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Guys: I was travelling the southern part of NYS today doing my field engineering work.  I went past a old construction firm, sitting next to the road was what appeared to be a Cletrac HG that had some sort of drill apparatus mounted to it. 

Anyone know about these, appeared to be an old time rock drill of sorts.   Did these travel under their own power or were they dragged into the spot where they were put to work.

It was an interesting old piece of iron. 

Any thoughts on who made these units would be appreciated.   Sorry I was unable to snap a pic. 

Thank-you ...Orangeman

Wish all you good Cletrac Guys a wonderful 4th of July holiday.  

My little HG still sits in the garage waiting its turn to be restored.  Broken bolts in the frame to transmission mount.... so am thinking it would be better to change out the tranny.  Any good ideas on how to remove those broken studs where the main frame couples to the front of the transmission?

Any comments appreciated.  

Thank-you...Orangeman

Hi Guys:  I stumbled upon a BD this morning that is whole and complete machine.  I talked with the owner who wants scrap price for the machine.  Has a blade on front and pto on back.  Would appreciate your advisement on the following:

1.  Where should I be looking for the serial number on this machine.

2.  Are there vendors that still provide parts for the diesel engine in the event that I need to go through the block.

3. On the steering clutches - do they run in oil or are they dry?  Are the steering clutch plates still available. 

4. Walter what does the SH stand for on a BDSH?

There appears to be an A sitting next to it that has a nice 4 cyl. hercules in it. I thought all the A's has six cylinder engines.

Hope you guys are staying cool.  Thanks for any input.  Orangeman   

Hi guys: Orangeman here - I am mulling over an OC-9 project - the engine exhaust has been left open to weather so am guessing it is seized. 

I would like to acquire the machine and put another DD198 in it.  In my travels looking over machinery I am thinking that I saw the Hercules 198 in some military generators and portable compressors -worthington or joy???

Can any of you guys list the specific names of equipment that the Herc 198 came in.  I am thinking that pulling a good running engine from another application would be the best way to proceed. 

All thoughts and comments appreciated. 

Enjoy your summer!  Orangeman

Guys: I finally got around to tidying up the shifter on my HG, after I pulled the snap ring and removed the shifter I noticed the bottom of the shifter had a slight bend to it.  Is the shifter supposed to have a bend in it or is it supposed to be straight?

The Oliver HG Cletrac book is silent on this issue.   Maybe this unit had some rough treatment earlier in its life, not sure though because this is the first one I removed.  

Anyone moving snow with thier HG's and OC'3/4 and 46's?  

Hope spring comes soon!

I was looking at the wonderful factory photos that Blake has posted and was wondering about the Engineering and Design shop of Cletrac.  

What size was the engineering Department?  When was the last day in 1944, that the Cletrac Plant operated under the direction of purely Cletrac Engineers/Designers?

Besides Blakes Gramps, does anyone know the names of anyone who worked in Cletrac/Oliver Crawler Engineering Department.

It would be good to interview them and record their stories before too much time goes by.  But sadly, that may have already happened.  

Blake/Landis or others can you shine a light on some of the questions noted above please.  Thanks! Orangeman  

["gaskets".]

Hi Folks:

I removed my oil pan from the HG IXK block, welded a few cracks, sandblasted and now new Orange Paint.

Question for the HG experts, on Page 10 of the Service manual under Oil Pan and Screen, the last paragraph states " Examine Gaskets and, if damaged replace before reinstalling pan".

My question is.....Was there two gaskets for the oil pan??  Say one for the top of the pan where it bolts to the block and one for the back of the pan, where it bolts to the bell housing.  I ask this question because the illustration on Page 10 of the Service Manaul does not list a gasket, yet the narrative makes reference to "gaskets".  

Second, on Page 11 of the HG Parts book  part no 113 075 refers to gasket in the singular term.  

I am thinking there should be two oil pan gaskets, one for the top of the pan where it bolts to the block and one between the back of the oil pan and the bell housing.  

If this is the case, both manuals should be amended to reflect the need for both gaskets.    Can you fella's provide your advice on this.  Thanks...Orangeman  

Has anyone on this forum experimented with running an IXA or IXK on propane?  I think it would definately work.  

Would the pistons need to be changed to burn propane?

I was thinking of mounting a big tank on the right side, kinda like the old Caterpillar butane burner of years ago.  

Sure would appreciate your thoughts on this subject. Many thanks... Orangeman  

Yep you guessed it, I broke 3 of the 4  3/4 fine thread cap screws that hold the trunnion in place to the frame.

What process would you use to remove them?  There is no meat on the remainder of the shank to weld a nut onto.  

I am thinking of drilling through the center first, then using a fine tip nozzle for my blue axe torch to heat, then quenching with cold water, then try easy out or left handed bit.

This has really set me back a bit and has presented a small hurdle on the way to its restoration.  Thoughts and comments are very much appreciated. Thanks Orangeman

Were any of these machines equipped with a rear ripper from the factory?

I have some dirt piles with moderate size stone 6 - 12" in size that I want to remove the stone from.

If they were equipped with a rear ripper, who made the unit and hydraulics for it?

Hope your summer is going well.  

[heavy duty radiator core]

Get a replacement heavy duty radiator core for my Cletrac HG Radiator.

I won't be able to park it on the front yard and have the Victoria Secret and Girls Next Door Models stop by and chat with me if it is puking antifreeze.  

Any advice on vendors would be great.

