Cat 515 cable

Maine logger88 · April 07, 2015, 09:45:22 PM

I have found a cat 515 cable skidder I was wondering if anyone has ever used one or knows anything about them? It looks to be a nice rugged machine. Good rubber and chains aswell

Sawhand · April 08, 2015, 06:53:35 PM

I have a 515 cable skidder. It has been a good machine. Although I have had trouble with the seals in the front axle. They started leaking at about 3800 hrs. The local Cat dealer repaired it and they started leaking again approximately 5000 hrs later. It is heavily built and pulls well. However the cab is higher from the ground than the 518 and it makes it a little harder to climb in and out. I think the 518 is a better machine overall and would be my preference if choosing between the two. The winch seems to be stronger on the 515 though.

lumberjack48 · April 08, 2015, 07:01:54 PM

These are good machines until they break down. Then get pocket book out

Maine logger88 · April 08, 2015, 07:21:14 PM

Sawhand I agree it is tall to get in and out of. Is it a fairly stable machine? How much fuel do you use in an average day? I heard the winches are a38k line pull. It looks like you have to drop the whole cradle to do the axle seals vs on a deere you can just take off one axle to a time leaving the center in. On the other hand the design of the cradle should prevent breaking off the front axle housing like what happened to my 540 awhile back.
LJ48 I agree they would be expensive to fix but shouldn't be much worse than my deere. I have heard the cat skidders are tough Tho

coxy · April 08, 2015, 08:49:54 PM

never ran a 515 but heard that they have bad tranny trouble between 11- 12000 hours this coming from a guy that had 2 of them and yes the 518 is a tuff skidder little hard on fuel but the not having to deal with 3 shifting levers makes up the difference ;D the cat classic parts are less than half of cat

Sawhand · April 08, 2015, 08:54:38 PM

It is quite stable. The weight seems to be evenly distributed. I don't think the fuel use is too bad. On average maybe 20 or twenty five gallons. One drawback is the amount oil the transmission and differentials hold. I think the trans. holds about 15 gallons and the diffs. hold around 25 gallons together. That makes it expensive to service.

Maine logger88 · April 08, 2015, 09:04:34 PM

Really I heard the 515 had the same transmission as the 525s were they troublesome too? This machine has more hours than that I wonder if it's already been done.
I figured it should be fairly stable there a heavy machine! About how much wood would be yarded on 20 or 25 gallons? That is a lot of fluid but on the plus side having a big resivour should help things stay cooler and last longer

coxy · April 08, 2015, 09:11:52 PM

depends on your lead foot ;D and how far a drag it is and how much up hill that's when you use a lot

Maine logger88 · April 08, 2015, 09:17:12 PM

Well I defiantly have a lead foot lol. Quite a few of my lots are uphill too. As far as long skids I get my fair share I like to keep them under a half mile but I've yarded further. On the other hand if the 515 will pull more per hitch then that would make up for the fuel consumption

coxy · April 08, 2015, 09:24:58 PM

now your thinking 8) 8)

kiko · April 08, 2015, 10:37:05 PM

The 515 is what I would consider a modern machine. The 3304 is manual but the transmission and electric controls are computer module controlled. Leave the test light in the the tool box. I like these machines and have recently acquired a 525. Invest in the cat service manual , it is comprehensive and less than one service call from cat. It is difficult to repair. The cab has to be removed to remove transmission .

These are photos of a 525b trans removal it is very similar. Check for motion in the rear cradle pin. It can work loose and hit the engine oil pan enough to knock a hole in it.

Maine logger88 · April 09, 2015, 02:26:14 PM

Ok thanks for the info kiko! I will check the cradle pins as well as the centeres. As far as the transmission be computer controlled did that give a lot of problems? How expensive is it to rebuild the transmission? Does your 525 have the 3304 or the 3126

coxy · April 09, 2015, 06:19:47 PM

on a 518 I was told 2 different prices from 2 different dealers one said 15grand the other said 18grand

and another guy told me you want to play you got to pay

Maine logger88 · April 09, 2015, 06:27:21 PM

Haha That's a true saying lol!

kiko · April 09, 2015, 08:27:50 PM

I think they are right on with the pricing. Prices range from 15k to 25k depending on how much damage there is. Not much trouble with the computer , usually just with the wires and switches. My 525 has a 3304 and the 525b has a 3126. About the transmission , the price I stated is for hiring the job out. Most wear parts are available aftermarket.

Maine logger88 · April 09, 2015, 10:44:05 PM

Wow they are pricey to fix. The powershift in my deere is only 5 to 10000 to fix Including labor. I wonder how much they would be in just parts I have a friend that works up to Milton cat who would help me if I ever needed to do it. How are the 3304s as far as starting down below zero?

coxy · April 10, 2015, 06:46:31 AM

I have the older 3304 with glow plugs and they don't work so its harder to start my friends 3304 will start at -5 with out ether

ehp · April 10, 2015, 08:18:53 AM

Logger 88 I have only been around 1 515 cable cat , nice machine and pulls pretty dam good but is high to get into if your use to say a TJ 230 . The only real problem my friend had with it was he would drive the skidder from job to job if not a long ways apart , say 6 or 8 miles apart as he didnot have his own float to move it . Twice it locked the back rearend up doing this and was just over $10,000 to fix it each time .

barbender · April 10, 2015, 06:29:08 PM

Ehp, is your friend still running it down the road, going for a third time? ;D

Maine logger88 · April 10, 2015, 07:07:21 PM

Well thanks for all the info guys but I looked the machine over better today and it's rougher than I thought it was and if I'm going to spend 38k on a skidder I want it to be woods ready. I have learned a fair amount about cat skidders in the prosess something I didn't know much about before. I'd definitely not mind having a 515 at some point just one in better shape than this one. I don't desperately need a machine anyway both of mine are going good just kind of looking and if I find a good deal I'd buy one. ehp that's odd that that would cause that you would think if they made it go that fast they would make it stand up to it. 10000 x2 he could probably afford to hire a guy with a lowbed lol. Or just go slow I guess. I have run my 540 up the road for 4 or 5 miles in 8th with no problem but that's a different animal

ehp · April 10, 2015, 09:16:02 PM

he traded the 515 on a 540 cable deere , I think its about 5 years old now and seems pretty good so far . I travel my skidder quite abit on the roads around here as we get alot of smaller cuts and I know I go up to 10 miles lots

Maine logger88 · April 11, 2015, 03:17:40 PM

Is his 540 a G3? How does he like that? I would love to have one of those but they are really expensive!

nhlogga · April 11, 2015, 03:51:14 PM

There's a 540E in Millinocket for $36k

ehp · April 11, 2015, 08:52:24 PM

I think it is , no break downs with it so he is happy and he is a cat man so when he bought the deere alot of people kind of were wondering what he was doing