Komatsu D20A-6 ?

[GuglioLS]

With the cutting & gluing done it was time to bore out some holes for new "T" nuts that will hold the mount bracket:

Then bore out a smaller through hole for the bolt:

Then using a bolt, set the "T" nut spikes down into the wood:

Test fit the mounting bracket onto new wood arm rest base:

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

With all that taken care of, now it's time to cut the Naugahyde :

Since I finished building my home many years ago, its seems I use my levels more for drawing straight lines than anything else these days:

Got the material all cut out and ready to fit & staple onto the new wood arm rest base:

I pretty much just wrapped it up like a Birthday or Christmas present . For never ever doing upholstery work, I think it came out OK for a Bull Dozer:


Here is the finished product installed and ready for some serious arm resting:


Larry

Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

All the maintenance is done on my dozer and I have some practice using all the blade controls and steering levers on flat land. Today I finally started to use the dozer for what I purchased it for - cutting a road on my hill to access the rest of my land.
First I had to let myself through the gate that keeps my dogs in the yard:

Then across & up the arroyo to "the hill"

That hill looks wimpy from the photos, believe me it's steep!
Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

There are LOTS of rocks & boulders mixed in the lose soil and it's very bumpy. Once I got to the top I bulldozed my way down using gravity & the weight the dozer to be more effective at moving rocks, boulders & dirt.
There were lots of hidden bed rock that would not budge so I just pushed dirt over it to smooth it out.





It will plow down the juniper & pinion trees no problem. The woods is very thick and overgrown and needs to be thinned out. this will reduce fire danger and over time, improve the overall health of the remaining trees.

 

[GuglioLS]

The biggest challenge was finding a clear place to get dirt to push over the outcroppings of rocks. So I just pushed over a few trees to get a clear area. I MUST be very careful when backing up so as not to get skewered by a branch. I have seen Dozer's with expanded metal on the rear to protect the operator from backing into branches.

This is the scary part - going down hill, I think because it's so open and you can see WAY down makes it seem even worse. We used to go straight down this hill several hundred feet to the bottom in the ATV & and my tractor with loads of firewood and chips. No more! I am cutting a switch back into the side of the hill.


Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

This is where I am starting to cross cut diagonally into the side of the hill. The Dozer is surprisingly stable sideways to the hill, Something I would not even think of doing on a tractor, as it would tip over in a second:

I kept uprooting massive rocks, so back & forth I went to get them lifted out and pushed to the side.


Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

I got a diagonal cross cut into the side of the hill in an area that was pretty darn steep, so now it's not so bad to climb up the hill in any of our other vehicles (ATV & tractor) It was pretty dusty doing all this. I worked up there for about 5 hours. My teeth about rattled out. I think next time I go up there, I'll chew gum to cushion my teeth. It can beat you up and jar you around pretty bad, especially working under severe conditions like this.


Time to take a break and have a cold one:


I got quite a bit done in the little time I spent up there today. I was quite pleased and very surprised my little dozer was able to do what it did.

Thanks for looking,

Larry

 

[BTDT]

Great pics and play by play on the work. I don't think you'll be selling that any time soon, looks like your having way too much fun.

 

[hz293]

Great thread. I had the same dozer for about 4 years and loved it. That sucker would go just about anywhere. I didn't use it much after I got my place cleaned up but wish I still had it. At the same time I had an 11,000 pound trackhoe. What a combination.

Harris

 

[NSTractor guy]

Hi Larry,

I was just wondering if you looked at getting a chinese dozer, I assumed you did but wanted to know why not? Also, know you need an small trackhoe. I am so jealous of your new toy. Enjoy.

NSTractor Guy

 

[machmeter62]

LARRY: Thanx for all the postings, details, and photos! With the TLC you have given it already; I think it will reward you with a long healthy life, and provide a lot of fun as you build that challenging road? I hope you keep posting pictures of the new road also? Maybe a pressure washer for the ultimate cleaning job would reduce the "side effects" of getting dirty working on it? MY wife always says," I dress like I am getting ready for an oil change!!?" I am envious!!

 

[GuglioLS]

I was just wondering if you looked at getting a chinese dozer, I assumed you did but wanted to know why not?.......

I looked at them on-line - that's as close as I could get to one. The only dozer I was going to buy was one I could see and test drive first hand. The ones I think you are talking about are small (30 hp) & lightweight (about 5500 lbs) as compared to this 40 hp, 9000 lb one. I think their price new is around 15,000, then there is shipping and other import charges on top of all that. I believe these D20 Komatsu's sold new in the range of 65K, are easy to work on, very popular (they are all over the place) so lots of parts around to be had. There are many eBay listings of undercarriage parts. My Komatsu has a very nice (& expensive) aftermarket Kenco mfg. ROPS. For what I got it for used, and as close as it was to my location, It was a bargain.

Larry

.....................Maybe a pressure washer for the ultimate cleaning job would reduce the "side effects" of getting dirty working on it? ...................

Is the pressure washer to be used on me, or the Dozer?

I did pressure wash all the build up of dirt / hardened mud in the undercarriage area before I went out on my road building excursion just to get a "fresh" start, guess what? When I got back it was like I had not washed it at all. I think if the undercarriage is kept free of debris, especially when sitting for long periods of time, might go a long way in helping to extend under carriage life.

