Author Topic: Ol’ SARGE aka BIG RED thread (Read 123142 times)

KensAuto · « **Reply #300 on:** September 24, 2015, 09:46:58 PM »

Have you considered making a brush guard to add another layer up front? I can't tell how stout the current one is from the pics.....or maybe there isn't room, for any protrusions with the bucket lowered?

JR · « **Reply #301 on:** September 24, 2015, 09:56:56 PM »

That is why so many of those older pieces of equip. are so sought after all these years. Simple, solid and they still work. No ecm running the darn thing.

I think many of us would be in jail if cameras where everywhere!

TexasRedNeck · « **Reply #302 on:** September 25, 2015, 06:45:40 AM »

Don, dont consider them DOTs, just free bumps so that the important topics stay close to the top of the home page....

I have to say you are as anal retentive as I am if you got into the thing well enough to paint that engine as well as you did without removing a ton of sheet metal. Was that rattle can or sprayer?

Atkinsmatt · « **Reply #303 on:** September 25, 2015, 08:29:44 AM »

Come up with the numbering system for the fleet so You can get the bumper number on this great looking piece of equipment?

Looking forward to seeing it in it's new environment. That thing wasn't made to be at a nice shop but out in the dirt.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #304 on:** September 25, 2015, 08:02:44 PM »

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on September 25, 2015, 06:45:40 AM

Don, dont consider them DOTs, just free bumps so that the important topics stay close to the top of the home page....

I have to say you are as anal retentive as I am if you got into the thing well enough to paint that engine as well as you did without removing a ton of sheet metal. Was that rattle can or sprayer?

RC special right there!
Got most of it on my hands and when I got home, my boys started pointing out my yellow hair!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #305 on:** September 25, 2015, 08:05:25 PM »

Quote from: KensAuto on September 24, 2015, 09:46:58 PM

Have you considered making a brush guard to add another layer up front? I can't tell how stout the current one is from the pics.....or maybe there isn't room, for any protrusions with the bucket lowered?

Ken, if you look at that bent inward front "Grill" or whatever you call it. Well that is steel at least 3/8" thick of not 7/16". I don't even know how much it must weigh. If you took a sledge hammer swing at it, I doubt you would move anything

It's more of an avalanche guard to stop the larger boulders!

I added another structural layer of paint to it, so I should be G-T-G

KensAuto · « **Reply #306 on:** September 25, 2015, 11:53:04 PM »

Wow, I didn't realize it was that stout. I agree. ..gtg

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Flyin6 · « **Reply #307 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:19:19 PM »

Well Sarge is back in the shop for some more repairs.

Richard reports the brake cylinders both need new seals, so that is in progress. The main line is coming off the belly and roll cylinder lines are being pulled.

All in all progress looks good

I have my work cut out for me cleaning the belly pans and other areas I can get to

Flyin6 · « **Reply #308 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:20:07 PM »

Larry and Richard wrestled with this line. Said it was a booger to get out

Flyin6 · « **Reply #309 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:20:44 PM »

It came off the roll cylinder port here:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #310 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:26:12 PM »

Speaking of Larry (DOOLEY on this site) Here he is! We just placed a Southeastern Equipment decal on Sarge, showing all who I get to service this machine. It's a good company with honest folks whom I can trust.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #311 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:27:36 PM »

Lots of "Age" to clean up and wash away in there:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #312 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:31:06 PM »

One thing that I am not happy about is the bucket. The leading edge is cupped instead of being straight showing a lot of wear. The underside has some drag plates which are all worn out with one even having a hole in it. One of the bucket teeth is broken loose and most have just been welded back on instead of being bolted in place.

It needs a bucket repair or a new bucket. This one is a 1/75 yard bucket. It could use the same or a 2 yard one

Flyin6 · « **Reply #313 on:** September 30, 2015, 04:32:22 PM »

Overall, though it is getting healthier and better looking by the day

The sergeant stripes will be made up next week

Nate · « **Reply #314 on:** September 30, 2015, 05:36:56 PM »

popcorn

Atkinsmatt · « **Reply #315 on:** September 30, 2015, 06:45:26 PM »

PMCS never ends.

TexasRedNeck · « **Reply #316 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:49:26 PM »

The grand daddy of all oil changes...

JR · « **Reply #317 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:04:16 PM »

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on September 30, 2015, 08:49:26 PM

The grand daddy of all oil changes...

And probably a tad more $$$ than SD.

