How To Buy A DOZER

[hunterridgefarm]

I don't know how many of you are familiar with my past threads so here is a short review.

50 ac track to build house on...I NEED A DOZER!!! End of review.

After spending 6 hours with a chainsaw and draging brush yesterday my wife and I decided it is time to seriously look for a dozer. We have now found 3 different places that we could put the house but before we make the decision I need to clear most of the small growth out of the way. We had pine trees cut off the property in the early 90's so there are alot of young pines growing around the hardwoods that need to be removed.

With the amount of clearing we want to do we figure we could buy a used dozer for what we would pay someone to clear this.
I have searched this site for tips on buying a dozer with no results. Every post I read about a dozer someone says they can be money pits if you don't know what to look for.

So what do I need to look for??

I can see spending $10,000-$15,000 on a used dozer and then a "For Sale" sign on it when I'm finished.

I have found, not looked at yet, John Deere Track 450C with 4in1 bucket priced at $14,500. I hope to get by to look at it next week.

I need to know what to look for. I think a 4in1 bucket may be better than a 6 way blade...?

I know to check for % of undercarrage, but thats about it.

I have a friend that ownes his own grading business so he will go with me and look at the one I find. But several opinions are better than one and its seems many here on TBN have dozers.

So could you tell me a few things I need to look for??


PS: That utility size tractor is out...dozer is #1 priority, I'm selling the 600 and 8N, I'm tired and ill !! I need a dozer.

 

[40Kchicks]

I have bought three dozers in the last 8 years. The first one was an antique Oliver. That was a disaster because I couldn’t find parts and everything on the tractor needed replaced except for the hydraulics which were impressive. The second one I bought was an old cat D4. Parts were easy to find on it and it ran OK. The hydraulics were slow and the transmission fast so I had a hard time doing any real work with it. It had a pony motor which was interesting. I was too nervous that it would break so I sold it. I bought it really cheap and sold it for a nice profit. Finally a couple of months ago I bought a 1999 JD 450H. This is a modern machine that the other one don’t even compare to.

When looking at dozers look at the sprockets and undercarriage first. As the sprockets wear they get more pointy. The pins wear on one side and get less round.

Make sure the controls are smooth and easy to use. The nicer new dozers are hydrostatic with infinite speed control and single joystick steering. I sure do like that. A dozer does a lot of back and forth work so make sure shifting is easy.

Check out the hydraulic controls. The hydraulics should be able to move quick enough. Many dozers like mine have the T handle control so all the blade movements are on one bar. This is really nice.

Other things to consider would be hours on the machine, wear on the blade cutting edges, visibility, does it come with attachments like brush blade or rippers, is it big enough to do what you need to do?

A JD 450 is a real common dozer and should be real easy to get parts for. I love mine but when I really get to moving dirt I understand why they say that size is for finish grading. My next project is really really big so we will have a D8 size machine brought in.

Eric

 

[Egon]

Start looking at used construction equipment cataloges.

Then think of the price you thinking to pay!

If you do buy one hire a qualified mechanic to look it over.

Egon

 

[workingman]

Have you thought about renting? I see that you are from WNC. There are rentals in the Asheville area. My neighbor works for Briggs which rents new Case stuff. E-mail for a contact.

 

[BarryinMN]

40K is spot on.

Another check is to put the blade against a immobile object (very large tree) and push to check for track spinning steering clutches working.

I have a '68 JD350 with QT backhoe. Bought it in '02 for $10K and still have it. Hard to sell it as friends, neighbors, and relatives request dozer work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Only expense beyond a little fuel and oil changes was an injector pump rebuild for $500.

One consideration to keep in mind is mobility: transport, getting it unstuck, etc.

The JD350 has parts availability at the local ag dealer, newer larger dozers are stocked at the yellow paint dealers. For me that would be an extra 60 miles on a round trip.

I have the 6' PAT blade power-angle-tilt. Mostly do landscaping, trail building and lot clearing. The blade is 1 yard rated but I've pushed 3 yard piles of clay.

Keep us posted on your search!

 

[marks]

Check out this web site; ironplanet.com it's comprehensive and the inspection reports provide a check list.

 

[rvaitor]

I have a '68 JD350 with QT backhoe. Bought it in '02 for $10K and still have it. Hard to sell it as friends, neighbors, and relatives request dozer work /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The Backhoe - does it run off a single set of hyd valve(connectors)?


One consideration to keep in mind is mobility: transport, getting it unstuck, etc.

That seems to be very important

The JD350 has parts availability at the local ag dealer, newer larger dozers are stocked at the yellow paint dealers. For me that would be an extra 60 miles on a round trip.

What engine does this unit have/share with the ag machines?

I have the 6' PAT blade power-angle-tilt. Mostly do landscaping, trail building and lot clearing. The blade is 1 yard rated but I've pushed 3 yard piles of clay.

 

[nobull1]

Well here is my opinion. Do all that 40Kchicks has said twice over to make sure you really didn't miss anything. After you have convinced yourself this is the machine for me take a oil sample from everything you can think of. The cost of oil samples done by Cat will reveal a wealth of knowledge on the condition of the components(unless they were just changed, then I would have to think real hard). This may sound like a big deal and time consuming but in the end it will give peace of mind. A bad drive motor or diesel engine could turn a good deal into a disaster. What you said about use it and sell it is what a lot of people do in our area with backhoes. You can do your job and save the cost of renting/hiring out equipment. The problem is if you buy for say $10,000, and that is the average going price at the time. You do your work and have to spend $5000.00 to keep it running it is still only worth $10,000 so the job cost you ($5000.00 or whatever) plus your time, fuel and aggravation. People like myself will average the cost of repairs over many jobs, not one. I am not saying not to do it just to cover as many bases as you can.

 

[MadReferee]

I would agree with getting something with a 4n1 bucket. You get the best of all worlds, a grapple, a bucket, and a push blade.

My 1963 IH TD6 with a Drott loader and 4n1 bucket weighs in at 15,000 lbs and has a breakout force of 18,500 lbs. With a 55 hp non-turbo engine it will do just about everything except dig out really big stumps with one push.

The biggest problem with old machinery is parts availability. Wih any dozer you buy, make sure you get a good undercarriage which includes sprockets, rails, pins, rollers and tracks. Otherwise, I hope you have a big fat wallet.

There are several forums out there that discuss tracked dozers. There is plenty of good info on what to look for in these forums. here are a few:

Red Power forum for IH equipment
YTMAG crawler forum
Crawler Haven guide to undercarriage wear
John Deere crawlers
IBDozing forum
ACMOC old caterpillar tractor forum

 

[BarryinMN]

#93 backhoe has a large quick connect hose to the dozer hyd. The valves are all mounted on the backhoe along with the flip down seat. Seat frame is what is sticking up in the pix. I keep the seat in the barn. You can see the 2 vertical plates on the bh fits over 1" plates on the dozer hook & pin style. Makes for a 2 min attach/detach.

Deadending the hose will stall the motor.

Motor is a 3 cyl diesel 152 cid 40 hp with a power reverser. There is a gas version. Used in the 1010 ag crawler & wheeled tractors.