anyone know JD 440 Dozers

AKwelder · Oct 2, 2009

I am looking at buying a John Deere 440 dozer. It has a 2-53 detroit engine, a 6 way blade and a factory side boom. The factory side boom is the main attraction here. The winch(s) are hydraulic not friction.

I live in Alaska and small dozers are hard to find, most have been used up in remote gold mining operations. This one is located 40 miles off road up a river. I have not seen it yet and know that one steering clutch is not working correctly. It has as busted adjustment bolt i am told.

were these good little dozers?
I am familiar with 2-53 detroit engine, what about the rest of the drivetrain?
How are the tracks and undercarriage?
Are parts available from JD?
is it considered a AG or construction machine?( different dealers here)
Anyone ever seen a factory side boom?

I sure would like to hear about this machine before I try to purchase and get it out. thank you

jenkinsph · Oct 2, 2009

If this machine is a precurser to the 450 A dozer it would have dry clutches (that are always wet or damp) can be tiresome to operate. I had a 450 A many years ago and worked on it alot. Cat has a side boom model as I recall for laying pipe in their lineup.
Age if I were to guess would be 1965 roughly, that is pretty old for a unit you would be buying parts for in Alaska.

Steve

jenkinsph · Oct 2, 2009

Above post was off on age estimate I was wrong

Found this on tractor data; TractorData.com John Deere 440 industrial tractor information

Can't be 100% correct all the time so 1958 to 1960 era.

Steve

AKwelder · Oct 3, 2009

I have been looking at traveling up and seeing this dozer. A couple of friends have been around it, and I think that i could travel up river and work on the dozer during Moose season and maybe get a moose.

If the dozer works out and the price works I need to look at walking it down river 25 to 30 miles in the winter. This will be an adventure. Walking a 50 year old dozer down a frozen river in january while it is 20 below.

we shall see

jenkinsph · Oct 3, 2009

AKwelder said:
I have been looking at traveling up and seeing this dozer. A couple of friends have been around it, and I think that i could travel up river and work on the dozer during Moose season and maybe get a moose.

If the dozer works out and the price works I need to look at walking it down river 25 to 30 miles in the winter. This will be an adventure. Walking a 50 year old dozer down a frozen river in january while it is 20 below.

we shall see

It will be an adventure getting a 2-53 engine running or restarted at -20 F. This engine I believe is a 2 stroke with low compression for a diesel. Frozen track problems, idlers, pins and such that you find are worn out along the way etc. You may be able to do it but good judgement would dictate using a trucking company, better judgement and you would pass on the whole thing.

Steve

sunnyside360 · Oct 3, 2009

I owned a 1959 JD 440 dozer with 8' blade, rear rippers, and a very nice cab like open enclosure (no windows). It had a twin cylinder 2 cycle Detroit diesel engine that run great but was a little hard to start in colder weather w/o using ether. The one owner before me was chief mechanic for the PA Turnpike and he kept very good care of the machine -- kept it in a garage when not in use. It was a great little machine for it's size (~6500 lbs?). I used it to clear part of this old farm that was getting over taken with brush and small trees -- worked great for that. I only owned it for 5 yrs when a guy came along and wanted to buy it for way more than I paid for it so I sold it. Wish I had it back many times. The only problem I had was the left clutch adjustment bolt snapped and I had to replace it. I had visions of having to tear down the rear housing but was able to turn out the broken bolt from the top access hole and replace with a new one. These engines are known for oil leaks so be mindful of that. Other than the clutch adjustment bolt, I never had to buy parts for it so I cannot say if parts are readily available but I'd check around including the JD dealer. For a major repair, it could cost way more than the unit is worth.

sixdogs · Oct 4, 2009

I had a similar model 15 years ago that was in nice shape but parts were so shockingly expensive I sold it to a collector. As stated, it was tiresome to operate.
If you drive it a long way--assuming not frozen to the gound-- you could wind up throwing a track out in the middle of nowhere. Then you not only get to drive it at 20 below but work on it at that temp as well. I changed a steering gear on an F600 at 25 below and it was such an ordeal I am cured forever.

I can't turn down a deal but unless in primo conditon with a solid plan to get out of woods, I would be tempted to pass. A great plan "B" would be to buy something in Iowa and truck it up yourself with a small trailer. Take a vacation and stock up on parts. Or, get a bigger trailer and stock up on stuff to sell to others at a profit to pay for part of the trip.
On the plus side, you would likely bag a decent moose who would wonder what you are doing.

AKwelder · Oct 4, 2009

thanks for the input guys, it helps.

There is no chance of using a trucking company, there is no road. I have been looking at putting a sled under each track and dragging it out. Helped a friend do this with a 4000 series JD tractor just a couple years ago.

To get the unit running I would start by getting everything going before snow, making sure things are as sound as i can get them. them wash the mud and crud out of the tracks (or at least scrape them out). when I am finished I would park on logs out of the mud, run some light weight oil in it and tarp it.

When the trip begins i would knock the snow off, put a space heater to the tarped unit and heat for 12 hours, and pull the trigger. I hope, 30 plus miles downstream we hit the road and load up. the whole operation would be by snowmobile (we call them snowmachines) or tracked vehicles. I was thinking of building a sled and renting a wide track dozer and just pulling it out, sounds simple. like all problems. I think that i can get a load of freight going upstream to help with the cost.

Right now I need to find out what kind of a dozer this is, good, bad or expensive. Going to this trouble for a museum piece or an underpowered dozer that will not push would be bad

jenkinsph · Oct 4, 2009

To be frank about it this thing is too old, too costly for parts and compared to more modern dozers you would be severely handicapped. The next model in the lineup was likely the 450A which I had and later had the 850 hydrostat (new machine when I bought it) the 450A was a decent machine for its day but I had one about thirty years ago. If it were me and I needed to get some work done I would either buy a new unit or lease one. I don't consider dozers like rubber tire tractors, you can find some nice older tractors that will work well for you. Dozers are different, they get the cr*p beat out of them and everything is expensive and hard to work on. Old used ones require at least two hours of mechanic repair for every hour of use.

Steve

sunnyside360 · Oct 4, 2009

I agree with Steve. I'd either put my money in a newer dozer or better yet rent one. That is what I do now when I need dozer work done or hire it done. I can't tell you how relieved I was when the guy came along and bought my 440 dozer as mentioned above. Even though mine was in good condition, I was always worrying about something major breaking and whether parts would be available. You don't have this concern if you rent. I'd pass on buying this 440 dozer.