There was also a specialised pipe laying version of the D6 which rates a mention. US production of the D6B ceased in 1963 when it was replaced by the new turbocharged D6C model but the D6B remained in production in Japan up until 1967.
#Cat d6 series#
USA built D6Bs were the 37A series (60″) and 44A series (74″).Īustralian D6Bs were the 56A series (60″) and 57A series (74″).Ĭaterpillar Mitsubishi D6Bs included the 37H series (74″) and 38H series, an 81 inch gauge low ground pressure model specifically designed for the Asian market and poor underfoot conditions.Īll of the above machines featured the Cat oil clutch and a direct drive transmission. The different variants stacked up as follows:
#Cat d6 plus#
Most of the differences were cosmetic, making the tractors easier to mass produce and maintain in the field plus the operator’s area was considerably refined making the machines more user friendly.Īs mentioned, manufacture of the D6B was undertaken outside of the USA with machines being produced in Japan (under a licence agreement with Mitsubishi) and also in Australia at Caterpillar’s plant in Melbourne. The pair remained in production until 1959 when they were replaced by the D6B model.Ĭaterpillar D6Bs were also produced in the two 60 inch and 74 inch track gauges but for the first time, were also available manufactured outside of Peoria, USA.Īll D6Bs were powered by the same D318 engine used in the earlier 8U and 9U series machines with a similar horsepower rating. The 8U was a 60 inch gauge machine and the 9U was a 74 inch gauge machine, both having six track rollers, an increase of one over the former machine’s five.Īnother new Caterpillar engine was chosen for the type, this time the 80 horsepower Caterpillar D318 (which was actually just the 4.25 inch bore D468 bored out to 4.5 inches with the addition of a new fuel pump).īoth of these machines were incredibly popular with the 8U selling over 11,000 examples and production of the 9U variant well over a staggering 28,000 machines.Īlong the way various improvements made their way onto the production line including the Caterpillar oil clutch, a forward/reverse lever to cut down on gear shifting and an increase in the fuel pump rack setting to boost engine output to 93 flywheel horsepower. In this configuration, the D6 was manufactured up until 1947.Ĭaterpillar did some serious redesigning during the war and the result of this was probably the most successful of all the D6 models – the 8U and 9U series machines. These were very popular tractors and sold extremely well. In production for six years as the 2H series, the RD6 lost the “RD” from its name about 1938.Ī favourite on the jobsite, farm or forest, many thousands of this type were manufactured.Īn improved D6 was introduced in 1941 just in time for World War 2 and for the first time the machine was also available in a wider 74 inch track gauge due to customer requests.īoth the 60 inch gauge D6 (4R series) and 74 inch gauge D6 (5R series) were powered by the new Caterpillar D468 6-cylinder diesel engine which produced 72 flywheel horsepower.
With a track gauge of 60 inches and a 5-roller track frame, the RD6 was powered by a 3-cylinder Caterpillar D6600 diesel which put out 52 flywheel horsepower. The following year with a slight horsepower tweak, the machine was re-introduced as the Diesel 40, and in 1935, in order to comply with Caterpillar’s new machine identification system, it became the RD6.
The Caterpillar D6 can trace its origins right back to the Diesel 35 of 1933 when it was one of a trio of Caterpillar diesel tractors introduced during that year (the other machines were the Diesel 50 and the Diesel 70).Īlthough it was in production for only one year, it sowed the seeds for what was to come. Here is an overview of how things got started. For over 80 years, the Caterpillar D6 has been the backbone of the medium size Cat track type tractor range.
0 kommentar(er)
