what pettibone skidder do I have

viperdada · August 30, 2017, 10:17:33 PM

Hi all!..New to this site and have a rather simple question I think. I saw this real nice size, Pettibone skidder, with a seized 3-53 and bought it for a small price. The engine doesn't bother me as my shop has been a Detroit dealer for over 50 years and myself, have rebuilt many. My sons and I will have fun rebuilding this machine and using it on our property. Nice guy I bought it from says it's a Master 6 speed skidder, about a 1966, but I have only found one picture online that looks like it, now cannot find it again. It has a unique look, which without pictures may give away what it is and approx. year. The thing is that the rams that raise the blade mount strait up and down. The engine cover/hood is actually a 3-53 power unit sheet metal.What is it? I cannot find a tag expect for National Iron Works div of Pettibone. What winch is it? What trans?Axles? I don't see any tags on anything, believe me I looked!

Satamax · August 31, 2017, 01:25:12 AM

Looking a bit like this one?

Timber Harvest Methods & Equipment in Forestry and Logging

More here

Pettibone Master 12D Skidder in Forestry and Logging

Satamax · August 31, 2017, 01:37:12 AM

Another thread, most certainly worth reading.

pettibone skidders in Forestry and Logging

coxy · August 31, 2017, 01:45:38 PM

do you have any pics of it

viperdada · March 02, 2018, 10:36:12 PM

Hi all. I'm sorry I did not reply earlier about my post but have learned a lot since posting it. To all that might have one or a machinery buffs I have info!

I will post pictures soon. I have a 1965/66 Master 6 speed skidder, for sure. It has a 3-53 GM(Detroit) engine, Borg and Beck torque converter, 11" Clutch, Fuller 5B-33 five speed transmission. Power goes out of a Pettibone Model 70 transfer case/drop box.

Axles are Clark "no spin diffs" front and rear, 26.2:1 ratio, Spicer 1410 series driveline

Gearmatic 9 mechanical brake winch

I was able to get a copy of a parts book, operators manual from Pettibone, so I have all Pettibone part numbers, so useless, but it has the specs and some numbers are munipulated OEM numbers.

Any way, the engine had a bent rod, broken valve # 3 cyl, block was cracked from being frozen, blower cracked from water in the air box. So, my 14 and 16 year old son attacked this machine and it's fun, no work here. A trip to the back of the shop for a good used block and some blower piece ad removing every bolt and nut on that engine, she runs like a clock. All transmission bearings and t case bearings, I was able to match up new on eBay. Brookline machine of Walthem, Mass came up with PTO shift top.

So tomrrow is chassis day. Wheels, planataries, and diffs are comming out and ater that the winch brake. I have some info from Winches Inc.

I will follow up with some pictures soon. any questions, please ask

pl

coxy · March 02, 2018, 10:44:15 PM

just don't relie on pettibone for parts i had a 501 mountain goat and could not get parts from pettibone except one axle and they wanted 1100$ for so i junked it

viperdada · March 03, 2018, 10:17:53 PM

I'm not worried about parts at all.. The big stuff is fine and whatever else will be a class room for my sons. With a bridgeport, lathe and a great local machine shop, what ever isn't avail, we will make, improvise, adapt and over come. I have a 1964 Pettibone MK 25 crane a the shop,, brough back from the other side! So no stranger to the "can do" way of life. This is not work to me, but a nice project that I hope my sons will never forget. Me and my dad did the same stuff. My dad, at 91 , still a great teacher

Today, wheels, planetaries, and diffs and also pulled the fairlead and the winch. The diffs are fine, and just need pinions re-shimmed and some new seals and speedy sleeves, all new wheel seals as all items are fine. The winch, not too bad. A few new bearings needed and everything else is pretty good.

The best part: fresh paint before the re-assemble. So, we should have hit "rock bottom" here

I understand the reasons for scraping a machine, but, for me, it becomes a challenge and keeps my sharp. It becomes more than resurrecting something from the dead. It's just cool. and to do it with my sons, even better!

Dam thing is a cute little machine that I have ha 4 people that want to buy it as well..

viperdada · March 03, 2018, 10:44:30 PM

starmac · March 04, 2018, 12:29:58 AM

Well the very best part of that pettibone will be the fact that no one will ever be able to take away what them boys will learn, nor he can do attitude so many grow up without in this world we live in. You may throw that skidder away one of these days, but will be proud of those boys forever.

bushmechanic · March 04, 2018, 05:15:20 AM

That's a really great project your taking on there and to get to do it with your sons is awesome. I always wanted my son to go with me and learn about stuff but couldn't get him interested at all :'( I never saw a driveline setup quite like that before with a torque converter and a manual tranny, looks like it has a clutch also. Enjoy your project and we all like pic's here :D

thecfarm · March 04, 2018, 07:40:22 AM

Kinda hope you turn this into a rebuild of a pettibone skidder,with pictures. Please.

I like it.
You would be shocked at the amount of young adults that can not put nothing together. I never took apart a skidder with my Father,but we fixed things. Some kids never had a chance to do that.

coxy · March 04, 2018, 11:48:15 AM

well that puts a different light on the subject

i didn't have all them fancy toys you got 8) i always wanted to learn the machining end in a shop but there is no one that wants to teach anymore i had almost the same with my dad but we never had a shop till 15 years ago every thing was done out side from -10 to 90+ degrees :D my oldest daughter use to help a lot working on things she even went to school for heavy equipment but later on went in to nursing my youngest girl is a rip it apart and let dad figure out how it goes back together :

there are a lot of them old pettibones still around my dad and another guy had the first bettibones skidders around this area they where front wheel steer had a bench seat with a 6cylender dodge gas motor not the slant 6 i have a pic of it ill try to put up at some point but that's a great thing your doing with your boys keep up the good work

viperdada · March 04, 2018, 07:33:36 PM

Thanks for all the kind words. Yes..best part is that I'm doing this with my boys. My younger guy was sad last night when we were going home and said, "I want to do more". And I told him, we'll get back to it! I also want to point out that I took over a business my dad started 55 years ago, and added to it, so my dad did a lot of the hard work, but small business is never easy and myself, never needed an alarm clock. I worked with dad all my life and still do. Great guy, inspiring and better teacher then he ever gave himself credit for That makes me the luckiest guy in the world, so now time to pay if forward to my boys.

