D2 starter pinion not engaging

Why not load it with a winch or heavy comalong and fix it at home?...WA7OPY

Why not pull start the D2 with another vehicle?

Just my 2 cents.....

If it is truly in good shape, pulling it about 20 feet will get it started!
We push start an old Trackson every year that way!
If you fix where it is you need to unbolt the Pony to lift it so the gears will clear to get the Pinion out.
SEARCH Neil for his Thread as he has done this before and knows all the tricks.

If you have some room to run, PUSH it off so the main clutch difficulties don't result in a disaster and drive it around to break loose and polish the clutch up before loading, Be aware that the steering clutches are prone to stick (and worse) on D2s, so you might have no steering and no main clutch either! If I was going to do it i think I would push it off in high gear and have it chained securely to the pushing tractor so it has some load as well as some steering and emergency braking if needed.

If you aren't up for that kind of excitement, or there isn't room to do it safely, winch it on the trailer. I have loaded a dead D6 and a 212 grader before and while it isn't fun, you can do it if you have enough tackle! If you can get it loaded safely, you can work on the pony pinion at home on the trailer. Might be a good excuse to buy a nice hand winch that you will find plenty of uses for later. You can winch or jack up the dozer blade if it has one and chain it up quite easily with a chain around the cylinder mounts on each side.

Oh, part of your membership requirements is that you take pictures of the recovery and post them here! Just kidding, but we really appreciate going along for the trip so to speak!

Taking all the information ccjersy has given into consideration,it dose not take as much to pull start a Cat as most think.When you have to you try things and I have started a 9u D6 with a 4x4 pickup once. It was down hill a bit on hard dirt,but tractor would not coast on its own.

Many thanks everyone. I will probably pull start it to load. haven't gotten the master clutch to cam over yet, but i will. What is the likelihood it will engage and then not want to release? Question for you ccjersey. If the steering clutch levers feel ok when not running, can they still not release? Could be an interesting ride! If all the clutches stick, hopefully the throttle shut down works. Not very handy at navigating this website yet, but sure enjoy reading all the comments.
Thanks again.

If the main clutch was disengaged and the difficulty is getting it to snap in as you pull the lever back, I would say you are going to be ok, just spray all the pivots and linkages with penetrating oil and fill the oil cups with oil to lube the bearings and keep working it. You might have to back off the adjustment if the linings have swelled.

The steering clutches may be ok though no guarantees. Lots of them stick, rust and swell so there is excessive free travel in the levers. Normal would be about 3" measured at the bottom of the grip but they could have been running with more or less when it was parked.