Fixing the 300CX Grille Guard

[foggy1111]

IMO.....the John Deere Grille Guards leave a gaping hole in a very vulnerable place on the 3X20 tractors w/ 300 FEL's. So......I had a grille guard piece fabricated to fill this void and complete my grille guard for use in brush. To me....Its what JD "should" have done.

I was quite pleased with the end result. It all bolts on in a short time by drilling four 5/16" holes in the gussets on the FEL. The guard had to be fabricated to clear the release for the guard...allow a hand to fit onto the latch.....and allow the hood to clear when opening. This plate does all three quite nicely. It has a reinforcement located behind the 3/16" plate....and I'm certain its stronger than the JD guard located above it.

Anyway....here's some before and after pics....and a few on mounting it shown in primer. I asked my fab shop what he would charge others....cause I like mine allot. He wants $40 plus $10 shipping. PM me if you want to have one made by my fab shop...and I will pass on the information to order one. He held onto the templates.

I believe this improved grille guard could save me lots of problems. :thumbsup:

 

[foggy1111]

FWIW....to install this guard, I removed the existing JD grille guard (two bolts) and drilled the 5/16" holes....then installed (4) 5/16x 1 1/4" bolts. The tools needed are shown. Pretty easy project....with the right fabricated plate. The section removed at the top left allows the JD grille release to operate. An approx 1 1/2" gap between the guard and the screen (at the bottom) will allow trash to fall through....and air to circulate.

 

[AKfish]

Great solution and a real improvement over the OEM.

I've already purchased 1 new mesh grill for my 110 and have had to fix the new one at least once, too. Brush will find those vunerable areas on your tractor; for sure!

A couple of 2x4's and a rubber hammer... will restore the "squares" in the grill pretty well! It would be best to shield the grill in the first place - like you've done, though! :thumbsup:

AKfish

 

[foggy1111]

I've shown this pic before.....and it's why I'm so adamant about good brush guards. I ran this 3" branch through the front of my grille on my 790...luckily, it bounced off the battery and out the side grille....rather than through the radiator. I never even knew it happened until my wife "mentioned" it.

I got the grilles fixed up pretty good....but I hate it when this stuff happens....and it could be avoided. I made a vastly improved guard for my 790 "after" this mishap. :confused2: (once bitten...twice shy )

 

[AKfish]

Whoa.... That's a serious chunk of tree!! Thank God I haven't "skewered" my tractor that bad!!

The 110 has a Hydraulic cooler (radiator) directly in front of the engine radiator and I've been worried that one of these days my luck "might run out" and I'll end up with a huge repair bill!

I bought some HD welded mesh screen and 3/8" flat bar to re-inforce the grill guard but have yet to get it done!

Pics like that --- give me a whole bunch of incentive to get goin' on that project!

AKfish

 

[jenkinsph]

I've shown this pic before.....and it's why I'm so adamant about good brush guards. I ran this 3" branch through the front of my grille on my 790...luckily, it bounced off the battery and out the side grille....rather than through the radiator. I never even knew it happened until my wife "mentioned" it.

I got the grilles fixed up pretty good....but I hate it when this stuff happens....and it could be avoided. I made a vastly improved guard for my 790 "after" this mishap. :confused2: (once bitten...twice shy )

Geez Louise! You almost stabbed it in the heart.

 

[RoyJackson]

Looks great, Foggy!!!!

Too bad you didn't add that to your 790's grill guard before that major puncture!

 

[sunnyside360]

A couple of 2x4's and a rubber hammer... will restore the "squares" in the grill pretty well!
AKfish

Yep, just experienced the damage/fix last week when my son-in-law was using my 4320 and grapple moving brush. I was able to restore the grill to near new condition (no holes). Battery stopped the limb from causing any further damage. This does elevate my priority in getting the grill guard in place. I like Foggy's solution and will likely go with something like that. Thanks for the info and pictures.

 

[foggy1111]

Thanks for the reply's. My 790 is all better now.

I plan to haul my 3320 about 200 miles "up north" to my deer land. So...I am busy doing projects that are harder for me to complete up there. This big void in the JD grille guard is strange to me...and I see it in all the 3000 series tractors.