KensAuto · « **Reply #318 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:27:35 PM »

At least this one runs.

Lord please forgive me for my sarcasm.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #319 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:29:19 PM »

Quote from: KensAuto on September 30, 2015, 09:27:35 PM

At least this one runs.

Lord please forgive me for my sarcasm.

You're fired (Again)

Flyin6 · « **Reply #320 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:30:06 PM »

Well reconsidered my rash decision...I'll come up with a counselling statement and let it go at that...

Flyin6 · « **Reply #321 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:30:45 PM »

Quote from: JR on September 30, 2015, 09:04:16 PM

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on September 30, 2015, 08:49:26 PM
The grand daddy of all oil changes...

And probably a tad more $$$ than SD.

I am pretty much full disclosure here

$30K

KensAuto · « **Reply #322 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:31:21 PM »

Thanks boss....I'm sorry, well at least until the next time. :D

Flyin6 · « **Reply #323 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:31:46 PM »

Quote from: Atkinsmatt on September 30, 2015, 06:45:26 PM

PMCS never ends.

And parts being parts, they are always somewhere enroute toward failure!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #324 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:32:53 PM »

Quote from: KensAuto on September 30, 2015, 09:31:21 PM

Thanks boss....I'm sorry, well at least until the next time. :D

I'm just touchy tonight I guess, you know how we house moms can get!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #325 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:34:04 PM »

Quote from: Flyin6 on September 30, 2015, 04:32:22 PM

Overall, though it is getting healthier and better looking by the day

The sergeant stripes will be made up next week

Quotin' myself here

Those belly pans, the design of them are giving me an idea!

KensAuto · « **Reply #326 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:36:50 PM »

Since we're dottin'...
Ken's in a good mood. I just ordered a lathe and a mill. I don't think I've ever been this excited over tools before, especially ones I've never used!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #327 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:47:26 PM »

Quote from: KensAuto on September 30, 2015, 09:36:50 PM

Since we're dottin'...
Ken's in a good mood. I just ordered a lathe and a mill. I don't think I've ever been this excited over tools before, especially ones I've never used!

Awesome! I can think of a couple things I would like to build with those toys right away!

Sammconn · « **Reply #328 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:57:04 PM »

Quote from: KensAuto on September 30, 2015, 09:36:50 PM

Since we're dottin'...
Ken's in a good mood. I just ordered a lathe and a mill. I don't think I've ever been this excited over tools before, especially ones I've never used!

Awesome! They're on my list of wants pretty high up. Biggest challenge for me is space.

TexasRedNeck · « **Reply #329 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:02:44 PM »

So how many times you been fired, Ken? Your resume must look like garbage.....

Don is that $30k including the purchase price and the good old boy discounts? If so its not bad

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KensAuto · « **Reply #330 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:04:00 PM »

Sam, you should see how small my shop is. I don't have room period, but when I get set on something, well, it usually happens. lol

Flyin6 · « **Reply #331 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:10:19 PM »

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on September 30, 2015, 10:02:44 PM

So how many times you been fired, Ken? Your resume must look like garbage.....

Don is that $30k including the purchase price and the good old boy discounts? If so its not bad

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Correct, includes purchase price

Not a smart move necessarily, the machine is worth 10K maybe 15K at the extreme outside since it's all rebuilt. But the way I look at it for 30K we have gone through and repaired a bunch of major things, brought them back to near zero time.

I could have scored a higher time Cat 953C, for 25K, but it was like 30% undercarriage. So add in 10K for an undercarriage and I still had an engine (4 cyl) and a hydraulic pump with many, many hours on them. Then what about the final drives?? Any failure on that and I would have a tenth of the things repaired I have on Sarge and be $45K deep into it. So I just committed to this one.

Now improve the road? I paid $1000 for two days work with a smaller Case 855. Dig a pond is worth what, 10K-20K? Level a parking area, cut in a foundation and that's another couple grand in work. Thing is, this machine will pay for itself in just the next year, then hopefully give me 20 more years to knock trees down, cut trails, dam up this and that, push up berms for shootin', and drive over foreign cars!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #332 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:12:56 PM »

Top gear has "The Stig"

Now we have our own mystery man

For now on known to but a few, I give you "The Lock-Tite"

A master mechanic, this mystery man of diesel propulsion and hydraulic brute force can fix things that don't even need fixin'!

Once he rebuilt a 4BT Cummins without ever pulling the oil pan or cylinder head! It's true!