We have always cut fire wood off our property and recently I added some acreage and want to possibly log (on a small basis) the property , for sale of lumber and buy a processor to sell some wood. Again, the boys are anxious to do this, so this Pettibone will be a working piece.

With that said: I re-learned that what I have is a Gearmatic 8G winch. I am going to look for a 8A brake to make it hydraulic, then I can ad a three way valve off the hydrulic pump for a real strong winch brake. The chance of finding the pieces for the winch to do it though.

bushmechnic posted thst he never saw the manual transmission/torque converter set up. I have see this before myself on some older machines of this era, on I cam remember was a big allis-chamers fork lift. It has a 3-71 Detroit, Allison converter nd a 4 speed transmission. Yes, and odd set up by maybe a cheap alternative to a powershift transmssion. Now these transmissions of coarse are the nornal. One example is a Timberjack with a clark powershift transmission, a new process standard and some of them even have a Allison AT542 automatic, like a school bus trans

Sorry, I rambled on again!

viperdada · March 04, 2018, 07:39:43 PM

oh yeh..bush..yes, it has a clutch, so you have to be stopped when you shift to and from reverse, 1st and 2nd, the rest are semi syncro..it does not have syncros in the trans but "clutch hubs" kinda like a fuller roadranger

starmac · March 04, 2018, 07:46:17 PM

Maybe different, but kind of the same. I checked out a Ac dozer once that had a similar set up. It had a torque converter a clutch and a standard tranny. The odd thing about it was the diesel fuel ran through the torque converter. I thought the clutch was bad, and it turned out the fuel filter was stopping up, talking about messing with my thinking.

coxy · March 05, 2018, 07:08:24 AM

the older case skidders that you sat off to the side like the TJ was set up the same as the pettibone the case had a 5speed clark my dad had one for 20 years ill have to look in the book but i think they called it a semi auto matic or something like that

viperdada · March 05, 2018, 05:20:18 PM

A lot of set ups out there. It always amazed me since I was a kid, all that machinery and parts to make an engine run, make power, all to turn a "little" shaf out the back and through other shafts make machines work. By the time it gets to that shaft, seems so simple!

I have built/rebuilt/modified/scratch built a few cars and motorcycles. All fun and this machine is no different but offers it's own set of challenges. My first machine resto is a 1956 Allis-Chamers HD-5G tractor shovel with a Tractoshovel bucket set up. I put on a donated Garwood winch and my dad and I used it a lot, then resto-ed a 1952 Allis-Chamers HD-5B dozer with a Baker up and down only blade. We stuck a Carco winch on it and it can become a crawler with no blade in about 15 minutes, so for firewood, gets in and out of spots easy. But with out arches, we look out for mud and let the logs sit and bang them around before cutting. You have to love the sound of a 2-71!

Now, with Mr. Pettibone ( I was told it's name is actually "Ethel" it will be faster and "cleaner". As we all spoke of previously..doing this with my sons is the best, like when I was a kid with my dad. The payoff like I told them is seeing it do what it was meant to, knowing we had it down to a bare frame, which is only a couple hours away now!

starmac · March 05, 2018, 06:58:29 PM

I always helped my dad, when I was in first grade he had a 53 gmc pickup and the clutch went out. He rode to work with another guy and had me stay out of school and pull all the bolts out of it except for one, so he could swap the clutch that night. That has been many moons and turns of a wrench ago, but I still remember how proud I was to have been able to have done that.

My son at 3 years of age would watch, he would get on a creeper and get under whatever I or my hands was working on, stay out of the way and never say a word, just watch, by the time he started school he was pretty good help around the shop. He is now better at a lot of things, than I ever thought about being, and don't mind working either.

viperdada · March 14, 2018, 09:36:29 PM

finally..time to assemble this thing..I cannot believe how this thing has been stripped, when it was only going to be an engine swap , the axle mounts are repaired and gusseted..diffs are re-shimmed and re-sealed..parts for the 8G ..located and on their way. this weekend. re-seal wheel hubs, install diffes and axles shafts...

the rest is fun stuff..putting together all the big pieces. the fab work is a new cage, which I will make some pipe doors, for safety..and build them strong. I might also make a new blade, not sure yet

pictures to follow..who ever wants to view them!

starmac · March 14, 2018, 11:47:17 PM

Does the trans mounted pto run the winch on that one?

viperdada · March 16, 2018, 11:50:08 PM

Yes..it is a manual shift pro, just like a truck has..mounts with same 6 bolts as they still do..Parts for this chelsea pto are obsolete, bearings were easy, the shim gaskets and shims for the intermediate shaft, still the same. the top cover was shot, and after many phone calls..emails..found a new one in mass. the thing is... Being the pto drives the winch direct ...the protection to against breaking stuff is the torque converter(fluid coupling) being you would push the clutch, shift the pto in gear, shift the winch in gear and simply speed the engine up and once it has a load, speed the engine up some more. then once you take your foot off the throttle pedal, the winch should stop fast. ..good in theory as I never drove or worked the machine