So me and one of my buddies got one of the natural resources guys on base to open up a closed off road for us. So we got prepped to do some fishing in our fresh spot. Unfortunately there were some big trees down. We decided we would just tie some ropes to em and give it hell. Unfortunately one was very stubborn, and big. Well the Dak eventually cracked it in half and we were able to pull it out. But I was pushing her REALLY hard and I could smell the clutch burning. On the last attempt, when I finally snapped it, smoking was rolling from underneath my truck, and the inside smells pretty good too. At first I couldn't even put it in reverse, but after it cooled down I could. Would it be wise to go ahead and change the clutch out?

 

holy shizzz that's effed...

I'd look at it for sure...

can't imagine it would be a bad idea to replace...

maybe with a heavier duty clutch...

 

Yea, at some points I was digging myself right into the ground. But when I started getting it moved I started to smell it. When I unleashed the beast smoke was definitely rolling. I'd definitely like to get a heavier duty clutch. Anyone have some recommendations?

 

Use low range!!! It's there to save your clutch!

 

Low range? You mean 4x4 Low? I was in low.

 

And you managed to smoke the clutch?

 

Yea, she was smoking. Didn't have my foot even on the clutch when it started. I noticed the smoke when I heard the tree snap cause it scared the **** out of me at first.

 

I mean you were in compound low with an engine that produces ~230 hp bone stock! Most medium sized bulldozers don't have near that much power, but manage to do their work with low gearing and the low end torque of diesels helping do the work (although slowly.) For a comparison, my grandfather had a 1950's vintage Cletrac bulldozer that had a gasoline straight 6 engine that was roughly 2-3 hundred cubic inches (so what maybe 100 or so hp if he was lucky.) The reason it could do things like dig out roads from open country and pull a stuck semi hooked to a double-wide trailer segment out of the mud was because it had really low gearing and treads to help give it the traction it needed.
Using a 4x4 4.7 Dak in low range, I just can't image what kind of load would work it so hard that it would fry the clutch!

 

Exactly. Low range puts so much less stress on the clutch that your clutch must have already been near death anyways.

You weren't in any deep mud/water, were you?

 

Comparing the towing power of a bulldozer to a dakota isn't exactly a fair matchup. But yea, it was a HUGE tree. When we first started my dakota and his tahoe couldn't budge it when we hooked up to it at the same time. I hooked up about 2/3 the way up of the tree to snap it. I was in a mud/sand combo. It wasn't too mushy, but if I wasn't careful I would just spin and dig my own grave.