D4 Cat tractor

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Can anyone help me put a value on a D4 Cat crawler tractor. This is an ag cat never had a blade but does have PTO. Serial number is 7U8266.
Any help would be appreciated. It is part of an estate and needs to be sold and I have not been able to find anyone to value it.
 
What kind of shape is it in and does it run? Pretty hard to give a value with no information to go on. It might be fairly rare with a PTO though.
 
Without having more information, this is the best I can do for you.

According to the "Antique American Tractor and Crawler Value Guide" by Terry Dean & Larry L. Swenson -

Caterpillar D-4U (1947-1959)

Restorable / Parts: $900.
Good Condition: $1500.
Very Good Condition: $3500.
Excellent Condition: $5000.
Impeccable Condition: $6500.

Doc
 
(quoted from post at 19:12:44 03/31/14) Can anyone help me put a value on a D4 Cat crawler tractor. This is an ag cat never had a blade but does have PTO. Serial number is 7U8266.
Any help would be appreciated. It is part of an estate and needs to be sold and I have not been able to find anyone to value it.

Gotta know overall condition with as much info as possible about the condition of the pins, bushings, rails, rollers and sprockets. The crawler can be in almost perfect condition but if the track, rollers and sprockets are shot then it's basically scrap value.

Rick
 
It ran 3 years ago when it was back into the shed it is in now. All tin and tracks look to be in good shape. The PTO is Caterpillar yellow so was factory.
 
With crawlers undercarraige condition is everything. The tracks may "look good" and be completely shot. There are measurements that can be taken to precisely determine wear and other methods that give a ball park area. If you aren't into looking up and taking the measurements then finding someone locally that knows crawlers might be your best bet.

There is a guy near me that's had a 7uD4 for sale for well over a year. Runs fine, needs tracks. No nibbles at $2800.00. If yours isn't currently running then half that price at best.
 
(quoted from post at 01:09:52 04/01/14) It ran 3 years ago when it was back into the shed it is in now. All tin and tracks look to be in good shape. The PTO is Caterpillar yellow so was factory.

You need to say what it is that makes the tracks "appear" to be in good shape.
 
D4 7U & 6U built from 1947-1959, 7U is wide gauge at 60" center of track to center of track, 6u is 44" narrow gauge.

The 2 links I attached should help you understand how to measure undercarriage components. The IH U/C guide is lengthy, but on page 28, (26 in .pdf file) there is an illustration for measuring each component. The 2nd link is a simple form to fill out, but they left one important component out, the track link, and what is referred to as link or rail height, its the bottom portion of the track link that rides on the track rollers, idler and top carrier rollers. The thickness is what needs to be measured and compared to new dimensions. The IH guide shows it. That same component, can be observed and suspected of being worn out if you look at the track chain pin/bushing, its what rides in the root of the sprocket and is where power is transferred to the track chain, if the ends of the pins/bushings are contacting the bottom roller flanges, its sign that link height (rail height) is worn significantly, to be verified by measuring. Another one is the amount of sag in the track, and no more adjustment left to tension the track, you can measure to see whats going on there too, goal is to see if the adjuster is all the way out. To measure the stretch or chain wear, track must be taut and you measure across 4-5 pins, its described in the links attached. Once its measured up, it may reveal options that can restore track life, increase tension again, giving some hours and some value to the tractor. Problem with loose and worn out tracks is that they are prone to come off, wear accelerates and value of the tractor is reduced, with older ones, to scrap value.

The reason its important to consider, is its often the case that rebuilding, replacing or repairing an undercarriage will cost more than what the tractor is worth, more so with older, obsolete models.

Good news is, this being an ag tractor, likely used for drawbar work, is likely to not been subject to harsh conditions or hard work like one with a dozer kit installed. It will likely have smaller idlers on the track frames to facilitate easier turning, being used for drawbar work. PTO is not rare on one of these, possible it was used for stationary work too, so that could mean very little track or other component wear.


Final drives and the internals say within the bevel gear compartment are another costly area to repair, you can remove the filler plug on the final drive compartment, dip a magnet in their and see if you have metal fines or bits, signifying there maybe a bearing or other imminent failure due to excess wear. You can pry with a bar against the sprocket to see if its loose or has any play on the tapered dead axle, which means something is loose, may need to be tightened or its been run like that too long and will require final drive work. These are worst case scenarios, easily checked out, but for dozers its not a bad practice, given the abuse and lack of maintenance which is never a good thing.

These can go a few different ways, real nice find, lots of service life left on the undercarriage, to its so worn out, the tractor is scrap value. Or, you may have nice tracks but it needs significant repair to say the final drives or drive train. One needing engine work, but with nice tracks could pan out to be worthy of repair, or say if you built up the track links, (rails) and had the pins and bushings turned to the new or unused side, which could restore adjustment left, the money spent to do this could give you X amount of service life and hours of work once done, increasing the value of the tractor.

Thats typically how it works with track type tractors, you don't want to blindly assess one of these, then represent that to a buyer, whom could be well informed or experienced and determine the above on their own, which may conflict with what a seller states, often times these kinds of tractors are "eyeballed" as far as undercarriage wear, and the percentage worn or say track life left is roughly and inaccurately stated, suggested, this is why measuring is required, you can't eyeball much on these and be accurate doing so.
IH Undercarriage Guide

West Track
 
Photos of the tractor, especially track components, per my above post, would be helpful, but also give an idea of what you have there, most ag models seem to be in decent shape, not ever having a blade is not a bad thing, and with the undercarriage, its likely to not have been run in reverse as much as a dozer, which accelerates wear vs running forward, which most ag tractors are run. Post some photos if you can.
 
that is a 1950 D4
last year i paid $2100 for y 1955 7U with blade and canopy and it ran and operated--i would say good condition
 
The muck farm out east of town had three D2s. A neighbor bought one of those with a shop built blade on it,even though it had been used primarily in the field. I don't know what he paid for that,but he wanted $4200 for it after he did the little bit of cleaning up that he wanted to do with it. He ended up taking $1200 for that one to get rid of it.
 
This tractor is located in Scobey , Montana

As soon as we can get it pulled out of the shed to get it running. I will be able to look at the under carriage and tracks better, right now it is in a single car garage that it barely fits into. Thank you all for all the help you have given this has given me a ball park price at least to set on it. Thanks Again
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top