Fixing Hydraulic Cylinders. Re-pack, Re-rod, CAT D3 Dozer.

The old dozer has a case of the drips! 3 hydraulic cylinders need attention, and I go through them in depth, including installing new hardened chrome rod. A few curveballs along the way, but in the end I think they are good as new, and probably won't need attention for many, many years.
VEVOR roller stand: s.vevor.com/bfQzZd
VEVOR chain wrench: s.vevor.com/bfQKkj
VEVOR oil drain pan: s.vevor.com/bfQKkA
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Video correction:
Audience commenters have pointed out that the ears on the blade are wider than the eye so that it has room to rotate, and of course you guys are right! I wasn't thinking that through. If there wasn't space for movement, then that rotational bushing would serve no purpose, and of course the blade wouldn't be able to twist like it is supposed to. So maybe that is the original blade after all.
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[@FarmCraft101]

Man I have done a lot of work on this old machine! But she's really shaping up nicely. Only 2 things remain. Welding the track grousers, which I will do at some point. And dealing with the engine and it's oil consumption. I need to look into that further, but it has a lot of blowby so I'm pretty sure the rings/cylinder bore are the problem, maybe just in 1 cylinder, maybe all of them. If it was the bore(s) I would have to remove the whole block and sleeve it, ie: big job. If it was just rings that would be better, but still might need to pull the engine. Not sure there's enough room to do it in frame. But the CAT 3204 engine isn't considered an awesome engine anyway, and the machine works like it is...so I'm just not sure it's worth all that work. I'm going to start using 30 weight oil in it and see if that helps the oil consumption. Ok, I'll quit rambling now. Have an awesome weekend folks!

[@strokermk3]

Would be interesting to see a leak down test on this engine. After this you would be sure where the problem is.

[@matthewerwin4677]

Engine swap? 12v cummins?

[@johnnysechrist6313]

Cylinder can be brazed easily and polished.

[@bendover6987]

Marvin Heemeyer spent less time on his dozer , let's hope your last longer

[@randommcranderson5155]

I think it would have been faster to build one from parts :P

[@sjv6598]

You just can’t criticise this guy for how hard he works and how unafraid he is to get into big jobs.

[@TheBibliofilus]

And doing them alone! That boom on the lift was a epic one man project and outside without a gantry crane!

[@brian_2040]

I agree, but I'll guarantee you he does his homework before he videos these projects.

[@sjv6598]

@@brian_2040 that goes without saying..

[@The_Real_Pope]

Can’t be many people who watch CEE channel and think to themselves “How hard can it be…?!” Fantastic work John 🙂

[@HappilyHomicidalHooligan]

LOVE that channel...

[@MD-jo9mh]

@@HappilyHomicidalHooligan Yeah Kurtis and Karen are an awesome team. Glad to see their influence on other influencers 🙂

[@brian_2040]

​@@MD-jo9mhdefinitely a great team. Both Kurtis and Karen will reply to the subs. Both are good hearted people.

[@smca7271]

I'd be doing it now,if rods were that cheap over here.

[@RobertFay]

*- Yup, agreed. You are exactly right: "How hard can it be?" [Hard]* *- The amazon seal crimping tool is such a great find for everyone.* *- (yt channel videos) Cutting Edge Engineering Australia - KZbin* *- youtube(DOT)com/c/CuttingEdgeEngineeringAustralia/videos*

[@kaecycorbin6399]

Someone's been watching some CEE videos! Love Curtis and his talent. LOVE watching a farmer like you take on any project and eventually win. Definitely inspiring, and always entertaining.

[@Saratogan]

Great minds think alike! I was thinking the same!

[@koen8973]

Jep. Im thinking the same. Love both channels.

[@Bediasman]

I too was rushing to the KeyBoard, but then seen others with the same mindset. Really enjoy both channels.

[@paulmanson253]

And for two other takes on how to tackle Caterpillar D series projects,there is Squatch253,just the most meticulous guy,and Pacific Northwest Hillbilly,a pragmatic kind of guy. Kurtis of CEE seems to be in a league of his own.

[@tutekohe1361]

*Kurtis.

[@dougdegraff5892]

You’ve turned out to be a hell of good Hydraulic Tech. So glad to see you finally figured out gravity is your friend when reassembling those cylinders.. lol.. standing that barrel up vertically and letting gravity assist in getting the piston and shaft back in is so much easier.. on long barrel length cylinders we would use a overhead crane to suspend the shaft and lower it into the barrel.. 27 year forklift mechanic..