Do the 4000 series tractors have the same big guard deficiency? :confused2: I know so many others on TBN have grapples.....so they must be working in timber too. That's where the danger exists for me. Its just rough to see some of that coming.

Anyway.....I'm not sure if this "plate solution" would work for the 4000 series too?

 

[Rob-D]

Hi Foggy,
Didn't think I need the guard until I moved brush this week. Almost broke a headlight!
Looks like time to make one or buy the Deere guard. Is the Deere guard a bolt on or do you have to buy the whole assembly?

Rob

ps: Nice job!

 

[JD755]

I know it doesn't seem like it, but the entire front end, hood, grill, side panels, etc, is all the same part number on both the 3000 and 4000 series tractors. I believe previous discussions here have shown the grill guards are the same also.

 

[sunnyside360]

I know it doesn't seem like it, but the entire front end, hood, grill, side panels, etc, is all the same part number on both the 3000 and 4000 series tractors. I believe previous discussions here have shown the grill guards are the same also.

I have both a 3720 and a 4320 and the hoods and grills look identical. In fact, there are hole markings under the hoods of both tractors showing where to drill for a 3X20 and for 4X20 vertical exhaust.

 

[Rob-D]

I have both a 3720 and a 4320 and the hoods and grills look identical. In fact, there are hole markings under the hoods of both tractors showing where to drill for a 3X20 and for 4X20 vertical exhaust.

Yes, I saw that under my hood when I was checking my vertical exhaust.

Rob

 

[jimgerken]

Here's my grill gaurd replacement for 3720. I made it out of real expanded metal (not that thin flat stuff JD used), and a bent tubular frame.

 

[foggy1111]

Here's my grill gaurd replacement for 3720. I made it out of real expanded metal (not that thin flat stuff JD used), and a bent tubular frame.

Nicely done Jim! I sure agree that the JD guards could be made more stout. You must have access to a tube bender...nice work.

 

[Rob-D]

Nicely done Jim! I sure agree that the JD guards could be made more stout. You must have access to a tube bender...nice work.

Ditto Jim,
That's how it should be done!
Rob

 

[foggy1111]

Hi Foggy,
Didn't think I need the guard until I moved brush this week. Almost broke a headlight!
Looks like time to make one or buy the Deere guard. Is the Deere guard a bolt on or do you have to buy the whole assembly?

Rob

ps: Nice job!

Rob...I just bought my 3320 last week (used).....and it came with the optional Deere guards on. Deere offers two types of bolt on guards. I believe Deere calls what I have the "heavy duty" guard, as I have the expanded metal front and on the sides of the guard. BUT....even this "HD Guard" is built pretty light duty....AND has the gaping hole at the bottom. This is what my fabricated plate is all about (shown in primer on some pics above).

Jim G's design covers most of the Deere's deficiency quite nicely.

 

[sunnyside360]

Here's my grill gaurd replacement for 3720. I made it out of real expanded metal (not that thin flat stuff JD used), and a bent tubular frame.

Nice job Jim. Looks like the guard on my old JD bull dozer which was fabbed by the previous owner after jamming/fixing the radiator a gazillion times. :thumbsup:

 

[picker77]

Here's my grill gaurd replacement for 3720. I made it out of real expanded metal (not that thin flat stuff JD used), and a bent tubular frame.

Great minds think alike, but mine is a simpler design due to the limited fabricating skills of the designer--that would be me. My yellow Deere-deer came out good though, LOL! I really like the wings on Jim's guard, but trying that would have been like brain surgery for me and my little Lincoln 225.

Seriously, anybody with one of the open JD guards ought to put one of these on, might save a lot of grief later.

 

[Rob-D]

Rob...I just bought my 3320 last week (used).....and it came with the optional Deere guards on. Deere offers two types of bolt on guards. I believe Deere calls what I have the "heavy duty" guard, as I have the expanded metal front and on the sides of the guard. BUT....even this "HD Guard" is built pretty light duty....AND has the gaping hole at the bottom. This is what my fabricated plate is all about (shown in primer on some pics above).

Jim G's design covers most of the Deere's deficiency quite nicely.

Foggy,
Good luck with the 3320, I love mine!

Rob