Four years ago I got suckered into buying a D2 5U from Ol Lyoncat that had been sitting in a shed with the steering clutches locked up and at the time I got busy with the help of a great old Bush Mechanic called Joe Camilleri and we stripped her down fitting new brakes, bearings, seals and bimetallic clutch plates, plus as we went I cleaned everything and threw paint at it all figuring it was the only chance I'd have, she even got a new radiator core too and a John Hahn seat is on it's way, the only problem was the tractor was 2,000 miles north of me and was to be the longest haul home of any old Cat I've bought.
When Joe and I finished the repairs back in 2012 I only got to drive her for 5 minutes before she was parked back in the shed and the past 4 years I kept putting the feelers out looking for a ride home for her and it seemed it was never going to happen till I happened to mention the problem to D23J 2 weeks ago and he suggested a trucking website I'd never heard of that puts folks like me in contact with truckers looking for loads, and within 15 minutes of posting a request for quotes on this trucking website I was offered a ride for the D2 and a Fifteen carcass for just $1,800 door to door, a great deal and too good to refuse and so finally the D2 has arrived home this past week.
Luckily over the past 4 years my good mate Joe has fired up the D2 every few months to keep her fresh, it's in the northern tropics of Australia and the annual rainfall is about 15 - 20 feet a year and the temperature rarely ever drops below 60F at night even in the middle of winter, the heat and humidity in the summer is shocking, so these tractors operate under different conditions and pressures to a Cat working in say Yuma Arizona where the annual rainfall is just 2"-3", for example Joe mentioned a year ago he couldn't get the pilot motor to fire and discovered the 2 carbon pick up brushes in the magneto had broken off, something I'd never heard of before but assume the 90% - 100% humidity for months on end must affect some materials particularly if gaskets are old, dry and cracked.
The rebuild of this D2 was a interesting challenge and I wrote here about it at the time but will share the photo's again as a reminder of how bad these D2 final drives can get, it took Joe and I about 7 days working from 7.30am till 6pm to get her apart and back together and I've seen people talk about doing it in just a few days, but when everything is rusted solid and extra items like broken recoil springs and rotted fuel lines need replacing like this tractor did, then the project takes longer and costs more than you think it would. When Joe is not repairing other folks Cat crawlers he plants sugar cane in the dry season of May till October with a unique 3208 powered track mounted planter he designed and made himself that allows cane to be planted on the steepest hills in his area, plus he contracts with his D7 and D8, he is one of the smartest and nicest guys I have ever met.
Needless to say I was very very pleased to see the D2 come in the driveway last Saturday, it has been a long 4 years to have such a nice tractor so far out of reach, and after getting her unloaded and checked over I took her for a drive around the farm with a big smile on my face because I've never spent any time on a D2 and have discovered they are a really nice little tractor to drive, particularly with new clutches and brakes, Joe had warned me the water pump needed a new seal so I'm in the process of replacing that right now, and I believe my new John Hahn seat is on it's way from Oregon to me thanks to the wonderful help of "Droptube", I'll also throw a bit more paint on her and fit the new decals I bought from ACMOC 4 years ago so she will look like a lady once again, and I've decided to try and fit hydraulics to her so I can use her on my farm and give her a good flogging ever now and then.
Mike