[@bluef1sh926]

9:27 It may or may not be the original blade, but it's the correct blade for this machine. The mounting bracket is much wider than the eye of the cylinder so the swivel bushing in the eye can have much more travel. If the bracket was the same width as the eye then the whole thing would bind, and you wouldn't be able to tilt the blade.

[@garymurt9112]

I came here to say exactly this.

[@mattrahe309]

Yep

[@dan__________________]

Yup, just bought a new dozer and they are still this way. That spacer shouldn't be there.

[@TheGrimReaper1]

Snowball Engineering does a lot of fixing and mending with farm implements tractors etc. he seems to be a very competent and modest person.

[@pmdoit]

A couple of tips from a career heavy equipment mechanic. 1. Instead of using heat to loosen the gland nuts from the cylinder a few good hits with a 1lb sledge on the outer circumference of the gland nut will loosen the threads. I've rebuilt over 1000 cylinders in my day and never needed to use heat. 2. The vacuum on the pull tank has no effect because the lines go to the valve which is closed, not to the tank. As long as the pressure is relieved before disconnecting you should get very little oil. 3. The flat backup ring is used behind the o-ring to prevent it from being squeezed out under pressure. I enjoyed the lathe work portion of the video. Very nice job!

[@gbentley8176]

Excellence is your middle name, especially when it comes to the camera work. Fantastic to see a pry bar being given it's correct name as a CROW bar. English matters. Best from the UK!! Thank you for posting.

[@mikeburton7077]

For a man who says he's just a farmer l think you're a competent engineer ! Great video, thanks

[@brian_2040]

Mr John is a farmer, but what ever job he retired from definitely had some kind of engineering. Id love to hear his wife and his story, before YT channel.

[@MikeZMonroe]

@@brian_2040My exact opinion, but just my guess. He also has an extensive metallurgical acumen. Regardless he like all farmers use their knowledge and abilities to get the job done.

[@Vampier]

Since CEE Australia didn't upload this week I get to see Farmcraft101 do the same work as Curtis does :D

[@AllanHanscom]

John, I believe the ears on the blade are purposely wider then the eyelets on the rams to allow for the tilting of the blade, if they were closer the blade wouldn't tilt freely

[@HT-io1eg]

Perfect timing. I missed my engineering fix this morning as CEE didn’t put anything out, Kurtis is busy with paying work. So instead I get John’s baby cylinders being remade (no slur, just a little smaller than the CEE stuff)

[@tubeDude48]

John, I was an electronic design engineer for 35 years. But I found your channel one day about 5 months ago, and find it find to watch, and your attitude is great! 👍

[@ScrapDMX]

That's some real cutting edge engineering you're doing there ;)

[@anderswegge6828]

Sans a safety officer

[@jimpad5608]

​@@anderswegge6828 and without the very excellent video producer. Kurt's and Karen are a great team

[@HT-io1eg]

We love Homey 😁

[@pengovan]

You must admit that this dozer was the best investment for your youtube channel development 😀

[@watchtherocks12]

I'd argue it was the excavator ha ha

[@pengovan]

@@watchtherocks12 excavator is good but it seems to be less dramatic

[@kevinmetz4821]

Might be a good idea to put accordion style cylinder rod covers on those new shafts. Could help to keep those rods in good condition for a longer time. Seems like rocks would constantly be landing on them while pushing dirt. Great video, very informative.

[@MotoRestoFL]

Too late... lol

[@dan__________________]

Not necessary for 99% of use cases. If you use the machine correctly there is never any material touching the cylinder.

[@massimon9410]

I was thinking the same. The new rods would be a lot more protected.

[@David_in_Thailand]

You can tell I'm a big fan when I get excited to see a new video up and when I see the video is over one hour long I smile. You've really developed into quite the entertainer John.

[@DrFiero]

That ceramic insert is nuts!!! Totally going to grab a few. Hate digging through the hard candy shell to get to the chewy center.

[@wpattison]

Satisfying to see the new paint job - great video, as always!

[@MrDjpete1]

Hi john I use to do a lot of welding for a skip company and use to remake the roller wheels on the large skips. I made my own turner for welding none stop out of a windscreen wiper motor and an old flat belt. It worked great.

