Messages

Hi, Blake.
               Is it possible to post an active link with a post here? If so, how do we do it?
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes. Deas Plant.

Just found this one. You fellas might like to take a look at it:
http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ca ... yahoo.com/
It has two schematics, one of a 60's Case 310 steering mechanism and the other of a 1933 Cletrac. Left click for the larger view.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes. Deas Plant.

Hi, Folks.
              Thanks for all the information. The plot thickens and still there is little new under the sun. Would it be permissible to copy this thread and post it at Yesterday's Tractors where this discussion really started. I brought the question here because I knew Cletrac had differential steering but didn't know when they started using it.
Alternatively, I could post a link to this thread on the Crawlers forum at YT.

You all have a wonderful day.
Best wishes. Deas.

Hi, John.
              So TerraTrac had the diff steering before Case bought them out and Case inherited it with the purchase of TerraTrac. Is that correct? If so, I will take a certain amount of delight in directing certain 'experts' to this thread.
Thank you.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.

Hi, Blake.
               Thanks for your reply. It clears things up for me and proves that some 'experts' on some of these forums DON'T know that of which they write. I wasn't sure so I asked.
Cat have had diff steering on their
 'dozers for around ten years now. I think it started with the Cat D6H. Still, it did take 'em a while catch up, didn't it?
Thanks again.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes. Deas.

Hi, Folks.
              My experince with Cletrac crawlers is limited to watching them in fields as I drove by and seeing one close up as I was walking past on my way to somewhere else.
Can anyone tell me if Cletrac's diff-steer gave full-power turns, that is to say full power on both tracks as the machine was making a turn, a la the modern Cats?
The reason for this question is that some-one at Yesterday's Tractors has made the claim that Case was the first with this feature. I doubt this 'cos Case wasn't even in the crawler business until it bought out Terratrac. I suspect that the early tiller-wheel steer Holts and Bests may have had a diff which would have given them pull power on both tracks while turning. That would be a long, LONG way before Case got into the business.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes. Deas Plant.

Hi, Blake.
               I strongly suspect that the current Cat military dozer offering has a very similar system. Known as the Cat, DEUCE, you can see some photos of this machine and find further info. on Cat's website.

http://www.caterpillar.com/products/shared/military^US_fed._gov't/equipment/02_modified_equipment/modified_equipment.html

Dunno how that link will turn out. It's a long-un.

Happy hunting.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.

Hi, Blake.
               You can find more info on the AC HD9X at IBDozing:

http://www.ibdozing.com/

Click on 'Show and Tell" then "IBDozing Projects' and the HD9X is, I think, the second project listed.
Happy hunting.
You have a wonderful day.
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.

Hi, Folks.
               I saw my first Powershift transmission in 1961 on a Cat D9D at Wigmores, the then Cat distributor in Perth, Western Australia.
AC had torque convertor-equipped machines before that but did not bring out their first powershift until several years after Cat. Cat. also torque convertor-equipped machines prior to releasing the Powershift transmission and kept many of those models for some years after introducing Powershift but they lost pretty much any popularity they had once people saw what a huge improvement Powershift was.
IH also brought out their first Powershift versions at around the same time as AC. I don't recollect ever seeing a torque convertor-equipped IH machine.
NOT all 'powershifts' had torque convertors. Fiat of Italy brought out their early 'powershift' (No capital 'P' because it was only a capital flop.) transmissions in the mid-60's. They were not however a true powershift but a hydraulically controlled direct drive. When you selected a gear, the transmission hydraulically disengaged the master clutch, selected the direction and speed that you had chosen and hydraulically re-engaged the master clutch. When you were working, there was a two-second delay before engaging the next selected gear, the theory being that the tractor would have come to a stop before the next gear was engaged. Depending on conditions, sometimes that happened and sometimes it didn't.
This early Fiat attempt at a powershift transmission was a real dog of thing to try to do anything delicate with, including loading or unloading the machine onto or off a float or lowboy because the transmission was either 'Clunk' in or 'Clunk' out. You could control the engine revs but you COULD NOT 'feather' the transmission. NOT very user-friendly.
As I recollect, Case never had a Powershift transmission in that sense in their crawler range, but I am open to correction here. They had the Terramatic transmission and steering system with forward and reverse as well as high and low for each track. This was a very good system as systems went, quite easy to use once you got used to the way the controls worked and the feeling of sitting there 'playing with your testicles' all day. There were four small levers to control the transmission and steering and all were situated between the operator's legs immediately in front of the seat, almost right in front of the operator's crutch. The biggest problem with this transmission was the standard Case one of under-engineering.
Hope this helps some people.
You all have a wonderful day.
Best wishes.
Deas Plant.