my "new" John Deere 310a Backhoe

[Lapeer20m]

 

[DT86]

That is a mighty fine looking old hoe!

My uncle has had one like it for about 10 years. I have borrowed it for several things, digging water line mostly. Between us we have replaced a few hoses, front tires, injectors, rear axle seal, pins and bushings. Not too bad for a machine of its age.

The only major problem is the front axle spindles keep working loose,

 

[Lapeer20m]

both the front and rear buckets have been "refurbished" by what looks to be a very talented welder. This machine was originally owned by a municipality and the welding was done by them. I am curious if the hour meter is accurate, as I am not sure if the buckets would need new cutting edges welded onto them with only 1,500 hours on the machine.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

The pins are nice and tight, everything works including the heater, she purrrs like a kitten and even has relatively clean engine oil. (at least one of the cylinders does leak down after sitting for a couple of days)

 

[pjbci]

That is a mighty fine looking old hoe!

My uncle has had one like it for about 10 years. I have borrowed it for several things, digging water line mostly. Between us we have replaced a few hoses, front tires, injectors, rear axle seal, pins and bushings. Not too bad for a machine of its age.

The only major problem is the front axle spindles keep working loose,

Do you know of an aftermarket source for spindles?

In answer to the cutting edge question, i certianly think a city owend machine would wear out cutting edges, buckets, and teeth quickly with all the work on asphalt and pavement they do.

 

[dave1949]

Yeah, buckets wear fast in rough digging, and they are very expensive to replace. It's common here to lay down a lot of surface welds on the wear areas on a regular basis. That way, the welds are being worn away (like in your middle pic) rather than the expensive bucket material.

 

[Turbys_1700]

That is a really nice older machine that you will really enjoy...
I am restoring my father's old 3616 International Harvester backhoe...
It is not in as good of shape as your Deere but it is still a good serviceable machine for here on the farm...
Parts can be somewhat problematic for it but you should not have that issue with your Deere...
Those old machines can do a lot of work and beat the snot out of a shovel...

 

[creekbend]

Congratulations. That machine should get the Job done.

 

[DABSGT]

Best of luck with that Deere, I had a 410 few years back lots of fun to work with and easy to work on.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[wmonroe]

Good looking machine, enjoy.