123 dozer conversion

[William Adams]

Reminds me of my removing the shield, cleaning out my mower deck, greasing everything, putting it all back together, putting the deck back under the tractor, hooking everything up and while gathering up my tools, wondering what the belt was laying by the rear tire. It was that Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment when I realized that I hadn't put the belt back on the deck....

Been there so many times..... I went to a restaurant once....left but forgot to eat....

 

[William Adams]

I've been hitting it pretty hard for about a month on this thing. I'd say that's a pretty fast turnaround for where we're at. The next step will be to sit down with my notebook and make up a really comprehensive list of what's to be done. That'll be lots of measuring for small parts like linkage bushings, etc. My "shop" is our unheated one car polebarn/garage, so fine detail work and paint is out of the question for now. Temps here in NW Wisconsin are hovering around 10 degrees average. I think most days it's actually colder in the garage than outside. My wife has a nice heated studio here and has graciously offered to make a hole so I can detail and paint the raw steel bits before they dissolve under the weight of all the salt and gack we've been running it through.
My last big job for the build part is to add 2 inches to the front of the track carriers. That won't be hard, but it requires some time to do. I'd say about a day. Then I need to make the final version of the axle shafts for all 4 idlers. Rather than solid 1" bar, I'm using 1" thick-wall tubing. Then I put another length of smaller thick-wall tubing inside that. Finally, I'll run a 1/2" bolt through the center of that with big washers and a castle nut. I want to be able to control tension on the flange bearings to prevent the track carriers from splaying out over time. I also have 1" collars to weld to the sides of the front idler sprockets to add some strength at the track adjusters. Should keep everything in alignment a little better.
That sounds like a lot, but actually all of it happens at the front idler area so I can disassemble once, do the work, then put it back together. I'll need to disassemble and re-gasket and seal the transmission as well as do all the trunion linkage bushing repair but will do that when I take it apart to paint. There are also a bunch of welds in the subframe that need to be finished but I can't weld standing on my head anymore. I'll do all that welding and gusseting when I take it back apart for paint.
I have most of the dash and controls reworked and the lights and things are all hooked up. When I take the thing apart, I'll do the final detailing of wire harness runs and tidy it all up with harness clamps. I replaced the Amp meter with an led voltmeter and it immediately pooped the bed. I replaced that with a Bosch 2" voltmeter and so far, that's been holding it's own. Amp gauges, IMHO are useless. They only tell you if they're charging, not battery condition.
Down the road:
Assuming all of that gets sorted out, I want to add some hydraulics. My family is voting for some sort of scoop and move tech. The wife is big into gardening and beekeeping so she wants to be able to move dirt, compost and her bee boxes around. To that end I've been thinking I'll add a hydraulic pump. The hard part is where to put it. Anyone have any experience with adding a pump drive to the transmission "output shaft"? I could hunt up a 149 hydro unit but doubt that would run multiple cylinders so a separate pump is pretty much going to be mandatory. Thoughts?

 

[Don McKee]

Thoughts?

Lots of anti-sieze on those front axle parts so they don't rust up and turn into one piece.

 

[William Adams]

No foolin! I should probably put in an anti-sieze zerk!

 

[Tim Dawe]

Maybe look at a trailer ramp assist spring for the tensioner!

 

[William Adams]

Got my new old stock fuel tank in the mail today. It's actually for the smaller CC with the 10 hp Kohler. That's perfect for me as the larger 123 tank will no longer for under the modified hood. It's perfect for me and came as advertised in new condition inside and out. Now to find a new fuel shutoff that doesn't leak. I've purchased two new fuel shutoffs and both leaked. I don't like sediment bowls for the same reason so I'll get a 45° hose barb in 1/8" pipe thread and call it a day. For many years, my shop fuel shutoff has been a needle nose vicegrip on the rubber hose. I see no reason to change my technique now for this...

 

[jkoenig]

I’ve heard that fuel shutoff technique referred to as a pinch valve...

 

[Robert Shingle]

Mine shut off valve started to leak and so I bought one at NAPA as a quick fix. Been on there about 3 years now with no leaks.

 

[William Adams]

Robert,
Is it plastic or brass? All the plastic ones I've tried seem to be junk.

 

[Robert Shingle]

Just to clarify, we are talking about the shut off valve that screws into the bottom of the tank. It is an all metal valve, NAPA part #7-02351. About $6.50. Thought I replaced 3 or 4 four years ago, but it was I 2013!

 

[William Adams]

Up until 24 hours ago I was prepping for a two week trip to Florida to get some sun and thaw out. That's now on hold for the next few days. No problem except that I cleaned the garage and packed up the glacier of stuff so DW could use the garage while I'm gone. I don't want to make more debris so I'm going to work on the fuel tank mount and work out a few problems on paper.
To that end, I believe I've figured out a clutch for driving a hydraulic pump. As my recent starting problems taught me, the starter generator doesn't have the steam to overcome much more than engine compression so dragging a hydraulic pump at minus 10 degrees is probably out of the question. I considered using the mower clutch, but it's just too big, too large pulley size and, well, mine is pretty much a basket full of ground up metal anyway. I'm going to try installing a go kart centrifugal clutch keyed to the crankshaft with a double-row chain connection to the hydraulic pump. A bit of research has shown me a few offerings with different spring/flyweight options that will get me down into the 650-700 rpm engagement I'm after. I'd like it to fully engage at or below engine idle of 800 rpms, but that is much higher than the engine cranking speed so no-load starts should be easy. Clutches are available for most any hp rating up to 50 horsepower so it will be easy to source a solid unit with adjustable engagement.
That's the plan. As the engineer said while standing next to the smoking hole in the ground:
"Well......that should have worked....."