[@patricktansey4721]

I was thinking of a similar idea. It would be great if you had a speed control.

[@AJsWargaming]

Dozer project complete - well done! May she serve you well for years to come. Enjoyed the videos, thanks.

[@DconBlueZ]

Thanks for the video, always enjoy watching!

[@phrozenwun]

This video is like a mini up-over version of Curtis - good stuff, thanks for sharing.

[@john-nutsabouttools6989]

Beautiful rebuild! Nice explanation as you went along. Keep them coming...

[@JstocktheRCguy]

never laughed so hard in my life when that piston came flying out by the way great Channel John I really like your videos

[@davidmcduffie1398]

John, you did another great job ! Thank you for showing and explaining the processes you preformed ! I like learning something that I don't know, especially on mechanical, welding, fabricating, machining stuff, etc.

[@tracywagoner4907]

Pretty awesome. Really enjoy watching you fix up this equipment

[@pdmanfarm3520]

Extremely entertaining and informative - as always!

[@Mach34i]

Love your channel, love your engineering abilities. Just a great mechanic

[@kerry4951]

Another great video. I learn so much watching you dig into these projects....thanks much

[@tracybowling1156]

Great job, John! That took forever and it was great fun the whole time!

[@VDsnorkel]

Hi John nice job. I always enjoy you videos. I’ve learned a lot of good things. Thanks. Take care of your seals they are so cute.

[@fhwolthuis]

Great job, Jon! That yellow paint pops so nice, maybe do the whole machine? 😍😀

[@bobdufresne6294]

Love the lathe work. And by watching your videos I now know more about hydraulics than I ever thought I would!

[@Mr.frag-out]

Always good to watch and learn from you

[@Rorschach1024]

Instead of fighting with a come along or the chain wrench to get the gland out. Just use an enerpac pump connected to the retract port and let hydraulic pressure push it out. Then connect it to the extend port to push the piston out. You could use compressed air but if it came unstuck suddenly it might go flying, so best to use hydraulics.

[@Eli_Talarski]

Before watching your videos I never even heard of vevor. Now I see it around and think, that’ll be a tool worth while. Thanks Jon, keep up the good work.

[@MishterDale]

Another Friday, another Farmcraft and lathe work.. Hellyeah! Thank you for another video!

[@MarkChristopherpens]

Just stumbled across your channel tonight. Just binge watched all 7 of the videos on the D3. Loved them all.cant wait to go thru the rest of your videos! Cheers from Nova Scotia !

[@jcondon1]

Great work Jon. Those cylinders came out really well.

[@timvolkmer1121]

The damages in the rods speed up the process of wearing the seals. At school we had a forklift that had some damage in the lifting rod due to some brick laying teachers dropping bricks onto it. The seals could be changed once per year because of that. As always, very nice video, enjoyed to watch it

[@reallyjimreally8210]

Absolutely Amazing I'm always mesmerized watching your work!

[@thomasstrout1738]

Well done John. Thanks for a very nice video.

[@chrismedaris4873]

Man i love bow u find ways to get the job done and save money great video and awesome camera work love this❤

[@dom1328]

love your videos there nothing you cant fix keep up the great work.

[@fikrikip5552]

I watch you from Turkey, I don't miss any of your videos, your works are full of mastery and intelligence, I am your fan, I also love mechanical works, greetings, respect.

[@thekenneth3486]

Really impressive work, Jon. Just mind-boggling. Wow.

[@ronmurphy9819]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching you work. I’ve done some of that work on my tractors. I’m a glutton for punishment and keep getting on the old backhoes. You know how many cylinders those have. It may be work, but I loved every minute of it. Thanks for sharing your experience and please keep the videos coming.

[@rickmarr4744]

Great work on getting this done. Your content is fun to watch. If you had a company do this your $400.00 would balloon to thousands of dollars for this job.

[@Throck2010]

Hi John, great videos. Love your skills! Why didn't you use the vacuum while you undid the lines to stop losing hydraulic fluid? You did that in the video where you removed the blade cylinders.

[@guzziwheeler]

Since Curtis didn't post a video on Friday, it was lucky that you stepped in for him this week. John, that was a very entertaining video, thank you!

