303M HydraMatic rebuild

[rustystud]

back when i was a highway super we had a very-nice 1967 Cat 12F grader with a turbocharged big & deep 4-cylinder .. The machine was a powerhouse compared to the I6 non-turbo sitting in their previous grader .. After i left they sold it to a junkyard (for maintaining a mile of driveway and the yard roads) where i saw it one day .. Made conversation with the owner about how great a machine it is and how those old Cats don't like being wound out cold right out of the gate, but he already knew that. A week later i stopped by and learned his kid had not listened to him and thusly blew the engine within 5 minutes of firing it up

That's how I was able to buy one of my 1954 REO trucks.
The Oregon forest Service had a Deuce REO for sell. The engine was bad. That was all it said. I bought it sight unseen and went down there with my good buddy to tow it home. When we arrived, I was able to talk with the shop foreman about the trucks history.
I asked how the engine was destroyed since they had already removed it. He said this new hire kid was told to start-up the Deuce and when it was warmed up bring it down to the staging area. This kid got into the Deuce, started it up and without any warm-up drove it at max RPM down the hill. It got about 500 feet before throwing a rod through the block. They were unable to find a new engine, so the truck went up for sell.
I guess the moral of these stories is we should keep stupid young kids from our equipment until they get a few years under their belts.

 

[rustystud]

Your excellent posts make me feel (almost) brave enough to buy back "my" XM211

I wish I was close enough to buy it for me !

 

[rustystud]

Took the transmission off the holder today. Now I just need to put on the "fly wheel housing" and "fluid coupling" and some other small items like a new governor line to the reduction valve.

 

[rustystud]

Went to the machinist today to pick up some new parts he made for me.
We talked about the throttle shaft and now he believes he can make one out of 303 stainless steel.
We also talked about making new pump vanes. He has some tool steel that might work, but they still need to be hardened to 60 Rockwell.
At this time I don't how many he will need to make for a run. I mentioned 70 which would give me the ability to repair 10 pumps. He mentioned maybe 700. He said he would come up with a price for me soon.

On a different note. Do you want to see what $1200.00 will get you ?
I had six oil cooler nuts and 10 washers made up from 303 stainless steel. Believe me, I didn't know it was going to cost that much ! Next time I will get the quote first before saying "go ahead and make them up".

 

[Bulldogger]

Took the transmission off the holder today. Now I just need to put on the "fly wheel housing" and "fluid coupling" and some other small items like a new governor line to the reduction valve.
View attachment 941804View attachment 941804View attachment 941805

Looks fantastic!

 

[msgjd]

I wish I was close enough to buy it for me !

then you won't want to know about an untouched complete M215 (and a few others of the type) plus loads of parts sitting just 20 minutes south of me .. owner/collector died, his son can't decide what to do with it all, overwhelmed

If i were 30 or 40yrs younger they would be in my yard