Komatsu D20A-6 ?

[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