CAT 297C Owners

[MackCat]

Anybody who owns a 297C CAT might want to check into this. I was at my dealer the other day and i saw a 297C with the undercarriage completly off and noticed some broken pieces at the real axle. I asked the mechanic about it and he said that it had broken and that they had had a few problems with this breaking and that it only applied to certain serial numbers. He told me to get him my serial number and he would check to see if mine was in the group, Sure enough mine was and he said that CAT would replace it as long as my machine didn`t have over 1500 hours, Mine doesn`t so it`s going in the shop week after next to have the Heavier parts put on. He said CAT would repair before failure or after failure as long as you don`t have over 1500 hours. I don`t know if this applies to all C series or not. I have a picture with the affected area circled. anybody with a C Series machine might want to check with their dealer to find out if your serial number matches.

[bobcat_ron]

God bless Caterpillar's parts books!

[ksss]

God bless Caterpillar's parts books!

And the Lord knows they get used a lot.:waving:

[Gravel Rat]

I didn't thin Ron was a religious man :laugh:

It is nice to have pictures to see what goes where and the part numbers.

[MackCat]

God bless Caterpillar's parts books!
Amen on that!!

[bobcat_ron]

Amen on that!!

They just need to clarify on a few things like, the final drives, they should mention that in order to re-fill them, you might want to turn the final drive so they drain hole can be used as the fill hole, and keep filling until the oil runs out of the fill hole (center), they never made a big enough bore in the fill hole to get the oil in, it took me some time yesterday to realize what was going on.

[MackCat]

They just need to clarify on a few things like, the final drives, they should mention that in order to re-fill them, you might want to turn the final drive so they drain hole can be used as the fill hole, and keep filling until the oil runs out of the fill hole (center), they never made a big enough bore in the fill hole to get the oil in, it took me some time yesterday to realize what was going on.
What kind of oil are you using in your final drives? I was going to change mine this week and went to my dealer to get some oil, it calls for 75W-140 cat synthetic oil it takes about 1 quart per final drive. the smallest quantity they offer is 5 gallons at $300.00. I`m not going to spend that much for five gallons, they should offer it in quarts or 1 gallon jugs

[bobcat_ron]

What kind of oil are you using in your final drives? I was going to change mine this week and went to my dealer to get some oil, it calls for 75W-140 cat synthetic oil it takes about 1 quart per final drive. the smallest quantity they offer is 5 gallons at $300.00. I`m not going to spend that much for five gallons, they should offer it in quarts or 1 gallon jugs

I used individual 1 quart squeeze bottles of 75W/140, bought 3 of them, and I have 1/2 a bottle left.
My crankcase used 2.25 gallons, good thing I bought that 5 gallon bucket, all in all the bill was $183.00.

Oh, and do your final drives every 250 hours, not the 500 with the first at 250 and 500 from then on, I really don't trust any final drive with that little bit of oil inside lasting for over 500 hours when they get that hot.

[MackCat]

I used individual 1 quart squeeze bottles of 75W/140, bought 3 of them, and I have 1/2 a bottle left.
My crankcase used 2.25 gallons, good thing I bought that 5 gallon bucket, all in all the bill was $183.00.

Oh, and do your final drives every 250 hours, not the 500 with the first at 250 and 500 from then on, I really don't trust any final drive with that little bit of oil inside lasting for over 500 hours when they get that hot.
Thats what i wanted 1 quart squeeze bottles, I agree on the 250 hour service, i`m at the 250 hour mark now and wanted to change it. A mechanic friend of mine told me to cut everything in half that the service manual says.

[SellingIron]

I have a customer that has a cat 272C. Its currently in the shop for new drive motors. He said there is a recall on them for the mounting bolts coming loose..FYI..

[wanabe]

Just a question, but why is Cat still having problems like this with the UC? I may be wrong but this is the ASV style UC in the pic correct? I guess I don't understand why a machine that cost so much is still having cat/asv UC issues.

[Ausman]

I will answer that question easy.

The ASV undercarriage was never designed to go under a wheeled machine with 80% of the weight over the rear end. The morel of the story is the best machine for the job is the one designed to do it not the one buying components.

[Skidsteerman]

I will answer that question easy.

The ASV undercarriage was never designed to go under a wheeled machine with 80% of the weight over the rear end. The morel of the story is the best machine for the job is the one designed to do it not the one buying components.

No doubt... it's not generating any income for the owner setting in a repair shop getting unnecessary failures like that fixed. What I don't understand is people still purchase units with that crappy high maintenance and very costly undercarriage - I should be selling parts for them... make a mint.:laugh:

[ksss]

No doubt... it's not generating any income for the owner setting in a repair shop getting unnecessary failures like that fixed. What I don't understand is people still purchase units with that crappy high maintenance and very costly undercarriage - I should be selling parts for them... make a mint.:laugh:

I think the Blair Products folks are laughing all the way to the bank. My hats off to them, saw an opportunity in others misery and developed ways to fix some of the shortcommings. Only in a America:weightlifter:

[Digdeep]

No doubt... it's not generating any income for the owner setting in a repair shop getting unnecessary failures like that fixed. What I don't understand is people still purchase units with that crappy high maintenance and very costly undercarriage - I should be selling parts for them... make a mint.:laugh:

You're 100% correct that broken machines don"t generate income, but I"m not so certain that this is the fault of the undercarriage, but more aligned with the weight and weight distribution of the machine that sits on the undercarriage. I think this is the primary problem with the CAT MTLs. Example #1- CAT 257B2 weighs almost 8000lbs with a very rear oriented weight distribution due to the machine design and lift arm geometry. ASV uses the same undercarriage, but the heaviest machine that they fit it to weighs only 6300lbs and has a much more even weight distribution. Example #2- The CAT 297 weighs over 10000lbs with a very rear oriented weight distribution due to the machine design and lift arm geometry. The 297 also has a ROC that exceeds 4500lbs with counterweights. ASV uses the same undercarriage on a machine that has a operating weight of just under 9000lbs, has a relatively even weight distribution and has machine ROC of 3100lbs (1400lbs less). I'm not saying that the ASV undercarriages are perfect, but the extra machine weights, tighter track tensions, and heavier ROCs have an impact on what is going on out in the field.