Skeets asked about D2's

[D2Cat]

I decided to start a new thread so I wouldn't hijack the other one.

You ask. "D2Cat,, I have a question for you,,, Do you have a D2? Does anyone make anything that small any more, and does anybody really use a tracked critter like that around the farm?"

Skeets, I do have a D2Cat. It has electric start, runs great and spends most of it's life in the lean-to at my farm! I've got a D4 with a Traxcavator loader also. It was a project I stalled on, so it's pretty much a land mark now.

I use my D2 to push up a manure pile, push out trees, dig a hole in the creek, landscape a washed out draw....

Early Caterpillar tractors were gas powered. Only in about 1931 was the diesel introduced.

There were actually a few models that were smaller then the D2. They were gas powered.

The D2 was dropped by parachute during WW2 to build runways in places the enemy couldn't imagine. It's a popular machine today by collectors because it can be trailered with a 3/4 or 1 ton PU to parades.

Many have the opinion that a crawler tractor will compact the soil when building pond dams, etc. It is quite the opposite. That was a big promotion feature of the small crawlers when introduced to farmers. Geting into fields when wheeled tractors couldn't.

And fuel economy. Farmers were not familiar with diesel fuel and had to be educated on cost and use.

The Cat salesman would remove his Timex watch, lay it down and instruct the farmer to run the machine over it. He'd then pick up his watch and show the farmer it's still ticking!

Here's some information from the Antique Caterpillar Forum.

https://www.acmoc.org/about-caterpillar?showall=1

 

[skeets]

Very interesting indeed

 

[sheepfarmer]

Ahem D2, pictures?

 

[Newlyme]

Ahem D2, pictures?

You know while reading Post #1 I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Tooljunkie]

My buddy's dad had a d2. Used it to drag pads for the dragline to walk on when building roads in the swamps.was a great little machine. Oliver had an oc 2,smaller yet i think. I am still fascinated by the great old heavy equipment. The dragline was started with a pup motor, a small gas engine we had to coax to get tunning on cool mornings,once it warmed up some we could engage the clutch and roll over the diesel motor,decompressor off. Crack every injector til the bubbles were gone,turn off decompressor and hit it with a whiff of ether. If it didnt start, start over and do it again. I spent weeks working with my buddy on the dragline, i was the oiler. Lots of greasing.

 

[D2Cat]

Found a couple of the D4. I'll have to do further digging to find the D2. I should have quite a few. I removed the finals to get to the steering clutches and had a lot of questions with pictures!

 

[sheepfarmer]

Found a couple of the D4. I'll have to do further digging to find the D2. I should have quite a few. I removed the finals to get to the steering clutches and had a lot of questions with pictures!

That would be fun to drive at least in short stints...

 

[D2Cat]

Was thinking I need to get this thing fired up before winter to make sure the steering clutches are not beginning to get bound up. Installed new fuel filter elements (3 reqd) and new fuel. The old fuel smelled like varnish, but it still ran on it!!

Kind of interesting. It's a 1951- D2 5U, ser. # 8791 and I found a Caterpillar original fuel filter kit.

 

[D2Cat]

Here's how you prime your fuel system of all the air without using any battery power.

The fuel cap is about 4" in dia. and unscrews and the threaded part sticks up above the surface about 1/2".

So I get an old automotive inner-tube and cut a circle about 12" in dia and the valve stem is in the center of the circle. Put the valve stem in the center of the fill hole and put a screw clamp over the tube and around the 1/2" part extended up.

On this machine I open up the bleed valve on the filter tower and apply about 5-10 PSI to the valve stem. When fuel comes out the bleed valve I shut it and loosen the nuts at the injector delivery valves. Apply air again, and soon fuel comes out at the valves. Tighten the nuts.

Fire it off!

Pictures are a little dark, but you can get the idea.

 

[skeets]

That my friend is pretty cool ! And sheepfarmer the first time I read you reply I thought you wrote
That would be fun to drive at least in short stints..
And in my mind for some reason I thought you wrote in short skirts . I think it might be fun watching,,lol OK so Im a perv

 

[85Hokie]

Len, that is f'n genius!

Those filters look like a spool of yarn too!



Skeets - I read shorts at first! Then my eyes go mo' better.....

That would get a lot of attention..........women in SHORT SKIRTS driving bulldozers around......even if for a short stint!

 

[sheepfarmer]

Heck if I were 50 years younger I'd volunteer! Always thought it was fun to get whistled at biking past construction sites in a skirt, not even short.

 

[D2Cat]

Those filters ARE like a spool of yarn. 7 3/4" long, 1 3/4" dia. with a 3/8" hole in the center. NAPA wants $60 each, and not in stock. OReilly wasn't too interested in trying to cross any numbers.

Went online, found that original filter kit with the 3 filters and 2 gaskets for $30 plus $10 s/h. Had them in 3 days from Calif.!

North Idaho Wolfman tried to find some water filters that would fit, but no luck there.

 

[Ike]

When I was in Germany in 1970 the property Disposal had 2 rows of these sitting there waiting for a buyer. I thought at the time I sure wish I had a way to get one home. They were being sold in lots of 3 and if I remember they were getting around 2000.00 for 3 of them. These had all been rebuilt from the ground up and on them was a box that had all the tools needed to work on them plus extra filters. Most were sold to german companies

 

[RCW]

'Cat - neat!

I had a cousin with an excavating business from '50's-'80's. Did sewage systems, ponds, foundations, etc.

My grandfather worked for him after we sold the cows.

All he used were a couple small JD tracked machines. I think 350's and a 450. Had a TLB (450?), and dozer or 2.

Worked great in small places, and the TLB was the sewage system tractor.

Once he parked his single-axle dump truck with trailer/dozer at our farm. Couldn't get out over a 100' knoll after a slick snowfall.

I yanked the whole ensemble out with my trusty Quadratrac 1979 Jeep CJ-7 all locked in 4WD posi-traction - oh, and a LONG chain!

Oh, you might be a Redneck if this route was part of your commute to college, and it really was a public road back then.(I chose to use the "road less-travelled")

Also note that REALLY FANCY right-side windshield wiper - might be a redneck if you had one of those......(wool boot sock)