Re: What's the diff ?
 

Great pics of the grader Mario :cool: that'd be an ideal piece of equip to have in the LGCC fleet. :)
A grader like that still have rear offset steering?

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Now that is interesting! We've cut a standard grader in front of the cab, lowered the halves down an elevator shaft and reassembled for use in the lead mines of eastern Missouri. But they were big enough underground to use full-size machines. That squished Cat in really cool!

Ken

Re: What's the diff ?
 

I said it works underground, not as in, top secret underground machines. ;):lol:
Besides, this ain't Facebook and I'm just sharing pics with my forum family:D.

If your tunnel project was going to be longer you might need one:)
I took the grader for a spin today and yes, it still has rear steer and all the typical grader functions. The left stick has directional rocker for fwd/rev. Push left and right for front wheel control. You twist your wrist left and right for the rear steer. Pull stick forward or back for left circle cylinder. Thumb buttons for wheel lean and up shift downshift.
The right stick, left to right moves the blade left n right, twist the stick to turn the circle and a thumb button to lean blade back n forth, circle side shift, and of course the other circle cylinder.
When I first heard of the 2 joystick, fly by wire machines. I thought, how in the heck are they going to get all those lever functions on a traditional grader onto 2 joysticks! Well they did it, and it's real easy to get use to. Every motion makes sense for what you need to do.


I'm not sure where this conversion was done. I'm assuming somewhere in the U.S. It's definitely squished. It's equipped with a certified ROPS of course and the cab structure is beefy. Problem is, that makes the windows small and hard to see out of even going forward!:eek: I had a real hard time seeing the blade! Only in certain positions. Hmmmmm. Come to think of it, I think the poor view is more than the cab design. It's probably because I'm sitting about 2ft lower than usual! :lol:
with wheel lean, rear steer and so much shorter, this thing will definitely be nimble getting around underground.

We've had to disassemble and drop scoops down the shaft and reassemble. I've heard stories of larger scoops having the main frame cut to fit them underground and then weld back together to live it's life and die down there.:)

Re: What's the diff ?
 

aww come on Mario, cant be as bad as hauling into a land fill in a 100*weather with no AC in the truck :(

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I've been there Steve and your absolutely right, first driving job as a kid, running roll off packer boxes to the landfill:(:(:)

Thanks for the pictures Mario, that graders a bit different.

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I remember the Mack dealer having a loaded trash truck, for over a month! Nobody wanted to touch it!:lol:

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Well Steve, that's the usual landfill smell we all know. Things get nasty when you start disturbing stuff that has been in the belly pans for god knows how long. :eek:. That smell is unbelievable. it'll make you gag and knock you back a step. Even breathing through your mouth I swear it's so nasty you can taste the awful scent.
If I had a smello phone, I'd call ya just to share.:lol:

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My pleasure to share. For a small town, small branch operation, we do have a lot of unique equipment come through here.

:lol: Can't blame them. Same thing goes for working on sewage trucks, no thanks!

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Always fun working around sewer trucks!! And 3hp sewer transfer pumps when some turns on the switch!!! Lot of sh!t comes out of a high pressure 3" pump real fast!! Lol!!

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kinda like a 4mm pressure side line LOL!!!

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Turns out the company that makes the underground grader also builds all kinds of custom designed and modified equipment. Check out the website....http://gfworldwide.com/under-ground-...-120m2-tier-4/

Had something a little interesting today. Brand new 988K ready for shipping on this cool, wet day.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psvhqpavni.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pspjn2ipjr.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pse0cdufrp.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2voah3o4.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pswk77tkc1.jpg

Hauled by a type of truck I've never seen before. Tri drive with supers, not duals :eek::confused:.

Guy says it's got 2.7 million miles on it. Nice truck.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psgxaqwnik.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psjkidh9sa.jpg

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Nice rig!

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Nice loader and truck

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Holy h3ll that loader is a true workhorse!

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I'm liking the TRAILER............many AXLE's.......mmmmm:D

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AWESOME pics! Super nice Loader and Rig set-up.

-Terry

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very euro eh bo!!! sweet KW only prob with the super singles is when goes
POP!!! and that fiberglass repair:confused:

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yup, when a tire blows, so does the fender. Makes removal of the tire easier :rolleyes::lol:.

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Sweet loader. Did you take a memory card full of pictures and some measurements?:D

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You'd have to get one of hose Fund-it deals going to afford all the tires and wheels! ;):rolleyes::p:D

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I'm on it 25 axle next WooHoo:cool:

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If the loader was a 992 I could say I've rebuilt both these models from the ground up many times but 994 are just too big for any area I've worked in.:(

Anyway, really cool picture of the 2 extremes from underground to surface, technically speaking, for CAT, this is smallest underground loader to largest surface loader.:cool:

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pstr2evmhl.jpg

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Cool comparison Mario!

-Terry

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When I first glanced at the photo while reading the posts above it I thought I'd be reading about some really neat RC loader, until I read read that they are 1:1, just built for 2 different worlds!
Thanks for posting Mario!

