Bulldozer repairs and friends from home

It has been an extra special week having the crew from Roanoke here. The Second Presbyterian team arrived in San Juan Sunday and has been hard at work and even a little play. 

Susan is hoping to steal second base ...

A rowdy crowd attended the softball game!

  

















There are two surgeons here doing various procedures from improving a sagging eye (the result from an accident) to general surgeries on gall bladders, etc.


  The construction crew is building a warehouse for us to use during construction as a secure storage area. Once the building is under construction we will need this area, so it is great to be getting it built. 


  


We also hope to have an "Iwo Jima" style sign-raising tomorrow morning and get the large signs that Ed & Torri Armentrout  (members at 2nd Pres and owners of Budget Signs in Roanoke) donated to the project. 

Over at the construction area, trucks are hauling in more fill continuing the fill and compaction phase. This will be the third lift or layer of material on the complete site. The trees and vegetation along the highway are being removed so that the area can be cleaned up and turned into a "garden" area with nice plantings.

      

The broken part - missing the left leaf needed
to hold the large pin sticking out.

  Last week we had quite an ordeal with a broken part on the D6 bulldozer. The part is a u-shaped bracket that holds the "ripper" attachment on the machine. This "ripper" is dragged down in the ground to loosen the soil so it can be pushed into a pile. Without this part, we could not stockpile the fill material leaving us unable to continue the fill/compaction process. Thru some amazing efforts and timing the Roanoke team was able to deliver it here on Sunday. 

The broken part I took off last Friday. It is missing the
left leaf needed to hold a large 2" diameter pin.

If we knew where the part was it could have been welded back on, we searched but have no idea where it is. The CAT dealer in Santo Domingo did not have the part and said they would need to have a part shipped from the States, requiring 7 days to get here. What other options could we consider?

The new part in place.

Phone calls to Carter Machinery in Salem, VA and my friend Joe Miller resulted in CAT locating a replacement part in York, PA and having it shipped overnight to Salem so Joe could take it to the church and get it packed in a duffle bag (by the way it weighed about 50 pounds). A long-time friend of Joe's (Lee Sutphin with Carter) was extremely helpful getting this coordinated - and not only did they help us get the part quickly, it was done with at charge. 

View of the back of the bulldozer showing the two brackets
that hold the "ripper" attachment to the machine.

 A group of us headed out to the mine after lunch Sunday and installed the part however a very hard-to-find wrench was needed to tighten the bolts (no room for a socket and an adjustable wrench offered no help). I had visited many stores and repair shops over the weekend to no avail. 

Frank trying everything possible to get
the bolts as tight as he can get them!

Frank found one Monday morning, we borrowed it and successfully got the bolts tightened up - Monday morning the machine was back in business. We can now check off "bulldozer maintenance" on our bucket lists. 

Thank you Carter Machinery for your amazing customer service and generosity.

Back at Work - notice the "Ripper" on the back.

I never know what tomorrow will bring, it is sure to be an adventure and challenge. Worth every minute.