I started my day bright and early after breakfast and my kick start coffee. I started by greasing all of the fittings on my trusty old 1949 cat D4 7U series then checked the fluids and fired up the pony motor and pulled the main engine clutch lever and she fired right up as usual. She purred like a kitten I pulled back on the throttle and headed to my future pond site which I told my old lady I would finish the 1/2 acre pond this year so it moved up a notch on the priorty list. Then after about an hour of good pushing when I was backing up she instantly died on me. Just a putt putt and done. At first I thought a fuel problem but the tank was half full so I began to really worry. Next I checked the fluids, oil still OK,water just a little down and temp. guage was approx. 160-170 in typical warmed up hard working range. Now I'm getting really worried. So I walked back up to the house to worry and think some more, I though I would let her cool down and try to restart her. hen I kicked over the clutch this time the pony motor just bogged down and quit and I think my heart did too. I tried to revive her again with the same results. I went back up to the house and my wife knew right away something was wrong with me. So I explained and we went a barbecue that afternoon and I proceeded to get drunk trying to forget about my morning and it worked, at least for that night.
What to do now? I can get it pulled out of the pond with a skid steer. I will need to rely on some help from experienced dozer people and I,m gussing this is the place to be. My garage is not big enough for this operation (NO PUN INTENDED). So any suggestions on how to find someone who can handle this will help me. I am located in upstate N.Y. near Albany.
Also if there is anywhere I can get a running engine to replace it may be another option.
Are there any other tests I can do to find out the problem. I,m guessing no because the engine will not turn at all ie;siezed!!!
Any help/advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks Steve

It sounds like water locked the engine. I would pull the injectors out and see if the pony will turn the main again.-glen

You didn't make any mention of oil pressure....does it have a working gage and what was it reading??

For a simple test, move the compression release lever to start and see if the engine will turn over. If the pony was bogging down with the lever in the start position, you've probably got serious problems.

Digdeep,


My future x wife says to go ask your wife for help. Now you know why July 9th is the day. Good Luck, John

Had my 1948 D46U do the same thing, piston came apart. They had screw on tops, old timers said it was common on tractors and graders for them to come apart and lock the engine. Don't know when they quit using them. Didn't find it till I pulled the head.

What is a water locked engine? How does it happen? I had it pulled up out out of the pond site today by a skid steer and put it in gear to see if the engine would turn but it rolled as if in neutral and I did not see the crank shaft turn either?? If it were engaged wouldn't it skid or be locked up??

The guage is stuck in the high position never did get around to fixin it. I guess this could be a mojor problem. Any thoughts I where to go from here? Thanks

Just a thought, If the engine had a piston come apart would'nt the tracks skid if being pulled when in gear. Because I put it in gear when being towed by a skid steer and it rolled as if it were in neutral and the grankshaft did not turn, this is strange to me. Any thoughts on this??

Try a couple of simple tests. You should be able to pull the dozer with a 4WD pickup or use the skidsteer. Look to see if the fan or crank shaft turn when you pull it in gear. If not pull the inspection cover off the clutch. Try and see if this is turning when you pull it. It sounds like the clutch has some sort of a problem or you broke the crank. You would think you would here or have heard a lot of nasty sounds coming from the engine in the event of a major blow out. Lets hope it is something with the clutch and flywheel.
Does the engine even turn over at all with the pony motor?