Thanks ....  Orangeman.

Hi Guys: Well, am cruising along with the restoration on the Cletrac HG.  I have been contemplating its use for some time now and am excited to bring it back to life and run it for the first time.  

One thing that I will be needing is a bottom rock guard or belly pan. I have seen them referred to as a sod pan.  

Since I had to do some brazing on the oil pan, (it had taken some hits/bashing) under its prior ownership, I would like to install a nice stout rock guard to protect it.  The machine will be working in the woodlot, pulling out cut up fire wood.  Another assignment it will receive is the removal of an bad overgrowth of Morrow Honeysuckle, an invasive plant that grows like a small shrub but is wiry and tough as nails.   I envision that during the removal operation that some of the larger shrubs will want to smack the oil pan.  So therefore my need for the bottom rock guard.  

Does anyone around New York/lower Canada have one for sale?  Should I build one from scratch.  

Any thoughts, comments or pics would be appreciated.  Thanks A Bunch!

Hope your spring is well underway and going well!

Orangeman  

Hello Walter or Any Idler Experts.  Here is the problem, I have a good amount of deflection in the front idler (EARLY STYLE). The machine is a 1944 model. When you grab onto it the left and right side of the idler you can rock it to the point where it will almost touch the inside of the frame rail.    After disassembly I noticed the cross shaft had worn pretty well and the bronze bushing had worn some, but not through. Noting this defect and learning that the idler received only grease and no oil, I prepared to order new parts to rejuvenate it.

I ordered and have recieved very nice new cross shafts, new bronze bushings, new snap rings and oil seals.

After reinstalling all of the new parts, much to my dissatification I still have some deflection and can wiggle the shaft inside the hub. The deflection is not as bad as it was, but it is not tight.  The deflection occurs from side to side and left to right. What the heck is going on?  

Is it possible that the bearing assembly is worn or perhaps the inside of the hub is worn out of round in the area where the bearing assembly makes contact with it?  The wheel portion external from the hub seems to have very little wear.  

I have a good hub that I bought from a close friend, but there is no wheel attached and the rivets have been torched off.  

Can a person press out the old rivets and install grade 8 bolts and nuts and lockwashers to make and use my good wheel and bolt it up to the good hub? If so what size press and pilot to use?

Can someone please share thier advice and methods on how they went about  solving a problem like this?  Thanks in Advance....Orangeman.

I have machinist in the area that could do some machining if necessary. In closing, I want to finish this task and do much of the work myself if I can work through this.

[neoprene]

Hi Folks:

Need a good Chicago Rawhide Seal Number for the front idler seals.  

I have a National Seal that has neoprene, Seal # is 450059. I would like to put a leather seal back in rather than the neoprene.

Can anyone provide a number. I would look it up but don't have access to a CR database.  

Thanks Orangeman!  

[Did Cletrac every offer a bottom rock guard to prevent things from smacking the bottom of the oil pan?]

Hi Folks: Hope everyones Christmas was filled with Orange Cletrac stuff.  

I have my little HG in my heated garage and am working through some of the past defects that were wrought upon the machine.  The oil pan on the engine was covered in grease and grime.  After getting it off the machine I noticed that the oil pan had a substantial crack in the back flange area where it mounts to the bell housing.  

Question one: Did Cletrac every offer a bottom rock guard to prevent things from smacking the bottom of the oil pan?  At some point this machine must have seen some rough duty.  

MY WW II HG 42 and I wish all of the Cletrac Guys and Gals a Wonderful Christmas and a most prosperous New Year!!!

Note to Blake: Appreciate all that you do to keep this site up and running!

 

Hello Cletrac Folks:

Will be working on my 1941 HG this winter, so hope to have ready for maple syrup season in March.  New York winters can be long so should have plenty of time.

What will you guys be working on?

Hi Guys: Well I am back working on the HG 42 with a Hercules IXK again.  Stamp date on block is 8 -11 - 44.

Noticed that Number 3 and 4 Intakes Valves are defective, severe pitting on face of valve.

The face of the Valves are stamped as follows:

INT
Hercules
27140 A
RMC

Severe pitting exist on the valve face. I am assuming water leakage past the head gasket during the combustion cycle.  Very nominal pitting on pistons 3 and 4.  

Pistons are marked 3122 A.

Could someone please supply names or sources for both Intake and Exhaust Valves.

NAPA list the Intake Valve as being available.   No Exhaust Valves are listed.

I was thinking Landis or Ray probably have them and perhaps Jerry Biro. Guess, I will be checking all the valves after what I found on the intakes on 3 and 4.  

Do any of the IXK experts have any additional sources for valves and does anyone know what the initials RMC on the face of the valve stand for?

Thanks! Orangeman

Hi Folks: Found a lonely stranded OC-9D at an abandoned house.

Very Nice looking machine. Tracks in U/C are very nice shape.

I need a machine that can push around some fill material and was thinking this one might fill the bill.

Can someone post a pic of one in action??

Assume the block is a herc. 198

How are parts availability for the engine?

I will go back and get some pics and then send them on to Blake.

Thanks guys, hope your summer is going well! Orangeman

Hi guys: Need your help, does anyone have for sale a bottom  half of a Marvel Schebler Carburetor?  I am in need of a white metal venturi that sits in the bottom half of the carb. I spoke with a couple of carb shops,but have not found anything yet.  Please drop me a note if you have a whole carb or the venturi for sale. Thanks! Orangeman