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Glad you guys like the pics of the 994 and the 1300. :)

Wow, been along time since I posted on this thread and the forum for that matter. Still on a RC break and haven't done a thing with them and work was just kinda moving along as the weeks and months of working on 740 Rock trucks and 336 excavators keeps me busy.
I'm in charge of repairs on the heavy equipment rental fleet in our area. Can get monotonous until today! :bounce:

Boss asked me to stop the rental work for now because a 992 arrived and needs to be split. Center hitch is worn out Bad enough it needs line boring. Nasty loader, not like something from an open pit. This poor girl works in the steel plant slag yard. Tipping pots, digging in slag, molten metal , nasty place.:eek:

Anyway, washed somewhat in the morning, backed into shop at 1pm. I have a helper with me and by 3:30pm machine is split and ready to remove bearings , clean up and set up for boring! :D

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pszfmry9me.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3l4i2fss.jpg


Now THIS is a driveshaft! Break a leg if this baby falls on you :eek:


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psderrpxpb.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psv3xuv5am.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pshg4wv7nm.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psoufhx38k.jpg

Been awhile since I worked on one of these and I love it! Nothing like working on big iron.:D

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Love these shop pics, some impressive equipment that rolls through there!

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Hi Mario

Great set of photos in this post may thanks for taking the time to share with us all.

Thanks

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Mario, you can tell from the looks of the loader, the heat and material would be real abrasive to all the open bearings. The pin lying on the back half looks very worn out!! Would be like riding a bucking bronko trying to drive it
How far do you let them go before you rebuild them?
Rob

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Normal interval for a mid ship rebuild on a loader this size is 30,000hrs. If all the machine does is feed or load processed material usually means just pins and bearings need to be replaced. If it works hard in a open pit digging blast rock or slag pile like the steel plant, then things need line boring also.

This machine in the shop is by far the worst I've ever seen:eek: as I drove it around the yard and into the shop it felt like somebody was under the cab hitting it with a 20lb sledge as hard as they could! Talk about " feeling it in the seat" :lol:

The owners of this machine obviously do not believe in proper maintenance and operation ( can't blame them when you consider the environment it works in ) I noticed steer stops are way out of adjustment. Frame has slammed into the stops on one side and not the other. Never suppose to have hard contact between the frames, when you do, ruins the center pins a lot quicker.
Things are shot and will need line boring for sure, along with steer cyl pin bores.

They let it go way too long.....all about production right, can't shut it down :rolleyes:....well, it's down now and going to cost a whole lot more than just pins and bearings.:cop:

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Thanks guys, my pleasure. Wish I could take better pics inside but I can't find anywhere far back enough to stand, loaders too big! :lol:

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I think this has been mentioned before but why the cutout in the tire tread?

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Not sure if its been mentioned before Reg, I've seen tire guys underground using a tread depth gauge in those cut outs to measure and keep track of tire wear. I think that's the only purpose? or maybe also just a part of the tire making process?

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That would be the only reason for it in my mind but I'm no tire guy. Makes sense that it would otherwise be difficult to gauge wear without it on a smooth tire.

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Yes thank you for those pics!!! Will be a good reference for a future project ;). Need a big loader in the backyard quarry!! Good to hear from you also!! A little time away from the hobby will just increase the desire for that new backyard layout!!!

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Big loader build sounds good! :bounce:
See, you should have made more tires while you were at it with the truck build! :)
I'm going stir crazy thinking and waiting to tackle the new yard and set up my new massive shop. 5 yrs ago I was building on the kitchen table to unheated garage bench, to basement man cave and now a 30X40 shop.:eek::jaw:
It won't have your toys but I'll love it.:D

Anyway, couple machining pics for the metal guys. :D

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2wlcoxte.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psjwaigiu7.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psftnl9aby.jpg

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Great pics of the boring machine. Does the boring machine bolt to the pivot point or is it held on by magnets? Do you have any that shows the actual boring cutter head? Interested in what size it is. Thanks for the pics.

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I'll get some more pics Lynn. He still has to do the back half so I still have a chance at some pics of the bore welder and a video. Amazing how quick and well that works.

My apologies if terminology is off, the boring head is mounted on spherical, mounts on the boring bar supports. The last pic kinda shows how the bearing cages are rounded. The machine clamps on with the same curved socket so even if bar isn't true in the bearing support, the drive still connects. All bolted, no electro magnets.
I'll get more specs and pics......I'm still trying to figure out how the machinist is going to fit a 9ft bar in the back frame with cab still installed? :confused:

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Thanks for the info. Wondered if you welded up the bore so you could re-bore it and use the same size bearings.

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Got some more pics and a couple vids today.

First pic is showing top front frame bore being welded. That's a 10" diameter bore , 8" thiick ! :eek:

Meanwhile, welder is repairing cracks and cutting out and replacing a cracked fishplate.
Machinist managed to get a 8ft bar in between rear frame bores but a very tricky process. Had to pre install 2 bearing blocks then feed shaft through bottom bore then up through top. Add the 2 end blocks and get things all lined up.
Due to tight space under cab the 8 ft bar is not long enough so after everything was set up he managed to have enough space to remove the long bar and then do each set of bores with a short bar.

If I wasn't a mechanic, I'd love to do this machining work. :)

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pss71r6ue6.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3tvlinjz.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psnue7tfjr.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psqgdqeypn.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psnaqcavrq.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psfgszhyzn.jpg

This pic he's just setting up the welder which anchors to the rod seen.

He takes a cut, then welds, then cuts again to finished size.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psiw8a1qco.jpg

https://youtu.be/93cjfZfTaDU

https://youtu.be/HA6GqR6cBho

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Cool stuff Mario. I need a boring machine to clean up the boom pivots on my mini excavator. I think that one might be a bit too large though:rolleyes:.