So, I have updates...

I learned from the owner that one of the reasons it was parked is because it seemed to have stop turning to the left. From your experiences, what would be the main cause of this?

it might just be out of adjustment. or it could be worn badly in the steering brake steering clutches on that side. remember you have to stand on the brake and pull the steering clutch to get it to turn. later model machines had a combination pedal the did clutch and brake together

Alright everyone, this is the week I go to try to rescue the D7. I have a rebuilt mag, carb kit, tools, shop and owners manual, and a ton of fluids/lubricants/cleaners. Is there anything else you all can think of that I may need OR any final words of advice?

GOOD LUCK !!! Hope you get it fired up and get it home soon. JM

Well everyone, we gave it a good try, but no luck in getting the old girl started. The pony motor was free, but the old guy had cobbled together a homemade electric starting system that fell apart and we didn’t have any way of welding it back together. We hoped to use the crank handle as a backup but he had cut off the rod.

Worst of all the big motor was locked solid. I bent a 4 foot crowbar trying to get it to turn.

Now I’m wondering if it would be worth bringing in a heavy wrecker to drag it out of the woods and try to get it on a lowboy or just pass on it. It is a 6 hr round trip to work on it and I have limited vacation time.

What would or have you all done in your recoveries?

I hate to see old iron go to scrap but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, there is a limit to how much time, money, and energy for projects most of us has. So haul it home or walk away. Once old crawlers are out of the dirt they tend to sink into it take less weight in a tow vehicle than most think to roll them on flat ground. But loading on a tilt bed trailer takes a lot more. So good luck what ever you do.

I will second Ray's comments, I don't like to see these things get scrapped, but if you don't have resources available to you for use, it can become expensive. These machines are heavy, they do roll easily on flat ground once moving, but uphill and turning can take some pulling effort. If you have heavy equipment available to use, that may not be an issue for you.

Biged,
Did you get to take any pictures of the machine while you were there? Or make any assessment of the general condition of undercarriage etc? That could be a deciding factor on what to do next.

D8Dude wrote:

Biged,
Did you get to take any pictures of the machine while you were there? Or make any assessment of the general condition of undercarriage etc? That could be a deciding factor on what to do next.


Hey D8Dude...

Below are some pictures we took during the action. There is no direct picture of the undercarriage, but my buddy, who frequently works on heavy equipment, said it was surprisingly good.

Thanks for the pictures.

It does look like it's been sitting there for quite some time, I would think that will require some pulling power to break it loose from where it's sitting, if not moving under its own power. It's hard to tell much from the limited pictures, but it's not the worst looking machine. Again, it depends what your resources are, and how much of a project you are prepared to take on.