[@iveneverdonethisbefore8390]

Solid upload as usual. I mean this in the best way but glad your machines are continuing to have a few minor problems, giving you content to create and content for us to view. Still waiting for a cosmetic rebuild on the mini ex!

[@dwoods4303]

Hello great video. Fyi impact sockets work lot better than chrome. The more mass on socket the harder the force applied to bolt. Shallow impact better than shallow chrome and deep impact better than both. I worked for Honda and crank bolt if known issue for hard to loosen. I always used cheap deap impact socket extra thick wall. I never had issue loosing. Other techs in shop were using either chrome or short professional socket Snap on Matco or Mac having thinner walls ie. less mass . Well other techs thought it was impact gun .yes that helps lot but heavy socket works miracle. The cheap socket I used was used was borrowed all the time. Also years later now there's a special 19mm socket for that issue basically heavy socket. We even took another impact socket and added weld to sides and that works even better.

[@merlepatterson]

Nicely done John

[@magilla9792]

John, love your content. Your production skills are spot on from shooting, lighting, audio, editing. Keep up the great work.

[@leer-winnobbeefarms2131]

Jon, here's a TIP: Take an old chisel, like the one you used to loosen the gland nut, but cut the chisel tip off - leaving a blunt end. Put that up against stubborn stuff and it works great, they usually come right off. Works great on hydraulic hose fittings! Just replaced a hose on my Case 480C backhoe. The fittings turned like a knife through hot butter. Lee

[@JCWren]

Very impressive. I'd like to have the skills to do something like that. I've been on the hunt for a lathe for sometime, but everything is either too large or too expensive. And most of the good deals seem to be up around Ohio, Michigan, and places like that. On the roller stands, with a piece of PVC pipe thrown across them, you could also use them for outfeed rollers on a table saw. Not as light as a roller designed for that, but it'd work.

[@FarmCraft101]

Nice creative idea on the roller stands. Love it. Yeah, I looked for a lathe for a long time too. I really wanted to find an old one that was a real industrial quality machine, but they were hard to find, very far away, and often so worn that they needed major overhauling to be accurate. I obviously ended up buying the Grizzly, and really I have been very pleased. There's been a couple little quirks that I've fixed or worked around, but all in all, it has always done the job. And I can machine to the 0.001", even better if I'm careful and patient. Of course, the price of them has gone up a lot too. Dollars just don't go very far anymore...

[@PlatypusVomit]

I can confirm that a hobby lathe is just a cocktease. I've got a hobby lathe, and it's definitely useful for some things, but a lot of what I'd like to do is outside of its capabilities. Similar for my hobby milling machine.

[@TheGrimReaper1]

@@FarmCraft101 you are not wrong about dollars not going very far, its the same over here with the pounds. I remember when a dollar was worth five shillings.

[@joeystork57]

Jon another amazing job!! Stay safe out there!!

[@KennyHiggins-jo9sc]

You really have some amazing talents. I really look forward to your videos each week. Thank you.

[@tommunk300]

hey John, thanks for all your videos, they are always good to watch and becaurse you also shows the things that not always is the smartest to do, like using compressed air😂 But in order to save time, why don't choose a diameter size on the pin that fit your drill bit? there is no problem using the lathte to make the thread, just go easy in the start by hand. keep up the good work John greetings Tom

[@Pest789]

It's starting to look like a well maintained machine at this point.

[@johnh2309]

Thanks John, great video as always 😊

[@Frank-bh3cm]

Thanks for this video and tackling a CEE style repair in the home shop. Thanks for adding time stamps too.

[@findleybarber]

That drip could be the clap…

[@douglasthompson2740]

Might be a bit careful when using a hand tap to power tap. The hand tap is meant to be backed up quite often to break the chips before the next thread and because the channels are parallel to the cut they do not do like a drill bit and move them somewhat back out. Thus the power taps have spirals. Because it goes so fast and easily the tendency is to not clear the tap enough nor to break the chips enough which can lead to a very stuck tap. Not saying it doesn't work if you are careful and clear the flutes but it tempts fate. Also, one tends to not feed enough cutting fluid in when power tapping which a hand tap especially needs a lot of.

[@joec880]

When you do something............you do it right. I was taught the same way. If you are going to do it....do it right. You are a very good craftsman.

[@EricHaskins71]

Thx for the long format vids!!!! I dont have to go find something on the tv while waiting for the next 30 min episode. Been a fan for a long time and love your content.

