1969 D7E Dozer Accelerator pedal

Hi, Brett1.
You will probably find that the issue is in the mechanism inside the tower on top of the governor at the front right of the engine. I have not seen insdie there but there is apparently something that had a habit of coming loose in there on the D7E's and D8H's and leaving you with exactly the symptoms that you describe.

Hope it is a 'cheapie' fix.

Just my 0.02.

Thank You Deas Plant. That is what I kinda was thinking that's exactly where I traced the linkage to. looks like I will find out and maybe get some more advise.

This is such a good site, thanks again.

Check you oil pressure, there is a stop in the governor that holds rpm to minimum if oil pressure drops off.

Hi Team,
as OM suggests the oil pressure can be low and the plunger does not retract when oil pressure is applied.
The oil pressure activated rack limiter sometimes needs the Gov. control lever tension removed from it to allow the rack limiter to retract after oil pressure rises. If you try and start these engines equipped with the limiter the plunger before oil pressure is up it can be held by the Gov. control.
Sometimes oil pressure will not retract it with the lever tension applied--simply slightly move the Gov. control towards Low Idle and then back towards High Idle.
Usually happens due to worn limiter plunger--to change, from memory, the Gov. housing needs to be removed as the big thin plug it is under is between the housing and the mains Cyl. block.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Eddie B.

Old Magnet & Edb Thank you for the information that gives me a lot better feeling, I gave the Dozer about a 5 hour work out clearing trees when this happened. I did not check the oil as I should have. I went back the next day and just reviewed the linkage. This Dozer seems to be in great shape so I need to pay better attention while operating it! again thank you!!

Hello Brett1 and welcome aboard. Your high horsepower D7E is a Caterpillar classic that is rugged and dependable. The D7E was designed to take a great deal of neglect and even abuse. That being said, the tractor can only absorb so much before a mechanical failure occurs. These failures can be catastrophic and the cost of repairs can exceed the value of the machine.
I would strongly recommend that you buy a Operation an Maintenance Instructions booklet that can be found on ebay or from other sources. A Service Manual and a Parts Book would also be great help to you. Remember; What you don't know CAN hurt you!
The most common failure for the novice operator is a starting engine failure caused by not changing the starting engine oil often enough or by failing to keep the oil full. Not allowing the starting engine to warm-up properly before engaging the main engine also leads to premature failure.
I offer this advice in the hope that you will have the best service possible from your tractor.👍
Good Luck,
Craig

Seiscat, thank you for that and that saying " What you don't know CAN hurt you!" what a jolt of realization. I am in the process of collecting Manuals and any other info I can collect. I did find out that the starting motor needs lots of care for sure and it does use oil!!! I was also told in previous posts to make sure and use up the gas in the carburetor after starting the Diesel. It will be a week before I get back on the mountain- to Hopefully, after checking "ALL" fluids to once again put it to work in the mean time I plan on Educating myself on this Machine as much as possible. again thank you. Any advice I can get I will take!!

Brett

Hi Brett. What serial # is this machine? I agree, sounds like governor speed limiter. It is not accessible without removing governor as it is beneath linkage arm on the engine side of governor. My question is when it is operating properly, is the range of motion on the hand throttle larger than when the problem occurs? This would be in line with the speed limiter theory.

The pedal that is floppy and can be moved by hand is a decelerator. When the main engine is at idle, this pedal should be floppy with no spring resistance since there is nothing to decelerate. When you pull the hand throttle back the decelerator pedal should jump up and cease to be floppy.

I would take the side off the governor and get a helper to work the throttle while you shine a light in there and study the layout. Also be plenty careful of the ratcheting bezel that makes the throttle stay where you set it, for with the side cover removed it can fall out. All this should be done with engine off.

The decelerator is the tower on the top front of governor. This wouldn't be my first suspect but it has a linkage between it and the engine block that controls the deceleration via the aforementioned foot pedal. I cannot envision how this could cause your problem but it is worth checking that the linkage is not binding anywhere.

I have been rebuilding an early 47A so a lot of this is fresh on my mind. Good luck!

CAB thanks for the Reply I do not have the Serial # handy I know I should also I am finding out for the proper Manuals I will have it middle of next week when I return to the Machine I work it a couple of hundred miles north of where I live.

And I do believe the range of the hand throttle is greater then how it is now and the reason being is that when I have it running and pull the hand throttle as far back as it can go the RPMS only increase by a few hundred just enough to run the hydraulics not move the machine and the "Decelerator" (thank you) is still without resistance and I do remember when looking at the linkage I followed both the foot pedal and the hand lever the hand one came from the right side of the engine sitting in it and the foot pedal from the left then rapped around the engine to the right side into the tower or looked like it did the hand lever was beside the pedal lever as it then went down and no I did not have a light at the time to see exactly where it went what you described is exactly it.

when I do move the hand lever I hear a bit of Ratcheting or squeaking

I wish I was more observant of how far back the hand lever went before this happened I only have a few hours on the machine so sorry for that!

any more info would surly be appreciated / sounds like this may be a project and to make things more difficult to get to the dozer from my place is a 45 min drive on a steep mountain rd.

Brett