"westoz48a" wrote:

I'm not 100% sure of the history of my dozer but apparently it has the standard forestry reinforced canopy and was from the southwest of West Australia,so say it is an ex forestry machine and would have standard stump guards too,Billy does your D8 have the same style canopy,just thought it may have a simlar history when it was in WA.

The canopy is near on identical in style. Although im wondering if it was added to it later in life as front mountings look to be cut and shut.

Your canopy does look very simular to mine at the front Billy,just wonder if your cab was put on after your original canopy and the posts were cut and moved forward just looking at the pic.You have the nice looking D9H style cab,wish i could retrofit one to mine somehow.
I definitely should have removed the blade before i started working on the dozer DWC7,i think i am learning the hard way but will remove the blade next time,the previous owner said it was easy.I do also have a tilt cylinder so when removing the blade would i just join the tilt cylinder hoses together so i can still drive the dozer so fluid still circulates.
I managed to get the sump guard off today and went without a hitch,its definitely one heavy item and glad i bought the 2 extra trolley jacks.I had to winch it out the back,would have been easier out the front if the blade was'nt there.
It was actually good to see the oil pan and alot more room.I found a couple of patches which had been welded on and the weld has broken away on one.I will have to get the pan welded up again if i can't find a replacement one in good condition.
The next problem is getting to the rear bolts of the oil pan,there is probably about an inch and a half gap to get to the centre bolts.I am not keen on lifting the engine.Those who have done the removal,is there any special shifters or ring spanners you have used,i had a quick go this afternoon,one bolt was loose but the rest were tight and an open ender was starting to burr the bolt with no movement.Any help will be appreciated ,
cheers John.

Your question on the tilt cylinder,it only flows when you move the control. Only what fluid is in the lines will run out,unless the control has a leaking problem.



Depending how in the way the blade is,lift it and place planks or pipe under the front and pull it away with your truck.

Just cap them to keep fluid from draining out. Other than that don’t bump the lever and you should be fine unless valve is leaking like stated.

If you haven't drained the oil out of the pan yet, undo the bolts and lines and start it up and back away from it. Be sure you have wood blocks under the blade arms though but get that blade out of the way. If oil is drained out, the idea with pipes under the cutting edge and then pull it off is a good idea also but get that blade out of the way. catskinner

"westoz48a" wrote:

Thanks for everyones advice,i'm glad you let me know the oil pan can be taken off without removing the engine d9gdon,it will give me incentive to keep at it.I never even thought about using the tracks with a carry along or chain to hold the belly pan up.The dozer is out in the bush as well so like you said Andrew resources are limited.I am lucky though i have a gantry setup and will see how i go tomorrow with a block and tackle either side to hold the belly pan up and gradually lower it.As long as i get the guards off tomorrow and see what i'm up against and then the next task is finding a replacement oil pan.Removing the rear joining oil pan bolts worry me a bit but will see how i go.

Yes those bolts where the two oil pans join are tough. I have done it twice on a D8H. The hard bar is right there in the way....... I had to go to town and buy 3 or 4 different types of swivel head ratchets and use the best one that worked to get the middle few bolts, but it can be done. Both times I did this, the oil pump was gone in the cat and I obviously didn't want to start it, but if you can run your cat, I always thought about unpinning the hard bar and lifting the cat in the air with the dozer blade to get it away from the hard bar so you get more access to those oil pan bolts. I don't know..... Maybe a 7E is totally different than the 8H...... Good luck to you.

EDIT:
To get those bolts with the swivel head ratchet, on cat's right hand side, face the rear of the cat and reach up into there with your right hand. On the cat's left side, face the rear of the cat and reach up with your left hand. Like I said before I've taken that front oil pan off twice, and if I can do it, most should be able to. The ratchet of choice for me was a Jet 1/2" DR 270° Swivel Head Ratchet.

Thanks for everyones information on getting those tricky rear oil pan bolts off,i think i might try bending a ring spanner so it is the right angle and get it in between the sump and hard bar and see how i go whacking the spanner with a hammer to loosen the bolts.I haven't used a crows foot spanner before Neil but will give them a go if i have no luck trying other spanners.I will buy a Jet 1/2" DR 270° Swivel Head Ratchet too mlauck and see how i go with it,i think i will have to get one online though as they don't seem to have that brand in Australia.You sound like you have had a lot of experience with those bolts mlauck so i will take your recomendation of rachet and buy the same one as you did.
Yesterday i managed to get a replacement oil pan in good condition.I did try to locate one locally but no luck so i have found one in the US and just need to get it shipped over now. Does anyone know of a good shipping agent to ship from the USA to Australia.Maybe someone in Oz has used a company to ship parts that they could recommend.I have found one called Shipporter and will enquire more if no one knows of a good shipping agent.The oil pan is heavy and big so would be way too costly by air freight.
My dozer would be alot easier to work on without the blade and maybe think about taking it off before i drop the sump.I winched the stump guard out the back to get it out the way but would have been way easier out the front.With the tilt cylinder hoses,maybe i could use the same push on hydraulic fittings as my tractor has just to make for easier removal of the blade and no loss of fluid.

A couple pictures of D7E dam sinking at esperance. Similar canopy style.

Thanks for showing me the pics Billy,the canopy is almost identical,mine had the overhead winch setup for the tree pusher too but was cut off by a previous owner at some stage of its life.Also just realised after looking at your pics,my roof side beams originally went all the way along the side of the dozer but it has been modified to accomodate the larger than normal hydraulic rams.
I have been looking for old photos of 60's,70's,80's farm dam sinking in Australia but cannot find any pics at all on the internet,so its good to see a couple you showed me especially with a D7e the same as mine.I guess pics just were'nt quite as easy to take the same as nowdays with the mobile phone
Before i found problems with my leaking oil pan,i spent a week refurbishing the canopy.I went through and grinded any rust off and coated it up so it looks a bit better now and should last a few more years.