[@Motoxr32]

I would like to think a shock / dust boot cover would work well to keep debris off the cylinder rods. Like on the old mid 80’s dirt bike front forks. 🤷🏻‍♂️🙂 Great work as always!

[@wayneswonderarium]

It's constantly in and out of dirt so much they'd just become dirt jackets. Same reason dozer fittings run dry instead of greased - dirt+grease = grinding paste

[@ionstorm66]

​Yep there isnt a lot of rotation going on the pins for a blade on a dozer compared to say the bucket pins on an excavator, so they work better dry.

[@williamhamill813]

Aways replace all the seals they are cheap.

[@johnsmart3587]

Love the camera work, Mr. Spielberg! Thanks.

[@user-yf1fe7ei7n]

Love this content, such great information ,John is such a great narrator as well

[@douglasknutsen]

Thanks John for another great video !

[@wrangler6977]

Great job, you have her almost new again.

[@piotrekpiotrek4387]

I'm really thankful for explaining several movies ago what is backup ring and how it supose to sit :)

[@lukejolley8354]

This is freaking amazing! My machinist grandfather would love this!

[@Whisky_Four-Three]

Great video John. Nice work. She’s lukin maddy purdy

[@jamesallen9366]

Impressive work John! Very entertaining!

[@Rickbearcat]

Happy New Year, John. I hope this is your best year yet.

[@InLineDiesel6]

I love the contents of your channel John, I've been watching you for a while and I've noticed how fast your subscriber count is incrementing. Way to go!

[@charlessoule8587]

Excellent job once again!

[@joeslade7603]

Enjoy watching your Channel just what you had more to put up online

[@lgregory7948]

Thank you for doing these videos! I have an old John Deere garden tractor which has leaky hydraulics. I never would've attempted rebuilding them myself, until your videos. Thanks again!

[@mwjii]

Nice job! Always enjoy your videos.

[@ZeeroGamingTV]

honestly your videos are the highlight of my week as far as youtube goes

[@Ottonic6]

How things/work can be so simple with the right tools... Very nice! And very therapeutic I might add.

[@duxnlabs]

Absolutely fantastic work, Jon. Thanks for sharing. Jay (from the OBX).

[@davidhorton4611]

I really enjoy the videos on this D3!

[@williamnoel5092]

A lot of hard work. Excellent video...

[@Netbug]

Wow, a relevant and useful sponsor. Crazy. I love seeing the work you're doing on this thing.

[@mastertech7104]

nice work John. As always stay safe.

[@Goalsplus]

Thanks. Going off the size of the hole your drill bit makes rather than the size of the drill bit is very clever. I have never heard of doing this before.

[@knoester7714]

Good job John at rebuilding the hydraulic cylinders on your Cat dozer

[@todddowney45]

NICE JOB . GLAD I WATCHED IT CAUSE I LEARNED A BIT ABOUT CYLINDERS AS I HAVE A SMALL TRACTOR AND THIS KNOWLEDGE CAN ASSIST ME BIG TIME AS I AM A BACKYARD MECHANIC WHO DOES MOST ALL MY OWN WORK ON CARS AND WHAT EVER I NEED TO REPAIR AROUND HOME . THANK YOU .

[@gregtheredneck1715]

More Dam Dozer fun, it's an early Christmas present 🎁 Thank you Jon!

[@davidr3431]

GREAT VIDEO!!!! It's refreshing to see someone just jump into a project without knowing for sure if it will turnout the way they want it to. We forget how important failure can be, the greatest teacher of all. John doesn't often have failure but I'd be willing to bet he's had his share. Thank you so much for the channel and content.🙂🙂🙂

[@Doug....]

First class job on the rams John. 👍👍👍

[@dave440316]

Absolutely enjoy all of your videos John, I grew up on the family farm so I can definitely relate to alot of the equipment repairs you do....And you are also the reason I bought a grizzly lathe an mill...

[@remog38]

Jon you never cease to amaze great video thanks

[@punkyhollow6115]

Always enjoy your informative videos Jon. You are a real Renaissance man! I sometimes wonder if I'm the only one you needs to take a nap after watching you work so hard.

[@ghimmy47]

It's a pleasure to see someone do anything in which they obviously care about their stuff, including appearance, unlike some guy who lives on a creek.

[@erik_dk842]

Into which some diesel was spilled