my first cletrac

OliverNate · Jul 7, 2014

spent my saturday after the 4th driving up to northern wisconsin and back to check out/purchase this little gem. ain't in to bad of shape loader pivots are wore, but the tracks and sprockets are in good shape, and the engine has maybe 10 hrs on an overhaul. been sitting couple years so it needs some TLC, but compared to the crawlers that are/have been for sale locally this was a pretty good deal and I got to take a nice little trip too. its an OC-46 with 3 cyl gas. it works the way it sits but the one downfall is theres some gears in the reverser are welded and it has an OC-3 trans in it. I'll be looking into what it'll cost to get it back to original, to see if its worth it or not. Gotta get an operators manual coming and get it whipped into shape cause got a lotta work lined up for this little guy.

DGH · Jul 7, 2014

Those are nice little machines, I have one!! The front idler in the picture is an early HG item, not a big issue. You would want to fix that reverser they are a handy thing to have. Reverse gear is a little fast (and as a result weak ) for backing out of a hole with a full bucket. Landis Zimmerman would be able to fix you up for all your needs for this machine. It is also missing the two rear counter weights. They are 400 lbs each and needed with a full bucket if you want to lift it very high!! As for the OC 3 trans in it, I am not sure they would fit. They are geared to fast so you would want to change that. That is a BIG Job!! The OC 3 is a 3 speed plus reverse the OC 4 is 4 plus reverse. On the OC 4 the shift into 4th is a short stroke. Post a picture of the shift lever and I will tell you if it is OC 3 or 4.

Dblair · Jul 8, 2014

it looks just like mine , almost

OliverNate · Jul 8, 2014

heres a couple pics of the shifter, the patern stamped in the top shows only 3spds plus reverse. does the reverser work just like a shuttle shift? i've been trying to get on zimmerman cletrac site to poke around some but its not working for me. not like thats real important but worth a shot.

DGH · Jul 8, 2014

Yes that is an OC 3 transmission and diff unit. I did not know that they would fit into a OC 4. The OC 3 was not made in 46" width so the OC 4 axles had to be used. So I guess the spines are they same in both units. That is not good news as the OC 3 is geared faster in first than the OC 4.
Changing the trans unit is a big job. If it was me, and the reverser does not work, I would see if Zimmerman has the slow low transmission and put that in place of the reverser. Both were options for the OC 4. That would give 2 to 1 reduction in all you gears, so 6 speeds forward and 2 reverse.

Carlton Grambo · Jul 9, 2014

Is that from the Beniot, Mason area in northern WI?

OliverNate · Jul 10, 2014

bout a half hour west of mason, it was north of iron river

MikeS55d · Jul 10, 2014

Welcome to the wonderful world of Cletracs, I have an early OC46 with a 4 cyl. engine and a OC3. Replacing the trans is a major job to say the least. On the assembly line they started with the trans and built the tractor around it.

My OC46's detent ball for reverse gear doesn't work allowing it to literally "fall" into reverse even if it is in another gear at the same time. Every time that it happens I have to remove the shift level and disengage reverse with a screwdriver inserted into the shift rail. To get to the detent I have to disassemble the whole back of the tractor. It will have to wait until "someday" when I do a restoration.

my first cletrac

OliverNate

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