He can tell compression, read it in pounds simply by listening to the exhaust note! He can inflate a truck tire simply by blowing into the Schrader valve!

His torque wrenches read in the millionth's of a ft/oz!

His wrenches are made from stellar matter and he has used the same screwdriver since birth!

THis mighty man of the wrenchin' world has no time for silly poser shots...Nossir, but he'll walk by something mechanical, feel a slight tremor in the force and know exactly what to do to repair the thing.

He hasn't purchased a replacement part in decades...He makes them himself...With his Swiss Army knife (Which has 966 separate attachments!)

Yes this daring man on his creeper alone once set a national record for "A"-Stock creepers at 12.06 seconds in the standing quarter mile.

I understand he doesn't eat, just absorbs sunshine for nutrition and can work 28 hours a day and still get 8 hours of sleep, all within a normal 24 hour day.

He is magnificent, he is fast, he knows everything known to man and half what is known by the insect world and he is simply the very best!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "The Lock-Tite"

Flyin6 · « **Reply #333 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:16:03 PM »

Got a little better shot of him here:

Flyin6 · « **Reply #334 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:17:34 PM »

Well, Sarge is getting healed more and more by the day.

Today both roll cylinder hydraulic lines were installed and buttoned up

Flyin6 · « **Reply #335 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:18:53 PM »

The entire hydraulic system was drained completely, again!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #336 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:20:11 PM »

I cleaned up the panels and belly pans to make ready for reinstallation

I wonder if they had even been cleaned this century?

Flyin6 · « **Reply #337 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:21:00 PM »

But hot soapy steam under pressure will get right to the heart of things!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #338 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:22:20 PM »

This mammoth housing is the housing which bolts to the final drives and holds all three transmissions. The Lock-Tite pulled three 5 gallon cans of fluid from it!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #339 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:24:36 PM »

Everything else up there is filthy, but it is also unbuttoned. The hydraulic system is now open to the atmosphere, so no washing anything for the moment, but I hope to clean all this up after the new seals are installed and a new filter housing is sourced.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #340 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:28:02 PM »

We ran into another issue. Basically The Lock-Tite is going after every leak source he can find and just installing new seals and O-rings everywhere. This hunk of sludge is actually the hydraulic oil filter housing. Both mount bosses have broken away from the thing rendering it useless. We'll have to replace it.

Flyin6 · « **Reply #341 on:** October 01, 2015, 10:28:43 PM »

At least the undercarriage for the track is clean!

KensAuto · « **Reply #342 on:** October 01, 2015, 11:15:34 PM »

Lock-tite. I like it.

Sammconn · « **Reply #343 on:** October 01, 2015, 11:16:37 PM »

Catching the filter housing now is a great find.
Left unchecked could cause all kinds of damage, looks like The Lock-Tite is on it!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #344 on:** October 02, 2015, 11:01:02 AM »

He's definitely on it!

Fixes everything within a 5 meter radius, sometimes without even realizing it!

JR · « **Reply #345 on:** October 02, 2015, 12:16:16 PM »

What, OD on the undercarriage!!!

BD get on it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Flyin6 · « **Reply #346 on:** October 08, 2015, 08:07:55 PM »

Lock-Tite has been on it!

The filter unit is replaced, and I understand he had to do some fancy soldering and brazing to get some slightly different lines swapped around and fitting in the belly of Sarge.

The boys and I poured 3-5 gallon cans of Diesel in it, an operation we will repeat several times ending when we finally load that bad boy up and transport it

He also replaced the main input seal, both brake seals and the old rubber coupling lines. One more line and it should be work ready!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #347 on:** October 19, 2015, 09:05:46 PM »

Lock-Tite was workin' on Sarge today

He took it out for a workout and discovered it still had some small leaks. One turned out to be a loose line which was a JIC fitting, so snugging that up fixed it right up!

But the Loader Control Valve started leaking again, and Lock-Tite thinks it may be the seal between the valve halves

So, yep, it's coming out again!

Flyin6 · « **Reply #348 on:** October 19, 2015, 09:07:44 PM »

So he pulled it into the shop and while trying to set the parking brake, the cable snapped.

The handle itself is defective, so we opted to just install a whole new handle and cable

Flyin6 · « **Reply #349 on:** October 19, 2015, 09:11:24 PM »

He replaced another seal down near the charge pump, so at this point, I think I have more replaced seals and lines than I have old ones!