Cat 955L track loader: serial prefixes and hydraulic compartments

955L: the serial prefix changes the reference specification

Caterpillar’s former-model table identifies the 955L as a track loader and lists separate 85J and 13X entries. Both carry the same flywheel horsepower in that table, but their approximate operating weights and rated buckets differ. The 85J entry has a 1.53-cubic-metre bucket and a 15,330-kilogram reference weight.

The 13X entry moves to 1.72 cubic metres and 15,853 kilograms. These are configured historical references, not a measured weight for every surviving 955L.

Start with the complete prefix and serial. Comparing only “955L, 130 horsepower” conceals the bucket and configuration behind the weight. Caterpillar also defines its length column to the tip of the smallest general-purpose bucket.

A fitted multipurpose bucket can therefore make a sale machine’s measured overall length differ from that historical column without proving that its chassis is another model.

Keep the transmission and loader hydraulics separate

The reproduced factory service material for the 8Y, 13X and 57M families treats the steering-clutch oil system, transmission system and loader hydraulics separately. It directs power-train diagnosis to SENR7677 and powershift testing to SENR7678. The loader hydraulic specifications and tests have their own document numbers.

A bucket that raises slowly needs a different circuit investigation from a tractor that hesitates before moving.

One useful compartment check appears in the hydraulic-pump removal section: it describes the loader hydraulic tank as thirty-nine US gallons. That is a hydraulic-tank entry. It does not verify the earlier catalogue’s similarly sized cooling-system figure.

Identify the reservoir being serviced and use the lubrication guide for the serial range; an apparently plausible capacity in the wrong compartment is still the wrong service instruction.

The loader-system contents also separate the bucket positioner from lift kickout, with individual checks for circuit drift and pump efficiency. Ask whether a demonstrated stopping point is the intended kickout or an inability to continue lifting. Those mechanisms are listed separately in the service material, so a report saying only “hydraulics checked” leaves an important question unanswered.

Transmission checks need the correct tap and oil condition

The separate REG01508-00 powershift procedure for the 64J configuration identifies different taps for pump supply, direction clutch, speed clutch, lubrication and converter inlet and outlet. A pressure reading without the tap location cannot establish which part of the transmission was checked. The procedure also requires normal operating oil temperature and correct linkage adjustment before testing.

Record those conditions beside any inspection result.

That 64J procedure is not a universal pressure schedule for every prefix above. Use it to identify the questions a test record must answer, then obtain the matching procedure for the actual loader. Linkage adjustment is performed with the engine stopped, and running tests require the manual’s restraint and personnel precautions.