950 buying need advice

[chriswheeler]

I agree as well, my 950 has been a good tractor. My 950 has over 8000 hours on the clock. But what I'm talking about is when you ask for a common drive gear and JD can't get it anymore. That alone should be a heads up. And parts availability in the future will only get worse for those models from now on. My delema is choosing a replacement that can be supported into the future. With all of the tractors under 50hp being made off shore the choices get tougher.
Chris

 

[yandeereguy]

thats what makes me nervous, I can be certain that this will probably be the last major overhaul on this tractor, I'm probably just gonna find a newer 970 or 870 and my 950 will be a winter restore project.. If need be I can probably use the loader/backhoe off the 970/870 and put it on the 950 (with the right mounts).. At least they made the 970 up until 1998, so parts may be easier to come by..

And no way in **** I'm owning a tractor with plastic fenders, not being ignorant to those who do but I own A JD F525 mower thats been babied with 400 hours on it and the plastic is starting to crack it really pisses me off because this was an expensive little machine and parts availability for this are even harder to come by than the 950

 

[chriswheeler]

Don't misunderstand, I think getting another 950 with a #8 backhoe and loader AT THE Right Price would be a good thing. The value for me would be in what the loader and backhoe is worth. ( depending on condition ) Tractor would be worth parts. Still think there is a decent residule value on mine, even without parts support. But I put hours on mine, and sooner or later it becomes an issue. The conflict comes with the current residual value VS the future value with less support as the years pass, not the quality of the tractor. Package for $10k, no, 7k worth considering. ( and even at that, would have to be in great condition ) Just think it's unlikely he will be willing to let it go for that.
Chris

 

[yandeereguy]

yeah your right it would have to be in top shape and it's not, he's not gonna take $7 for it and even then I'm paying top dollar for a backhoe and loader.

If I go 970 or 870 route I have the option to use bh/loader on my 950 if need be, and keep the 950 around to use for PTO work, box scraper, tiller, bale forks.. etc without having to remove the backhoe off the 970.

I'm thinking the 70 series and 50 series share the same rims/tires maybe some other small things interchange??

 

[chriswheeler]

Don't know about tire and rim interchange on the two. But I'm thinking the newer series will keep you in parts much longer. Good choice I think. I'm getting ready to sell both my JD 950 4WD and it's Yanmar 3000 twin and move into something with a little less wrenching required. Got to thinking about it and the backhoe used seams to sell around here in the $2500-$3500 range, loader $1500-2000. ( again depending on condition ) At a $7000 offer you are basicly giving him almost $2000-$3000 for the tractor, and together it could end up being way to much at that. Wide spreads is prices depending where you live and how hard it is to find this stuff in your area.
Chris

 

[yandeereguy]

Whats a good price for a 1997 870 4x4 2000 hours.. a dealer down the road from me said 5500.00 when I inquired, without any other serious negotiation..

 

[RoyJackson]

Whats a good price for a 1997 870 4x4 2000 hours.. a dealer down the road from me said 5500.00 when I inquired, without any other serious negotiation..

I seen one down in Salem,Virginia, 870 4x4 Loader backhoe, extra bucket 9 grand and thought that was a good deal.. but I have no way to haul that much tractor.. I had to pass on that deal due to travel expense and tractors hours (2600)

That's a good price for the local 870.
These are nice tractors. About the same power as a 790, but has the heavier frame and other components of the 970 (which turned into the 990 and current 4005).

 

[yandeereguy]

SCORE!!!! I'm having quite a time finding a better price on an 870 and have been searching the net like a madman.. I did end up finding a brand NEW 8b backhoe off an 870 that an old man bought and never used... it still has the shipping stickers on it, even on the bucket!!.. 1300 miles and ***** dollars later and she's in the pole barn.. I edited this post because I don't want to take away value from other 8b backhoe owners, Lets just say it was an amazing deal

It was on craigslist for a month at that price and no body would take it??:confused2::confused2: WTF??

 

[yandeereguy]

well I finally made the choice today and picked up that 870, and put her right to work with a box scraper on the driveway... I really like the tractor, but were still new to each other but put about 3 hours on her today....
I get to keep my 950 and rebuild it instead of selling it off for more money on another machine aswell

Gonna fab up 5/8 dummy loader brackets to hang the backhoe off the back, and cut 2inch suitcase weights on the plasma should have the bh on the back monday

 

[chriswheeler]

Great move. Little side note on all of this. I noticed that my 950 has a brace fabed between the bell housing and the front frame. This tractor spent most of it's life on a golf course mowing the rough with a brush hog. Think this brace is about making the joint between the bell housing and motor stiffer and taking some of the load off the bell housing bolts. I just finished a clutch change on my YM 3000 couple of weeks ago. When I split the tractor and removed the flywheel, noticed that lower 5 of the 8 bolts holding the bell housing to the motor were broken, bolt heads trapped behind the flywheel and had been rubbing the back side of the flywheel for quite some time. Anyone who does a clutch job on these wants to be sure and remove the flywheel and check these. This takes us back to the 950, think at one point it had the same problem. The bell housing serves as part of the tractor frame. Think the brace on mine came about after the same problem I had on my YM 3000. If you end up making a subframe to mount that backhoe to the 950, you may want to consider running the mount foward to almost mid engine to spread the load of the bh out more evenly on the frame, and take the load off that joint. If the #8 hoe is staying on the 870, might want to look at how it's mounted as well. I think if I'd ran the YM 3000 much longer the way it was, the tractor might have seperated due to the load between the bell housing and the engine. Sure glad it didn't. Enjoy your new tractor,
Chris