Button Greasing Device for the Caterpillar

cathead

CATWERKS LTD
Registered
Joined
Feb 7, 2013
Messages
2,481
Greetings all,

My early morning project was to make an adapter to grease button head zerks on the CAT. A cutter was made from an old end mill to
machine the shape needed to hook on the button type zerks. The body was made from aluminum and the remaining parts of steel.
A little experimentation may be need to fine tune it but it seems to work as is. I left the pin a little long so the threaded part will
force the zerk open as it has a fairly hefty spring inside. It's possible that the hydraulic pressure on the pin would open the zerk but
this way I can screw in the threads more to open the zerk fitting if needed. The CAT people wanted over $50 for one which prompted
me to make my own.

Here's a couple photos of the project: P1010123.JPGP1010122.JPGP1010123.JPG
 
You are so right Groundhog. My latest project has been to get an old D4 CAT into
running condition. I'm making my own parts where I can and saving my money
for parts I can't fabricate. It runs now after reworking the radiator, injection pump,
hydraulic hoses, pony motor magneto ETC. So far I have spent $225 in parts which
was for a head gasket set and a distributor cap for the pony motor. I still have more work
to do as the brakes and clutches are still needing some attention likely. It's all new to me
so lots of fun.


Here's a photo in "as found" condition at the scrappers no less...P1010113.JPG
 
I was a parts guy for 36 years and both sold and bought many millions of dollars of Cat part$, for both on road and off road equipment. Good equipment, at least until I retired several years ago, when everything had issues from meeting emissions standards. When I worked for the county several decades ago, we were still using a few really ancient CAT machines, and we could still get enough parts to keep them going every day. Everything up to 623B scrapers, D9L dozers, and big compactors for road work, lots of 3208, 3306, 3406, 3408, 3412, C12, C13, and C15 engines for both on road and off road applications.

Nice job on the button coupler adapter!
 
I was a parts guy for 36 years and both sold and bought many millions of dollars of Cat part$, for both on road and off road equipment. Good equipment, at least until I retired several years ago, when everything had issues from meeting emissions standards. When I worked for the county several decades ago, we were still using a few really ancient CAT machines, and we could still get enough parts to keep them going every day. Everything up to 623B scrapers, D9L dozers, and big compactors for road work, lots of 3208, 3306, 3406, 3408, 3412, C12, C13, and C15 engines for both on road and off road applications.

Nice job on the button coupler adapter!

Thanks Bob for the post & thumbs up too. I love the ancient machines. Mine is a D4 5T which is a post war machine vintage 1946. I find the
pony motor concept particularly interesting. Especially the part where the diesel can turn over and circulate the warm water from the pony
and also the pony exhaust warming up the intake for the diesel. A battery operated system just can't do that. If the pony starts, eventually
the main engine will start as well, a good feature to have up here in northern Minnesota. I bet you have a lot of stored knowledge with
all your experience in parts over the years.
 
I do not live in cold country since moving from Minnesota to California at age 9, but I have been told, never seen it, that some of the old boys would build a small fire under the oil pan to warm up the engine in the morning before starting it in cold weather. Pony motors were a great invention.
 
At a ski area in Canada (now defunked Fortress Mountain - near Canmore, Alberta) we had an old D-8 with a pony motor. We would let the pony turn the diesel over for at least 20 minutes before trying to start it. Once we had to pour kerosene on/around the tracks to try to get them free of the frozen ground (didn't work too good). Also had a Champion grader powered with a Detroit 6-71 that at times (below zero) needed a hot hair dryer blowing into the intake to get it started. Lots of cold weather stories to tell from my days at various ski areas!
 
Years back I worked at a local landfill where we had an old D8H, circa 1963. It had pony motor start and we could get it running anytime of year, no matter how cold as long as the fuel wasn't gelled. It sat outside most of the time and had no cab, but I loved operating that machine. The newer dozers were easier to run, but there was just something about the old iron that made them special.

Cathead, I forgot to mention, you can get button head fittings through McMaster-Carr for about $20 each, but that's the easy way out. LOL
 
Back
Top