Buying Advice Thinking of trading in a John Deere CT332 for the 333E - is the 333E a good unit?

[candersen10]

I have a CT332 and am thinking about trading it in on a new 333E.

Has anyone run a 333E? If so, what are your thoughts? What sort of problems have you have with them? Can you answer any of the questions below?
- how is fuel consumption? Any better than the CT332?
- Does the foot throttle reduce fuel consumption much or do you run it flat out?
- Does the Yanmar engine seem like a reliable unit?
- Does the DEF fluid being used to meet Tier 4 emissions standards seem likely to pose reliability issues or create any headaches?
- How easy is it to access the engine/drivetrain components (on the CT332, the cab swings up nicely, but then you have to unbolt a ton of stuff to remove the cab floor - is this an issue with the 333E or does the cab bring with it the whole floor)?
- Does the Fan being on the rear outside of the radiator make it prone to getting broken etc? Does the heavy duty grill do much to reduce this risk?
- Has Deere done anything to reduce bushing wear on the booms? Are the bushings still held in place with Bolts - and if so, do these appear to come loose regularly (a frequent problem with the CT332)?
- Are there any must have options (I am thinking cab/ac, ISO pilots, high flow hydraulics with a regular flow hydraulic valve set as well, auto reverse fan, heavy duty rear grill, power quick-tach, two speed)?

Thanks and my apologies if this is in the wrong section or a topic of no interest to anyone else.

- Charlie

 

[rhaga24]

I traded in my 333d for the 333E this year. I have never run the CT332 but as of 250 hours on the new E I will say I like the D better however when Deere gets all the bugs worked out of the E I believe it will be a great machine. Fuel consumption is so so a bout a tank a day 26 gal per 8 hours but the auto idle feature saves some. The engine is great. No DEF fluid required I off road diesel and it runs great. I do not use the foot throttle hardly at all. There are some features that I really like but the D had them as well. One of them is called turtle mode where you can run the hydraulics nearly wide open but you can set ground speed from 2 percent to 10 percent in 1 percent increments then every 10 percent up to 100. I run alot of implements with full hydraulics and about 50 to 60 percent ground speed. It also has three setting for the boom and bucket. Percision, utility, and production these are great.
The 333E only comes with high flow fittings so you either have to get adapters from john deere to run your low flow implements or convert them to high flow fittings even though you are running low flow. There is an issue here as the weight of the adapters has caused a leak in the hydraulic block which john deere replaced for free but, I have broken 2 block fittings at a cost of 250 each. Love the quick tach, two speed is a much and the heavy duty rear grill is a beast. Hope this helps

 

[OrangeGuy]

I have no experience with the JD 333E, but a friend had a JD CT332 and traded it in on Bobcat. For comparison sake, you should look at Bobcat and Kubota. My local dealer sells both and based on the number of used JD and Cat track loaders I've seen on their lot, others must have seen a benefit in switching. However, they are a very large dealer that sells 100's of Bobcats every year and reportedly ( a salesman told me) 75 Kubota track machines last year so a few JD and Cats might not be a big deal.

I have a little experience with Yanmar and Kubota engines. My Kubota F2260 with a 60" mower has 3 cylinder Kubota diesel and my Ferris IS2500 with a 60" mower has a 3 cylinder Yanmar diesel. The Yanmar is a fuel hog compared to the Kubota. My estimate is that the Yanmar consumes at least 50% more fuel for the same work.

 

[Roadbuilder6]

The e series john deere ctls are wonderful units. I would kill to have one if i could afford one. The 333e is a wonderful unit.

 

[Grump 58]

I have a 333e and a 332e, I would get the reversing fan for sure, high flow, not scrared of the Yanmar at all, fuel consumption is not bad. 3 to 4 gal an hr. Lots of power, I got 6 weights on the back, I think next time I would start out with 2. Deere went to 2 high flow fittings only, { like Cat 299 } but I am told they are going to fix that problem and come back out with the 6 port block. Adapters suck. I do not have many hrs so far, time will tell. The creep button is awesome, its a rocker switch by your right joystick. I have one with the heavy grill, one without, I would order the heavy. My dealer service has been great.