Should I buy it?

[bradleydavidgood]

Hi,

I looked at this yesterday. I need something for a few months to level my sloped yard and create tiers. The yard is mostly shale and not much dirt.

The dozer has sat for two years. being told by trusted person that it worked fine before that.

Hydraulic fluid on dipstick looked clean new and full. Engine oil looked fine too. Rust looks surface only and nothing serious. Tracks look good.

Guy was talking $3,000.

I told him I need it running and everything working and he is getting his nephew mechanic to do that.

Here is the list I made:

Radiator leaking?
4 hyd hoses replaced
Fuel tank and injection pump cleaned
New v belt
Battery

Thanks!

 

[matthies]

Bad sign, the last guy almost lost his A$$ with that seat and you are next. LOL

 

[bradleydavidgood]

Bad sign, the last guy almost lost his A$$ with that seat and you are next. LOL

Ha!

First thing I thought of was that I get to buy a nice new seat with a nice back on it.

 

[used red MN]

The dozer has sat for two years. being told by trusted person that it worked fine before that.

Have you seen proof that the engine isn’t locked? Even though it has a rain cap IHs are known to let water leak down past the pipe threads where the exhaust pipe screws in the manifold. You likely know the result of such a thing.

 

[bradleydavidgood]

No, did you see what I wrote above, it's not running and I told him to get it running.

 

[47fivewindow]

My wallet got lighter just looking at the pictures.

 

[ss55]

No, did you see what I wrote above, it's not running and I told him to get it running.

Will the price double when/if he gets it running?

 

[used red MN]

No, did you see what I wrote above, it's not running and I told him to get it running.

I saw what you wrote, if you mean a trusted person said it operated properly 2 years ago. And maybe he could have told you that I checked the engine and it is still free. Setting outside if every moderate rain event runs lets a 1/4 cup or less into one cylinder it doesn’t take long to lock up an engine.
Probably not the most confusing in this thread at the moment but if you click the “reply” in whoever’s reply you want to address they will be quoted and then it will be for certain who you are addressing.

 

[560Dennis]

Rent a bob cat skid Steer .

 

[m16ty]

Just keep in mind, dozers can be a money pit.

Not saying don't buy it, but just know you are one major breakdown away from being big paperweight.

 

[Mrfred54]

Your choice, but I like to see old iron come back to life. If he gets it running, might be a good buy but the 166 diesel is very hard to find parts for, especially the fuel system. Hopefully the steering clutches are not froze up from sitting. It does have a good rear light

 

[bradleydavidgood]

Will the price double when/if he gets it running?

Not what I pay him, but I think if it runs and doesn't smoke, and all the levers do what they should, and I clean up the rust and paint it and anything else it needs, it will be worth 6-8k in my estimation, but I could be wrong.

 

[bradleydavidgood]

Your choice, but I like to see old iron come back to life. If he gets it running, might be a good buy but the 166 diesel is very hard to find parts for, especially the fuel system. Hopefully the steering clutches are not froze up from sitting. It does have a good rear light

Thanks for the info. Do you know more about "very hard to find parts for"?

Does that mean they can be found? And new or you have to find a donor/used?

Also, Can the fuel system be replaced with something else modified to fit? I am a good mechanic and can modify things. Seems like you just have to pump diesel into the thing at a certain rate right?

Thanks!

 

[bradleydavidgood]

Just keep in mind, dozers can be a money pit.

Not saying don't buy it, but just know you are one major breakdown away from being big paperweight.

OK yes, that's why I'm asking and took pictures of the major components. Seems to me like the tracks are good and if the hydraulics work and don't leak it would last a while. Are there specifics I can examine before making the decision? What usually breaks and costs a lot of money or can't be fixed? I am decent at mechanics and modifications and could do retrofits.

And it would be fun for me and I'd document it on my youtube channel for others to find and keep these old classics alive if possible.

And even if I could run it for a few months and move some dirt and clean it up and have some fun it seems like that would be worth the 3k right there compared to a rental since we want it hear all the time so that I can just take an hour or 3 hours to do some work when I have time in between other stuff, which is how it is for me.

 

[Mrfred54]

Thanks for the info. Do you know more about "very hard to find parts for"?

Does that mean they can be found? And new or you have to find a donor/used?

Also, Can the fuel system be replaced with something else modified to fit? I am a good mechanic and can modify things. Seems like you just have to pump diesel into the thing at a certain rate right?

Thanks!

166 diesel is kind of a rare bird. Not that many produced which makes parts hard to come by.

 

[CraigWis]

Crawlers can be a Money Pit. Check the Track Pins see how much ware they have. Check rear drive socket is it nice and round or is it Egg shaped
Make sure it runs good, Steering Brakes work good, No noises in Transmission. Around here I wouldn't pay more the $6500 for it if it ALL CHECKS OUT GOOD. It is a 63-65 year old Dozer

 

[the tractior vet]

Hi,

I looked at this yesterday. I need something for a few months to level my sloped yard and create tiers. The yard is mostly shale and not much dirt.

The dozer has sat for two years. being told by trusted person that it worked fine before that.
View attachment 153470View attachment 153471View attachment 153472View attachment 153473
Hydraulic fluid on dipstick looked clean new and full. Engine oil looked fine too. Rust looks surface only and nothing serious. Tracks look good.

Guy was talking $3,000.