Larry

 

[grode2b]

Larry>>>

Thanks for the pictures and the video>>>
I have residence in Mississippi and was thinking of doing the same thing>>>
I'm just like you and have no experience with a dozer and what to look for when buying used>>> (I've been looking at the same type dozer here do the price) You look like you are having fun, by the pictures>>

Your pictures and questions helped me out alot>>>
Maybe I can find good deal like you>>>

Thanks
grode2b

 

[grode2b]

Larry>>>P.S.

Please keep us posted with everything and send more pictures>>>
That was great!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry,

Congrats on the dozer!! And the video was fun to watch.

I know you already bought the new muffler, but next time, you might want to consider an auto muffler on the tail pipe. The muffler on my dozer sells for over $800 and was rusted through. The metal on it is fairl heavy, so I welded up the holes and the put it back in. I have a 3 inch tail pipe and found an inline muffler for $75 that works great!!!

You know the old saying??

The two happiest days of owning a dozer is the day you buy it and the day you sell it!!! I'm looking forward to my next happy day. hahahaha

Eddie

Eddie,

Sorry for the late reply we were posting at the same time and I missed your reply. Thank you for the congratulations on my "new" Dozer.

The price quotes I got for the new muffler were 235.00 to 586.00, guess which one I bought

Yes you must be resourceful in order to "afford" a Dozer -
OEM Parts for this thing are not expensive - they are out of this universe, ridiculous, criminally insane. I have no idea how any parts dealer can state what the price is on anything, and then be able to sleep at night. For instance, I called to get a part# and price for a hydraulic cylinder oil seal kit $197.00 and were talking about 4 or 5 simple o-rings. I about croaked on the spot. I told him I could buy 2 complete cylinders from Surplus Center and still have enough money left over to take him to court for price gouging

The way I figure it, when I am done using the dozer, I can take it apart and sell the pieces one at a time for at least a million, if not more.

I paid 1.22 per pound for this dozer, with the price of steel going the way it is, someday it be worth more as scrap. Either way I'm going to come out ahead.

I have lots of catching up to do with what's been happening with the dozer. I seem to have purchased a dozer small enough for me to maintain, get in & out of the tight spots, yet large enough to get the jobs done that I purchased it for.

I have lots of pictures and more maintenance that was done. Rob (3RRL) came out to visit me. He and I did some serious maintenance - replaced the track rollers. Then we cut about 800' of new road into the side of a hill littered with huge boulders and trees. He and I will tell the story soon.

Stay tuned....
Larry

 

[EddieWalker]

Larry,

Get to know your parts guy and he'll save you thousands. He can't do much on what they charge for parts, that's out of his control, but he will be able to tell you where to go for other parts that will do the same thing. I've found out where my New Holland dealler gets their startes and alternators. It's not from New Holland. Same thing with cylinder rebuild kits, hoses and filters. Napa is a very good source for allot of maintenance parts. One hydraulic filter from Case is $80. I have three of them. Napa was $45 each and the guys at both Case and Napa said the Napa filters were better!!!!

You have a money pit, but when it's running strong, it's some of the best money spent ever. It's when it's broken that you question your sanity in owning a dozer. hahaha

Eddie

 

[GuglioLS]

Larry>>>P.S.

Please keep us posted with everything and send more pictures>>>
That was great!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK here you go:

When I purchased my dozer, the headlight brackets were pretty bent up, one light was missing and the other broken. At one point or another someone must have run into some tree branches or something. I decided to make some new ones.

Here is a shot of what they looked like:



After removing the lights from the dozer, I wanted to see what could be salvaged:



It was decided to keep the small angle brackets that mount the 6" square protective housing. Using a small pneumatic cut off wheel to cut the welds on the L brackets:



Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After removing the L brackets, it was time to go rummage through the metal "scrap" pile to find some 6" square tube for making new housings. Of course all the weeds had grown up around the metal pile so it was hard to find anything.

But eventually I found exactly what was needed. A little sliver of metal was cut off the end to square it up.



Next was to cut off at a 22.5* angle to make them look cool. You will see the angle cut better in the next post.



One of my twin daughters, Kim, came down into the shop to see what the heck was going on. So she helped me position the metal into the band saw. OMG she has really grown up:




Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

After getting all the cuts done, then using a wire wheel to strip off all the old paint, holes were drilled to mount the lights inside the housing. BTW the Dozer is 24 volts, I have 12 volt lights, so they will have to be wired in series. Good thing they are two wire lights that are not grounded.



After test fitting the lights to make sure they fit, it’s time to weld on the L brackets. Then prime and paint. The old brackets were taken over to a NAPA paint shop to make up a couple of rattle cans of matching Komatsu Dozer Yellow.



Larry

 

[GuglioLS]

Bolt on the L brackets, align, then clamp into position for welding:



Welding is now done, it took longer to clamp than to weld:



Then they got primed - funny how it looks white? I used gray equipment primer -



Then a coat of Komatsu Dozer yellow, paint made up by NAPA -



A closer view - they are coming out nice -



Larry