 

[William Adams]

Just to clarify, we are talking about the shut off valve that screws into the bottom of the tank. It is an all metal valve, NAPA part #7-02351. About $6.50. Thought I replaced 3 or 4 four years ago, but it was I 2013!

Robert,
Perfect! I'm heading out for a scavenger hunt in a few minutes. I'll swing by there.
To be fair.....I put a brass shutoff valve on my son's 125, but it was for plumbing an ice maker. Needed pipe thread adapters on both ends plus a 90° street elbow. Works well but looks like dogpatch.....

 

[jkoenig]

No problem except that I cleaned the garage and packed up the glacier of stuff so DW could use the garage while I'm gone.

Darrell Waltrip uses your shop while you are gone?

 

[kmcconaughey]

Up until 24 hours ago I was prepping for a two week trip to Florida to get some sun and thaw out. That's now on hold for the next few days. No problem except that I cleaned the garage and packed up the glacier of stuff so DW could use the garage while I'm gone. I don't want to make more debris so I'm going to work on the fuel tank mount and work out a few problems on paper.
To that end, I believe I've figured out a clutch for driving a hydraulic pump. As my recent starting problems taught me, the starter generator doesn't have the steam to overcome much more than engine compression so dragging a hydraulic pump at minus 10 degrees is probably out of the question. I considered using the mower clutch, but it's just too big, too large pulley size and, well, mine is pretty much a basket full of ground up metal anyway. I'm going to try installing a go kart centrifugal clutch keyed to the crankshaft with a double-row chain connection to the hydraulic pump. A bit of research has shown me a few offerings with different spring/flyweight options that will get me down into the 650-700 rpm engagement I'm after. I'd like it to fully engage at or below engine idle of 800 rpms, but that is much higher than the engine cranking speed so no-load starts should be easy. Clutches are available for most any hp rating up to 50 horsepower so it will be easy to source a solid unit with adjustable engagement.
That's the plan. As the engineer said while standing next to the smoking hole in the ground:
"Well......that should have worked....."

Have you considered using the mechanical drive line clutch from a 122 as a disconnect of the drive shaft to the hydrostatic pump? On later model Cub Cadets there was an option cold weather start kit that was basically just the clutch from the gear drive versions. I have a 1450 which is a hydrostatic drive that has a factory cold start kit, aka Hydrostatic Disconnect.

 

[PACub100]

Have you considered using the mechanical drive line clutch from a 122 as a disconnect of the drive shaft to the hydrostatic pump? On later model Cub Cadets there was an option cold weather start kit that was basically just the clutch from the gear drive versions. I have a 1450 which is a hydrostatic drive that has a factory cold start kit, aka Hydrostatic Disconnect.

View attachment 147779

Hey, not to go off subject but that's awesome...I'm going to look into this as we were just talking about hard starting in the cold

 

[William Adams]

It's still bitterly cold here so slow going. I got the fuel tank mount finished and tidy.

I lowered the stock mount about an inch to clear the new lower hood.

Ugly, but serviceable. Napa had a few things I needed, including the fuel shutoff and a new air cleaner. Also picked up a new condenser. It's full of fuel and leak free. Looking forward to trying it out when I get back from FL in a couple of weeks. While I'm there I'll order the centrifugal clutch and a few other things....

 

[gary noblit]

Will, as you know metal against metal eats up paint...I cut up a bicycle inner tube to go under tank straps.Thin enough and already black..looks good,works good... I continue to be most impressed !!!

 

[William Adams]

Gary,
Yep... When I take it all to bits for paint I'll line the tank mount. For now, I've got a few layers of rubber electrical tape between the bits. I'm also planning to ditch the stock band clamps in favor of stainless T-clamps assuming I can source some in the right length.

 

[William Adams]

Have you considered using the mechanical drive line clutch from a 122 as a disconnect of the drive shaft to the hydrostatic pump? On later model Cub Cadets there was an option cold weather start kit that was basically just the clutch from the gear drive versions. I have a 1450 which is a hydrostatic drive that has a factory cold start kit, aka Hydrostatic Disconnect.

View attachment 147779

Hmmm, interesting. Working with bits that were designed for the tractor is a very attractive option. I'd strongly consider it but for the fact that the tunnel mounting stuff would be right in the middle of my steering master cylinders, linkage, foot pedal linkage and a bunch of other junk I've managed to stuff in there. Right now it's starting to look more like the inside of an airplane wing under there than a tractor. If I add anything else, there won't be enough room left for rust.

 

[Robert Shingle]

Just noticed the corner of your dash board in one of your last pictures. Are those rocker style switches? Nice!