Looking at a first-time small dozer purchase

Hello, I am looking at a a late 70's Cat D3 and I need to know what to look for as far as potential problems and wear items. There appears to be 2400 hrs on it, he's asking $9700. It has a 6 way blade, all of it works great. It's a one owner, farm used unit. I've been around lots of different equipment, but I've never owned a dozer before. I know, of course, that the undercarriage is the big wear item, this particular unit appears to have a very good undercarriage. I started and ran the dozer for close to an hour, everything works with a few little idiosyncrasies. The left steering pedal needs to be pushed a lot harder to work than the right pedal, could that be an adjustment, or indicative of a major repair necessary?



There is a Rome winch on it, which I specifically need, I will be using it for some logging. Is anyone familiar with that winch? It didn't turn when I tried to use it, but they said it probably just needed some fluid. Sound possible? I guess I can just bring some fluid and try it, do they just use regular hydraulic fluid?



The shift handle doesn't put the unit into gear right away, after you let it warm up a little it eventually kicks into gear and runs fine when it gets going. You also have to run the handle just right to get it to go from forward to reverse, could that just be an adjustment? It's a power shift, if it makes a difference.



Any other thoughts on this machine, or just owning a dozer in general, would be appreciated. I will not be using it hard, really only am buying one for the particular job I am on. I was leaning towards the advantages of owning one, as opposed to renting or hiring it out.



Thanks!