Is there any other place aside from the back of the frame (under the winch) and the engine block where I might find another serial number?

What year did the electric start pony become an option? Mine is using a 12v battery.

My hour meter is working and says 1065 - for 1951 if those are actual hours I would think that is pretty low.

What year did the D4H winch become available? Also where can I find operating instructions for it? Can I just release the brake and spool it out or do I have to power it out? This is the part that scares me - which way do I move the control lever for OUT and for IN?

Mine has a tool tray under the seat - what years was that standard?

The canopy must be some sort of aftermarket part. I sure doesn't look like a one off piece. I kind of wish I had more of a logging style canopy on it but this does seem to be ok.

I need a new seat - what is the most economic option for a OE looking seat? Is there a better option?

I have one of those grease buckets coming and hopefully it has the right fitting on it to do all the undercarriage. Corn head grease is what I hear is the thing to use.

There seems to be a hose that connects to the oil filter - just a loop. In fact it blew when we were going to load it so a new one was put on before it got on the trailer and we topped the oil. We caught it within a minute or so of it rupturing. What is the deal on the oil filter - can fresh elements be had easily? Are there spin on replacements? The radiator looks like it had some sort of oil cooler option?

Lots of questions to see if mine is really a 51 or a hodge podge of someones past restoration or parts combo.

Those are the two places to look for serial numbers. If the tags are missing, numbers should be stamped in the steel underneath. The winch does typically block the rear of the transmission case. The only way to check that one is remove the winch.

The option for electric start pony began very early. Somewhere in the J series back in the 1940's, I believe.. Others can probably tell you exactly where.

Looking at your pictures, that hour meter reading cannot be correct. They were often broken and replaced with new ones or sometimes worked intermittently. I see your rails are worn completely down to the webs, way beyond 100% worn. That alone would take many more than 1,000 hours in any conditions. What I've seen of the wear on the levers and brake pedals also indicate significantly more hours. That isn't bad, these Cats can go tens of thousands of hours if properly maintained and serviced. Yours looks very nice, appears to have been well cared for and should have plenty of life in it, from a photograph's view.

Winch manuals are all available online from Allied, the current owner of the Hyster line. Their website has been linked from here before. I don't have it handy, but you can do a search or someone will be along with a link. They can also tell you when the D4H became available.

The tool tray under the seat is standard for all seat tank D4s of several series.

The best seats, and best investment, aren't the cheapest. John Hahn makes exact duplicates that are better quality than original. Otherwise, take your plywood backs, or make up patterns and have a cheap, nearby upholsterer make them up in black vinyl. John's can't be beat for comfort, wearability and quality, however.

Corn head grease will work fine. Any 00 (double aught) grease should be fine. Make sure you are using the correct volume grease pump with pressure release, or use a special fitting which has a pressure relief in it. Regular grease guns put out pressures in the thousands of pounds and will blow out the seals on the rollers if pumped without pressure relief.

The looped hose from the filter housing is a standard adaptation. Originally those lines ran to an oil cooler up next to the radiator core. Oil coolers are unnecessary and were eliminated from late run tractors. As the coolers rotted and began to leak, the standard approach was to cap off the lines and remove the relief valve, or as yours has, install a loop of rubber oil line to carry the flow. Your repair is appropriate and should serve the life of the tractor.

Oil filter cartridges are available from Caterpillar or aftermarket suppliers. Open your canister and the cartridges should have their numbers printed on them. They are readily available and cheap. Spin on adaptations have been done, but probably aren't worth the trouble and expense to do them.

Hope this helps some,

Pete.

That helps a bunch. I admit to being pretty ignorant on spotting wear or other issues. If it does what I need it to, and can show respectably if I take it to a show someday, that is all I need. Who knows at some point I may find some less worn stuff and replace the really worn parts. As long as the tracks stay on and cause me no issues I should be alright, it won't have a rough life and I intend to take care of it.

Could my blade be a Dakota blade? What is the story on those? It is not a toolbar blade from looking around the forum and internet. No hinge system to swing the system behind the dozer.

No idea on the dozer manufacturer. Someone will probably come along eventually that has seen one like that.

With the tracks worn to that degree in height of the links, unless they are SALT type, the pins and bushings should be worn badly enough that the idlers are at the front of the track frames and adjuster maxed out. They are not, so most likely someone has cut out a link to return them to a length where they can be kept properly tensioned. Or could be SALT tracks that have a lot less internal wear. The sprockets look OK and the roller flanges haven't been hitting the pin bosses, so track rollers must not be worn too badly. I wonder that they could even have grease fittings. New rollers have been lubricated for life for a very long time now.

I am finding my start pinion seems to take a lot of force to engage - and yes with things lined up and the clutch disengaged and it seems like I have to hold it engaged. Is there an adjustment for this or something I need to investigate?

I ran it for a while today pushing together my burn pile, took out my first good sized tree with it. Did a nice job on that. I am a total amateur when it comes to running this machine but I seem to be getting better and better. I discovered the float function on the blade which is nice. Maybe someday I can refresh the running gear bit by bit.

Shot some video of it today as it cooled down. Runs like a top.

I found this for sale about 20 miles from where I bought mine. The interesting part is it has the exact same blade mine has. I am inquiring on who made it. He says Cat. So mine isn't a one off blade but maybe a local outfit was making this setup some years back. Who knows. The craigslist ad linked will likely drop dead in a week but I will pull a picture to save that part.

portland.craigslist.org/yam/hvo/5829996594.html

Yes thats a Dakota Blade setup.