What to watch out for on a 1950s John Deere crawler/loader?

[Fallon]

Owning a dozer is on my bucket list. My Kubota L4060hstc does everything I need it to. But a JD 420c with a loader showed up on Craigslist for $2,500. Apparently in pretty decent mechanical shape. Starts right up & runs fine. Some of the hydraulic cylinders leak a fair but.

No clear answe on the undercarriag %, but it sounds like it's in decent shape. Sharp sprockets & worn through pin bushings on the tracks along with any moving adjustment parts getting worn or sloppy. Any other things to look out for?

It weighs a hair more than my tractor but has less HP. I doubt I'd do much if any side work with it. Most use would be loading impliments on the trailer when the tractor wasn't here. Or generally being a backup to the tractor.

I mostly want it because I want a dozer, not because I have a real need it.

Anything in particular I should look at before making an offer when I go to check it out on Friday or Saturday?

If I put over 2 dozen hours on it in the next few years I'd be suprised.View attachment 829896View attachment 829895View attachment 829898View attachment 829897

 

[redman135]

Links don't work, error message: couldn't find that. you don't have permission to view this page or perform that action. ??? what is going on?

 

[mikester]

I'd take a good look at the undercarriage as that will be the most expensive fix. Sprockets and rollers as well as pins and bushings.

 

[Tinhack]

Ditto on sprockets and track pins. The other wear points are the lower rollers and upper idler. Also check the front auto-tension wheel bushings. That lift looks homemade but if it works, it works. If it came with a lift cylinder, perhaps it has the PTO also. (???) The PTO lever is on the top-left of the transmission. It could have that lever and not the PTO so check at the rear.

I have a 1956 JD 420C and loved every minute on it until right brake went out. I have yet to fix that, so it's been idle for a while. Mine was converted to 12V when I got it. It starts and runs great. I bought a GM gauge sender and gas gauge to put in mine. They don't come with one, so you have to use the "stick gauge" to check fuel.

Mine was an old pipe layer, so it has a boom and small front blade. It also has retractable counterweights on the right side. I've used that boom a lot around the place moving, pulling and lifting. I used it to unload my old Toledo OBI Punch-Press off a trailer.

 

[Fallon]

John Deere 420 Crawler - heavy equipment - by owner - sale - craigslist

Starts right up. Fully operational. Needs hydraulic cylinders rebuilt, tilt on bucket leaks. $2500 or best offer.

eastco.craigslist.org

Had a nice chat with the owner last weekend. The 3pt lift was definitely home made by an uncle or something, I don't think the loader was. Apparently this units has been in the family since at least the 80s. Sounds decently taken care of for a 70 year old machine that works & isn't collectors piece.

I definitely understand there are no new spare parts for the machine, so if anything breaks I would have to custom make the part, or find it from another machine somewhere. I can fix a good bit of stuff, but I expect if anything major happens to it I'd either retire it to yard art or sell it for parts.

I've never owned a dozer & only operated a few. Enough to know the undercarriage is expensive & labor intensive to replace of fix. I think I know what to look for on the wear from plenty of YouTube (FarmCraft, Diesel Creek & many others wrenching on older machines). But we'll see if what I think I know matches what I actually know.

 

[newbury]

Just a warning - posting a CL or similar "great buy" ad is nice, but there have been a few cases on TBN where other buyers swooped in and bought.

 

[Fallon]

Just a warning - posting a CL or similar "great buy" ad is nice, but there have been a few cases on TBN where other buyers swooped in and bought.

Ya, thought about that before posting it, but figured I'd risk it. Hopefully heading out to go check it out & bring it home tomorrow evening.

 

[CliffordK]

I definitely understand there are no new spare parts for the machine, so if anything breaks I would have to custom make the part, or find it from another machine s/q3omewhere. I can fix a good bit of stuff, but I expect if anything major happens to it I'd either retire it to yard art or sell it for parts.

That isn't exactly true. Engine rebuild parts are readily available. Clutch kits are also available. The 2 cylinder gasoline engines have been used by Deere for many years with parts available. Duplicate manuals are also available.

The later 440ic version came with an option for a 2 cylinder (General Motors/Detroit) diesel 2-53 engine which shares some parts with larger engines of the same class.

There is a tractor junk yard here in Oregon called "Farmland Tractor" that has several Deere 420, 430, and 440 tractors and crawlers that share quite a few parts. The tractor and crawler versions share at least some parts. A lot of stuff torn to bits there, and their engine warehouse leaks.

Farm Tractor Parts Online | Used Tractor Parts for Sale

Farmland Tractor brings you a huge selection of new aftermarket, used, and remanufactured farm tractor parts for sale. This is a one stop shop for all your aftermarket tractor parts. Shop now!

www.farmlandtractor.com

Now, in the ad you posted, the speedometer picture doesn't match the crawler, and is from a different tractor.

I'm at the beginning of my John Deere 440ic adventure. The nice thing about it is that it is light enough to be pulled around on a standard 10K pickup cargo trailer. Unlike many dozers that are VERY HEAVY.

So far the engine of my crawler barely runs and is barfing out oil. I got a replacement engine, but with inspection, I have somewhere around a 1/32" gap around the pistons, so the spare will need a rebuild this winter.

When I got mine, it would only steer one direction. I was barely able to adjust it to steer both directions. There is an inspection hatch under the seat. The steering is a combination of several clutch discs and a brake band that are linked together when you pull the steering lever. My steering lever would bottom out on the seat and do nothing. There is a ring to adjust the throwout bearing on the clutch disc pack. I now have that adjustment ring adjusted so far that the adjustment screw barely catches the slot.

I can't say exactly how I'd inspect a similar crawler, but look for signs that the engine is worn out. So, excessive smoking. Try to dig the bucket/blade into the ground and see if it has the power to dig or push dirt. A compression test might be handy. Look at the engine oil. Does it look like tar? Not a good sign for a gas engine. Also, on mine, there is an oil cap on top of the engine. As much exhaust blows out that oil cap as blowing out the top of the smokestack, another sign of bad blowby.

Good Luck

 

[CliffordK]

As far as the bucket. Mine (440IC) has an ATCO bucket. Every photo I've seen of similar crawlers has a different bucket or blade.

I assume many tractors and crawlers of that age were sold as a base model, and had attachments like blades and buckets added. My bucket has a lot of cast steel parts, and some appear to be torch modified for the application. However, I have seen many tractors of about that age with tubular steel buckets and accessories. It is quite possible there were small manufactures or even local machine shops that were making tubular steel accessories.

4-way and 6-way dozer blades were a later invention, but started coming out very soon afterwards, and may be available for the 440 models.

Thinking about my Grandparent's old Ford tractor. It did not have power down on the bucket. Looking at the photos in the ad, it appears as if the cylinders have hoses on both ends, so presumably they are power up and down.

 

[Fallon]

Now, in the ad you posted, the speedometer picture doesn't match the crawler, and is from a different tractor.

They also had some Case tractor for sale as well, a picture of that got mixed in. You can see the tire for it in the edge of the first pic. The other giveaway is the steering wheel in that pic ;-p. I know new HST dozers use a joystick, but I've never seen one with a steering wheel. I guess some of the JD rubber tracked tractors have a wheel, but those are ag tractors & not a dozer.