
A gentle reminder: remember to put it in neutral and pull back / set the hand clutch when idling and or parking. Other wise your throw out bearing is always running. Great purchase! Should help pull a bus up the hill!
I've had a 1955 HD6 with a 3-71 for about 27 years. I got screwed when I bought it. It was always a logging machine here in Oregon, with ROPS, rock guards, sweeps, Carco winch and a straight blade with tilt. The previous owner told me he had backed into a stump and tore out HS reverse, But he actually tore it up so bad that the ring and pinion were broken. So, I've replaced the tranny, ring and pinion, added some plates and frictions to the steering clutches. That was a nightmare of a job. He had the tracks packed with mud, so I could not see how bad the undercarrage was. I replaced a few rolls and the track rails. The machine originally had the AC 4 cyl. diesel but that got changed to the Detroit. ( That was the "hot setup" in the old days) Looking at your machine, it appears that it was originally a farm machine, and later the blade and a non stock hard nose was added. I've put about 700 hours on it , mostly building road in rocky, hilly ground, only needing to replace the main clutch a few years ago. If you run into any snags when working on your machine, contact me. I'll gladly tell you what I know about working on these old things.
OK, Scott - You're READING MY MIND!!!!! I was thinking of how a bulldozer would have made it SO much easier to pull that last bus up the hill - when the tractor started to slip.... And NOW you've DONE IT. It should make maintaining the road MUCH easier, too!
I had a driveway from hell just like yours when I live in Knoxville! When I built my new home just north of Chattanooga, I had the home placed 35' off the front property line and my drive is 20' long! Thank goodness. I also had a small dozer blade on my tractor and used to have to fix the gravel drive three or four times a year after heavy rains!
Back in the day, my dad had several A-C HD 5 dozers and loaders. Those 2-71 Detroits are hard working engines. I’ve crawled up under a many to get the belly plate off to change the oil.
Very cute old school tractor. One of the smallest HD tractor made back then. Have a JD myself, the engine was a diesel originally, JD made a gas version of it, that is a beast.
Sweet little machine, those 2-71's are bulletproof little engines. I have a 2-71 genset off an old RR refer car, it's rated at 25 KW continuous power, but still sips fuel.
I absolutely love old school bulldozers like that one. I'm going to name it ( old timer de) the de standing for Detroit. I think it's a good name for it. Hope to see more videos of it and the engine rebuild project on it. Weather it's a bus, or construction equipment with a diesel engine you sure know how to fix them up to great running condition I've learned alot from your channel.
The undercarriage (Sprokets, chains, track pads on that dozer are worn out. That said parts for that old Dozer are most likely going to hard find. That said it appears to run pretty good for its age.
I am not trying to be a downer I am being a realist. The drive sprockets from what I saw are worn down past the sharp tooth stage and are down pretty much to nubs, the track pads are worn thin and the grouser bars are worn down as well, next time you are next to the machine give a feel of the pins in the chains because there I can almost guarantee they are worn out as well. That said I can see where someone has replaced some of the hydraulic hoses and it looks as if one hydraulic cylinder has been worked on recently. PS I would check in the service manual at what the track tension is supposed to be because right now they look awful tight. Of course they may be tensioned up that tight because the sprockets and chains are so worn out it might throw them if the tension is set correctly. Sorry if I popped your bubble but I don’t see a reason to say everything is peachy when it’s not.
If i get a couple of days use out of it the unit is paid for in savings from renting a small dozer. It’s not going to be used daily. Just a bit here and there when needed. It’s over 70 years old and still going.
I wouldn't hook it to a bus because it doesn't weigh enough if it breaks loose the bus will drag it backwards and I agree with the other guy the bull wheels are worn bad and the pads are to were not trying to be downers just stating what we no about equipment so Never Tram it in high gear again because if it jumps track it's gonna tear everything out from under it and bust the bull wheels there not solid like they are on the newer ones I've seen this happen and I don't know where you will find parts for it maybe the guy in Abingdon VA might he's got a field full of older stuff but mostly John Deere . Again just trying to help you not saying you messed up buying it just treat it like your Great grandfather go easy with it and it should last you a few years and not cost you a fortune
Biggest thing to pay attention to on any old dozer is the undercarriage. Repairs there can run into thousands if there is a lot of wear to track pins and bushings, drive sprockets, or the rollers.
From what I can see the undercarriage is worn out. The track pads are worn thin, the sprokets are worn and I can’t believe that the chains are any better
Congrats, a great addition to the property. I'm shocked, I've never seen blue jeans on your son in law, usually they have a lot of black tones on them. He did great working that D2.
Well you wont worry if you park it outside, and its not likely an item that wont get stolen. Most likely to run out of oil just driving it out to the street. Same your money for repairs, new seat cushion, and a paint job.
Scott, I had a AC HD 9 back in the day. It had a 4-71! I would recommend getting a guard for the front to protect the Radiator if you are going to do and tree or brush removal.
Ship heavy cast iron/steel parts from Australia to the US with all the shipping problems... Crazy. Mozzarella Cheese is a great insulator, but just because you COULD use it to insulate your house does not mean you SHOULD!
seems like a solid buy. only thing I found sketchy is whenever somebody tells you they didn't use it, or only ran it for a little bit, means they are building an alibi. in other words when whatever they found bad, fails on you they can say I didn't know didn't do that on me I didn't run long.. somebody will go through all the trouble of buying a dozer transporting it and then they don't use it for an hour because they decided it wouldn't work for what they were going to do.. the blade didn't turn.. whenever I hear that from a seller I didn't run it long, or only drove it around the yard, they are telling me they're hiding something 🤣 and they can say oh I didn't know .. looks like this one was a decent buy though, just talking about my personal experiences, and what people say and what I've learned
Lol someone was on one of the Detroit groups looking for a couple injectors for a 2-71 in an HD-5 allis! I have 2 allis dozers. An HD4. Great little machine with a 6-way blade. Love it. Also have an HD6G. Huge. And wont start 99% of the time. Hate it. Had to do an IP to begin with. Injectors rebuilt. All timed by the book. Junk.
Looks exactly like the bulldozer you described you'd like to get way back when you first moved on the property. Is that machine supposed to have a belly pan or not? How's the condition of the pins and bushings in the rails and the sprocket teeth?
Are the long levers clutches and the foot peddles brakes? I never knew how these old tracked vehicles worked. I plowed a field in Kansas one summer when I was still in grade school. That was in the early 60s. That really old jd tractor had more levers than I could keep track of. It had a gas motor to start the diesel, which i was told had pistons the size of buckets. I got sun stroke and went home.
i think that dozer better suited for pulling busses up that hill too then the new Holland. since it has tracks and lower gears to pull the heaviest busses, it won't be slipping nor be fast, but sure will do it.
Fix this dozer up and you won`t have to pull buses uphill with the blue tractor. I bet there will be more terraces on the hilltop and maybe even widen the top tight curve.
