Cat 277B Skidsteer Fires

[74clueless74]

Laura Paynter posted a serious fire in one of the above on the ytmag Tractor Talk forum on 9-26-08, asking if others had experienced such fires, and got replies from others that they, too, had had fires. It seems these, or some of these, have a fan that picks up chaff etc from the ground and blows it into the engine compartment or past the engine?? If anyone has had a fire, or knows of one, Laura would like to hear from you; she can be reached thru the ytmag site.

 

[radman1]

Don't know about Cat and fires. Saw a burned S300 bobcat skid steer at dealer last month. It blew a hydraulic hose. Oil spewed on the hot turbo. Pooof. No most skid steer.

 

[Mowermoney]

Clueless:

Let me clue you in on Cat Fires.

I have run Cats since 2003. I have a 248 with 3800 hours and a 268-B with 2200 hours. Between the two they have experienced (survived is the better word) 14 fires, the first occuring at fifty hours. They were all caused by debris in locations that can't be reached to clean. Cat's only solution is to keep it wet. I have tried stuffing all the holes with foam, putting screen on the intakes. Nothing works but spraying water on a regular basis, and weekly cleaning.

The bad part is that Cat refuses to recognize and fix the problem on its newer models. The C model is no better even with the " debris package".

The last fire I had on the 268 caused extensive damage because it went to the belly pan and my extinguisher would not reach the fire. The fire finaly burned through the Air conditioner hose and the refrigerant extinguished it.

I won't buy another Cat until they fix the problem.

 

[voltar0675]

Have a 2004 246b and was amazed at the amount of dried leaves and debris I removed from the engine bay over the weekend. I wasn't aware of the fire prob until reading this post. Will keep a couple of fire extinguishers handy from now on...

 

[LBrown59]

Have a 2004 246b and was amazed at the amount of dried leaves and debris I removed from the engine bay over the weekend. I wasn't aware of the fire prob until reading this post. Will keep a couple of fire extinguishers handy from now on...

Or trade it off for something else.

 

[Mowermoney]

In addition to the fire extinguisher, I keep a couple of bottles of water in the engine compartment to extinguish smouldering leaves. Had one yesterday, but luckily I had wet the stuff behind the engine and none ignited. We're getting drenched with rain as I write. That will help greatly for a while.

 

[74clueless74]

Appreciate the replies; many thxx!!

 

[Johndeere3720]

Im glad that didnt happen when my dad and step mom had the Cat 257. They ended up getting rid of it and saved up for a Deere CT322.