I told him I need it running and everything working and he is getting his nephew mechanic to do that.

Here is the list I made:

Radiator leaking?
4 hyd hoses replaced
Fuel tank and injection pump cleaned
New v belt
Battery

Thanks!View attachment 153469

Well i mitght as well throw in my .25 cents worth here . Neat find . Went new and yes i remember them new and ran a couple they amounted to a glorified garden tractor on tracks . Fine for small grading jobs , but due to the low numbers made parts will be hard to find . Most of the drive line is from a 340 tractor till ya get to the steering end . from what i see the under carriage is getting a bit short in tooth as not much left in track adjustment . Maybe turning the pins and bushings will give you a shade more life but that is NOT a DIY thing . From what i can see that one has the forward and rev shuttle . They have manual track adjuster SCREWS and 99% of the time they are froze solid . One has never learned ne words faster then when ya throw a track on a hill side or in the MUD and find out that the track adjuster screw is froze up . The one thing one needs when owning a tract type tractor is a bottomless check book and bank account / The I H 340's fell right in along with the 310 Case , J D 430's and 1010's . IMHO the first ones the seat sat way to low then the next round the seat sat to high almost in nose bleed country. . Then ya got to learn that hey these things can get stuck then the fun comes getting them unstuck and this comes from experience . back in the early 70's i had a new 310 G Case a far cry from what i normally ran as it was like running a ANT compared to the D 9 G Cat . I was building a lake for a guy when we found quick sand `just under the couple inches of firm clay and the nose went DOWN big time , there was no backing out and she was slowly sinking . out of desperation i took two log chains and tied it to a tree off the draw bar and went hunting help . My buddy and i took out 2 Farmall 450 D's over a chain saw a ten ton chain hoist and every chain we had and could borrow . What we lacked was snatch blocks and cable . We put every OZ of pull we could between the 2 450's and the ten ton chain hoist . when i went for HELP the nose was in up to the bottom of the rad. , when we got back the nose was now in to the edge of the hood . We need more help no way to get a big wrecker in but we got another friend and he brought some 5/8th cable and he was not wrapped to tight and came up with the idea that if we took the cable and got it up in that BIG oak tree and hooked to the dozer then cut the tree down it would pop the cork . Yep that worked as it did pop the cork and a wonder none of us got killed .

 

[the tractior vet]

Hi,

I looked at this yesterday. I need something for a few months to level my sloped yard and create tiers. The yard is mostly shale and not much dirt.

The dozer has sat for two years. being told by trusted person that it worked fine before that.
View attachment 153470View attachment 153471View attachment 153472View attachment 153473
Hydraulic fluid on dipstick looked clean new and full. Engine oil looked fine too. Rust looks surface only and nothing serious. Tracks look good.

Guy was talking $3,000.

I told him I need it running and everything working and he is getting his nephew mechanic to do that.

Here is the list I made:

Radiator leaking?
4 hyd hoses replaced
Fuel tank and injection pump cleaned
New v belt
Battery

Thanks!View attachment 153469

 

[the tractior vet]

Hi,

I looked at this yesterday. I need something for a few months to level my sloped yard and create tiers. The yard is mostly shale and not much dirt.

The dozer has sat for two years. being told by trusted person that it worked fine before that.
View attachment 153470View attachment 153471View attachment 153472View attachment 153473
Hydraulic fluid on dipstick looked clean new and full. Engine oil looked fine too. Rust looks surface only and nothing serious. Tracks look good.

Guy was talking $3,000.

I told him I need it running and everything working and he is getting his nephew mechanic to do that.

Here is the list I made:

Radiator leaking?
4 hyd hoses replaced
Fuel tank and injection pump cleaned
New v belt
Battery

Thanks!View attachment 153469

Let put it this way , ya want to flatten your yard and terrace it and ya have shale . Then that is NOT the tonka toy ya want for the yard work . I have no idea on the asking price of said machine . BUT i can tell ya this you would be far ahead of the game to do one of two things , (1) hire it done and be done with it or (2) go rent a rental for two weeks or even a month something in the 15-20000 lb class with a Ripper , YEa it will be around five grand for a month . By the time your done with the old NEAT tonka toy you will end up deeper in and three truck loads of stress . Back maybe fifteen years ago one of my customers came to me and wanted me to look at a project he was going to do that that was build a new composting cattle barn for a 150 head . Years back before i helped him out when his silo fell over at the start of corn silage and he rented a Small tonka toy dozer to build a hurry up trench bunker . I built that 40x150 x 8 trench bunker in 4 and a1/2 hours . He had a half day's rental . This project was going to take a while longer . He got quotes from 15 grand to 29 grand for the dirt work. he asked me if i could do it and what did we need . So i looked at it walked it off set up a transit took some shots and told Vernon rent and 850 Deere if ya can if not find a 750 and we can do it in four days . He rented a 750 for a week , first day we lost a half day due to the machine not being serviced and fuel fliters plugged up . So we had four and half days in the job ]. Job done , machine goes back and only out a weeks rental and two fuel filters . For compaction we used his home made dump wagon filled with dirt and his 2255 Oliver . New machines are easier to run . For what you want to do a 650 Deere or 850 Case will do with a 6 way blade and since ya have shale a ripper . Make two to four passes with the ripper then grade to suit .

 

[wwoodrow]

Thats a great experience. Ive been in some binds, but cannot match that one !