JDcrawlers Messageboard

Good things come to those who wait!

Wow, great info, right from the horses mouth. Sure, our winches may be 50 or 60 years old, but many are still doing the job for which they were intended. Maybe the company is afraid of liability issues, but probably just doesn't realize how much interest there still is in these old units. (OK, they ...

I too, thanked Paul for sending me a copy of the 8A manual. It certainly seems mysterious, as the 8A is quite popular on our beloved crawlers. My cousin in NH still logs w/his 8A equipped 420C, after his father logged well into his late 80's (maybe 90's), and it's still going strong. I have one on m...

Thanks, to Lavoy and Stan. A lot of good info there. I had already decided to stick with the 6 or 12 volt rather than go to 8. Good idea about making an insulator atop the battery, also. I hope to be installing a 12 v alternator this year, when I get a couple other projects taken care of. (Get my wi...

Got the manual. Thanks Paul

To Pop Pop (and anyone else). It's a Gearmatic 8A and hasn't run in years, it seems. Yes, it reels in when you clutch it and put the PTO in Gear. I guess the controller only changes the direction of rotation? I saved the photos Paul Buhler posted of the dual master cylinder setup, and am interested ...

I'm afraid to take my winch apart. Afraid of what I may find. It only works in the "take up" direction, as I have no controller. Would like to free it up, tho, so can pull the cable out more easily.

I have an 8A on my 420C, with no control. It has seen better days and has some massive welds on the top, to the mount. It runs in one direction when I engage to PTO, so I spooled a spare cable onto it. Unfortunately, it doesn't freespool very easily, so is very difficult to pull out by hand. I'm thi...

Hi guys. I've read, in previous posts, that the Deere battery is probably the beat. I've also read mention of using an eight volt battery. I've seen one at a cool store called Klem's, in Spencer, MA. Off the top of my head, right now, I don't know who makes it. I don't think it had a high CCA rating...

Thanks, Lavoy. I will be doing that. Unfortunately, I'll have to pull both sides, but not till after snow season. One side needs bearing adjustment, anyway. We had quite a bit of snow in ME last year and I'll need it to push back the snowbanks in my driveway to make room for more snow. The mismatche...

Unfortunately, I left my Parts Manuals in Maine, so I don't have them handy. According to the 420 Manual, they list 2 Final Drive Gearsets, for the crawler, which have nearly identical Gear Ratios. The P/N for one is the same as that which is listed in the 40C Part Manual, which has only 1 set menti...

I really have a strange problem. It seems I have two different ratios in my final drives. I'll continue this thread soon, sorry.

javascript:emoticon(':oops:') Sorry, folks. I mentioned the Group 75 battery from my Silverado, off the top of my head. I believe it is actually a # 78 battery. For anyone converting to 12 volt negative ground, this size seems to fit in the tray, has front side terminals, with the ground negative te...

I have several battery tenders I got on sale from Harbor Freight, but haven't used them, as the 420 was up in the woods. It's in Maine and I'm in Spfld, MA. It is now parked behind the garage so that I can plow snow, if need be, and I'll be plugging it in when I go up next week.

I've been using the 12 V battery from my 06 Silverado HD in my 420 C. It seems to stay charged, tho I'm still running the 6 V generator. (Got an 8 year old Optima in the truck) The #75 has side terminals, so wont torch my dozer. Also, no lights on the 420 or the battery might not stay up. I think th...