Looking at an International 250C

[Taylortractornut]

Jim I just missed a 955 Cat with a 4in1 for 5500. The owner cleared a house place and llet a track throw. I changed the grease seals for the new owner when he told me the price even had a 4 shank scarifier. The county here has one that most likely will be for sale its a late 70's it has a Holt dozer blade with it that came out from Holt Caterpillar. Its power shift and seems to be tight I ve loaded gravel with it before.

 

[Scott62]

Hi jim, i was searching the internet looking for somewhere to purchase cheap international parts as i have purchased another machine a TD20C. I saw your message about a 250C i have one and i have had it for about 5 years, they are a large machine, they weigh 20 tonne with no rippers or buckets on them. They are 207 horse power they are basically the size of a D7 and they push just under a D7. They are extremely agile and are exceptionally good machines and easy to operate. You need a little bit of room, at least 7-10 acres. They are reasonablly economical when your on three quater power. They are basically the same as a TD20C except the chassy is different and have a smaller converter that is designed to slip. They are exceptionally good at digging. They have there standard faults as any machine does, the common faults to look out for are the following.

- the tail shaft yolk into the transmission flogs out, but can be easily fixed by installing a new one
- the final drive planetry gears were always a problem, there is a modification to fix them once and for all, at the same time check for oil leakage behind the sprokate under the final drive. it normally drips into the inner-track
- the hydrolic controler leaked oil which was mainly due to quad rings needed replacement and the spike valves the seat wears out, which is an easy fix as it is a ballbearing with a seat machined on it
- the converter has a modification on the breather in the top right hand side which was remove and replaced with a three quater hose through the floor with a hydrolic breather on top as they used to by pass oil into the engine

its like any other machine, buyer beware. you must check the pins and bushes on the tracks and also the sprockets as these can be quite expensive to replace. i also have alot of other modifications to make them cheaper and easier to fix. i highly recommend the 250C as it is a very versitile machine as i have a 15C blade on mine, a 14 ft rake, log forks and a 3 1/2 m bucket rake. it is an absolute pleasure to use and operate. dont be scared of the tank size it takes two days of full power to burn 415L of fuel, my advise is if it has been well maintainted and looks straight and tidy to get someone to who is qualified to do an apprasael. there are a number of pressure tests to confirm the state of the transmission. if you have a good mechanical knowledge these machines are extremely easy to fix with the use of the manual.

p.s, hope all goes well

scott from western australia

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Nice post Scott. Seems like our down under mates are quite resourceful. That type of post is exactly what someone who is thinking of buying one needs to read to help make up their mind.

 

[jinman]

Hi jim, i was searching the internet looking for somewhere to purchase cheap international parts as i have purchased another machine a TD20C. I saw your message about a 250C i have one and i have had it for about 5 years, they are a large machine, they weigh 20 tonne with no rippers or buckets on them.

Scott, I've been to Western Australia and it's a great state. I have a mug that says just that. When I was in the US Navy, my ship pulled into Fremantle way back in 1980.

Thanks for the info. It seems 250Cs are fairly rare in my area. There is a salvage dealer located in Fairfield, CA. I really don't want to have to rely on something that rare when there are so many others with great parts support. As I was doing my searches, I noticed a fair amount of Internationals and Dressers in Australia. They may be more common there than here, or so it seems.