Is it SAVABLE after 25+ Years? ~ Forgotten AMERICAN Made Excavator ~ 1970's Insley H800 Track-Hoe P1

Can we SAVE this excavator from it's impending DOOM, otherwise known as the SCRAP YARD?

I was contacted by a gentleman who had an "Old Track Hoe" on their property, and they need it gone! They're cleaning up the property, and this machine was not something they thought could be saved. His cousin is a diesel mechanic, and he came out and took a look and said it just ISN'T worth saving or getting up and running... He might be RIGHT, let's find out together!

Join me as we go through this 1978 Insley H-800 Excavator and TRY to figure out everything wrong with it so we can determine if it's a machine REALLY worth saving... or if it's another one that should be melted down & made into paper clips.

This excavator weighs 22 Tons, is 9" 11" wide, and about 32' long. It has a 36" bucket and 30" track-pads, and it's SO over built that it's hard to explain with words! The machine is EXTREMELY simple with little to NO electronics on it at all, and that's the kind of machine I like to SAVE! If we're able to save it, it will definitely outlast our lifetimes, and probably even our children's with just a little bit of care!

This old Insley has the iconic 4-71 Detroit Diesel engine, and as we quickly figured out, it's stuck and has major issues, so HOPEFULLY we're able to over come those problems, or this machine is doomed from the start!

The goal is to determine if the machine is good enough to load itself onto a lowboy trailer and get back to Salvage Workshop. This machine is nowhere close to home, and it would be an incredible challenge dragging this 44,000 lb dead tracked machine onto a trailer, and to accomplish that it would be a serious project and would require quite a bit of big machinery to accomplish that task.

So to put it BLUNTLY, if it won't LOAD itself, then it's NOT coming home to Salvage Workshop!

Let's just hope my Instincts are correct, and I picked a "winner", I guess we'll find out together!

This should be a LOT of fun!

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the process of attempting to save this Old Track Hoe from becoming paper clips, or fencing, or sheet metal, or hammer heads, or whatever!

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Thanks as always for watching and following along with all my crazy adventures here on Salvage Workshop, I TRULY appreciate it!

Please enjoy! I know I did!

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0:00 - Day 1 - Checking out the 1978 Insley H-800 excavator
9:31 - First look at the 4-71 Detroit Diesel engine!
16:51 - The inside of the valve cover look SOOO BAD!
19:42 - Opening the side engine inspection covers
22:32 - Removing the rusty injectors from the head & testing the starter
32:24 - Continuing the walk around the Track Hoe
37:51 - Day 2 - Clearing around the machine & cleaning the RUST out of the head
41:33 - Attempting to free the STUCK engine with a BIG bar on the flywheel
48:52 - Disassembling the front of the Blower to look for problems
53:28 - I found a problem with the Clutch that engages the engine to the hydraulics
57:01 - Finally FREEING up the Stuck engine!
1:07:24 - Testing the Starter and then turning the engine over without Injectors
1:11:01 - First attempt to START the old Detroit! We had a little Fire!
1:15:26 - It FIRES for the FIRST time!
1:16:18 - Day 3 - Checking the fuel pump for issues & testing the Emergency Air Flap
1:22:29 - Looking into the top of the governor / fuel shutoff housing
1:24:20 - I found a family of Mice with BRAND new babies
1:26:00 - Let's try and start it for the First time!
1:28:19 - The boom lift control is stuck and wants to LIFT! Let's fix that
1:36:46 - it THROWS oil EVERYWHERE!
1:39:12 - Draining the fuel diluted engine oil & replacing it with fresh oil!
1:47:48 - Cutting off the blocked exhaust & seeing if it smokes less
1:50:42 - First ATTEMPT at driving the machine forward
1:52:15 - Messing with the throttle / governor
1:54:29 - It FINALLY Tracked forward.... Well BARELY!
1:57:58 - I found another major PROBLEM or 2 as I do my final walk around of the machine!
2:05:20 - Next up on the Track Hoe Rescue Part 2...

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If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please leave them below! Thanks for stopping by, I truly appreciate your support!

#excavator #willitstart #SalvageWorkshop