Hi Guys,
Brand new here. I've read lots of great posts on here, and decided to join.
I'm looking at purchasing a 1987 JD 455E crawler loader. Machine has low hours - under 2000 - yet seems pretty beat-up. The sprockets are just points now, and the right track adjuster is "adjusted" with a steel wedge jammed in there to keep the leaking or busted adjuster/seal from moving. The under carriage is very rust, with a flaking steel in places. Should the sprockets have worn so quickly? It appears there was a lack of maintenance, but it was owned by an older fellow and I assumed the old timers kept their equipment up. The overall condition is rusty with no paint touch-up. That is good for me, as it shows the condition better than freshly painted, except for the structural rust. The machine has not moved in a few years, and comes with a backhoe. I don't see myself putting more than 200- 500 hours total on the machine on a small farm.
I know the undercarriage parts are exorbitantly expensive, and trying to avoid the headaches I have read about. With such low hours, if I replaced the sprockets and fixed/resealed the adjusters, do you think there will be life left in the UC?
I need a machine to move and clean-up ten very large, 17 year old stump piles from 20 acres of cleared land. I bought the property a year and a half ago, and really want to get rid of the piles. Some of the stumps are massive, but a lot of them have turned pulpy from sitting. My plan is to move the pulpy stuff to a dirt road and run over it with the tracks to smush them, then load them into a compost pile. The harder ones I'll move to a burn pile. I've read about sticks and branches wreaking havoc on undercarriages and hoses - dose my plan sound feasible? I might be finish clearing and grading two more acres of heavy woods after the loggers get through with it. I'll probably be left with the stumps from that too. Thanks.
Best regards.
John
Brand new here. I've read lots of great posts on here, and decided to join.
I'm looking at purchasing a 1987 JD 455E crawler loader. Machine has low hours - under 2000 - yet seems pretty beat-up. The sprockets are just points now, and the right track adjuster is "adjusted" with a steel wedge jammed in there to keep the leaking or busted adjuster/seal from moving. The under carriage is very rust, with a flaking steel in places. Should the sprockets have worn so quickly? It appears there was a lack of maintenance, but it was owned by an older fellow and I assumed the old timers kept their equipment up. The overall condition is rusty with no paint touch-up. That is good for me, as it shows the condition better than freshly painted, except for the structural rust. The machine has not moved in a few years, and comes with a backhoe. I don't see myself putting more than 200- 500 hours total on the machine on a small farm.
I know the undercarriage parts are exorbitantly expensive, and trying to avoid the headaches I have read about. With such low hours, if I replaced the sprockets and fixed/resealed the adjusters, do you think there will be life left in the UC?
I need a machine to move and clean-up ten very large, 17 year old stump piles from 20 acres of cleared land. I bought the property a year and a half ago, and really want to get rid of the piles. Some of the stumps are massive, but a lot of them have turned pulpy from sitting. My plan is to move the pulpy stuff to a dirt road and run over it with the tracks to smush them, then load them into a compost pile. The harder ones I'll move to a burn pile. I've read about sticks and branches wreaking havoc on undercarriages and hoses - dose my plan sound feasible? I might be finish clearing and grading two more acres of heavy woods after the loggers get through with it. I'll probably be left with the stumps from that too. Thanks.
Best regards.
John
