and full metal ends i had some very nice ngk ends that wouldnt work at all.

I will back Neil up, I have started a D6 with 4x4 pickup truck. But if it has sat unmoved for years, and the fuel needs to be primed the pony is much easier than dragging all over. I would jack the blade up and chain it rather trying the winch as you tow it.

Ask if the repare place has anyone with pony motor experience. You don't real want a new graduate of teak school looking for the computer plug in.

CHEATING ---
I know of at least one family that used a briggs & Stratton mounted on a board and connected to the flywheel of the starting engine (aka - Pony ENGINE) when the starting engine was too worn out to produce the needed power.
Always an option available - when there is need, there is a way!

Technicians -
Ray has a very important point --- few today understand High Tension Magneto or any of the rest of the components of these "antiques".
Please, do not forget, the cooling system for the Starting Engine relies upon the main engine water pump and cooling system. Those were not designed to run for extended periods of time. The less one has run the starting engine, the longer its life will be.

Those 4R, and U series D6's were pure pleasure to operate - great ride, smooth engine and the "johnson bar" was so much nicer when having to go from F to R often
Enjoy the machine!

One thing I see often re: pushing trees --- do not push trees with crotches (forked trunks-limbs) without cutting them first. I know of one neighbor that failed to do so, the tree rolled, caught and came over the TD9 - pinned him in the seat, breaking his back and jaw. He was fortunate to have survived! Yes - no roll over protection or cage in those days - and even today we see video after video of the same circumstances.

BE SAFE PLEASE

Happy Holidays
CTS

Hi Niel, thank you for the suggestion, I hadn't thought about pull starting the dozer! It's unlikely that the service truck will be heavy enough though. Here in Australia they tend to be light trucks at best so about half the weight of the dozer and the only clear space is behind the machine and up hill.  Still, might be able to drag it around using the tree spear...

Thank you for the tip about the spark plug wires. It's been sitting about 10 years now, so wouldn't hurt to check the points.

Trainzkid88 - thank you, metal ends on the list as well.

Ray54 - well that's interesting to know they can be started that easily. Given that it's been sitting 10 years I agree that the pony motor would be the best option. It would also make it much easier to get started again if I stall it in an inconvenient place and when getting it off the truck at the other end. Just wish I had my grader available. That would have the weight and power to start it for sure... Thank you that's good advice on finding a technician with pony motor experience.  I'll have a proper discussion with the company about it and see who they have.

Ctsnowfighter - I... that... that's ridiculous. But ok. I can see how that could work. It's like the most horrible cludge *ever* putting a pony motor on the pony motor, but ok - as you say, whatever works!
I was looking at the D6 service manual in the library and specifically saw the instructions servicing the magneto - I'll be sure to download a copy for the service tech. Thank you for the warning about not over running the pony motor. And thank you for the warning about trees with crotches, I'll keep that in mind if I ever get to do any clearing with the machine. I'm also thinking that I'll probably build a new ROPS for it in due course if it works out - safety first.

Langdon, I don't know where you are, maybe WA or QLD, you could be close to ACMOC members who might be able to help you. For me I would not waste my time with mechanics etc, find someone with another tractor/crawler and truck, just drag and load it, get it home where you can play with it a leisure, by the time the mechanic makes numerous trips to the machine, it will cost you a fortune. Maybe there is a big enough tractor nearby to drag it out and get it loaded.

Wombat.

as cts has said it works. and i have done mind you it was with a 2hp electric motor a vee belt and pry bar to give some tension. you need a helper to turn the power on and off.
its also how dave and merv started our d46u when we had her in their workshop.

if there is another crawler near by or a large tractor get it in nuetral and drag it to the truck if you cant get the truck to it.
the best way to shift em is a tilt tray winch em on chain it down and drive away most proper low loaders have winches too. but if you have access to a decent tractor and a stiff bar you can push them onto a low loader. and provided the turning brakes and clutches arent siezed they still work on these older d6 machines.

one way to tell which way a tree naturally wants to go is to look for the heel spur at the stump by that i mean the main root that is biggest as generally that is the weighted side and that root is holding up the tree. wind will change all of that and the tree can still turn in mid air as the weight shifts.

the best way to push trees is with a excavator with ripper tine you rip around the tree first then you push it the excavator allows you to get a higher leverage point. bonus they are more manoeuvrable than a dozer and if they have a grab you can make nice neat windrow heaps of the tree waste, stack the logs and clean up of the resulting hole is easy

Hi Wombat, I'm in NSW near Goulburn. The machine is up near Mudgee. I don't know of any ACMOC members up this way and I'm reluctant to impose on people.

The problem with retrieving the D6 is two fold - firstly it's at the end of a kilometre long track that is in bad condition. Can't get a truck up there to carry it out and I really wouldn't like to try to drag it down that track with a tractor or dozer. Parts are steep and badly currently.

I think with a bit of planning and preparation it might be possible to get it running with one or two visits. I'm waiting for a call back from a local business who do maintenance for farmers and the mines in the area. I believe that they have a mechanic with experience on old machinery, so I'll talk to them and see what they say. I don't mind investing a thousand or two in getting it running. It's a four hour drive each way for me, so each visit costs me the best part of two days. My time is worth more than the mechanic so it will likely be a cheaper solution when you add it all up.

The other issue is that the deal is I fix the road for the owner in exchange for the machine. So ideally I get it running, repair the road on the way out then truck it back to Goulburn.

If there is anything majorly wrong with the machine then I'd have to make a decision on whether it's worth pursuing it or not.

Trainzkid88 - I'm definitely keeping the "pony-pony motor" option in mind! No electricity on site unfortunately so it would have to be a stationary petrol motor of some sort.

Yes a heavy lift tilt tray would be ideal. It's a long dirt road just to get to the front gate of the property and a rigid truck would be easier to turn an maneuver than a semi.