Learning more before I buy. Any advice??

[Nick30605]

Does anyone have some good pictures of an undercarriage in good condition? I'd like to know what to look for when shopping around.

So far, I'm leaning toward a 440 or 350 with a front loader.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Willyr]

Its more feel than looks.
-Seeping oil.
-Are the bogeys loose or broken.
-Are the bushings round? (round shaft on the chain link) If egg shaped or worn through, it needs pins and bushings.
-Are the sprocket teeth the same shape? A worn sprocket the teeth will be more pointed and the valleys are no longer the diameter of the pin.
-How slack is the track? Can you twist any of the track pads (worn or missing bolts).
-How tall are the growsers? Worn growsers wont be very tall. The growser on the tread is the metal bar that protrudes from the tread. Has some one welded on metal to the growser instead of replacing the pad (sometimes extra growser are welded on shortening life of chain).
-There should be no dirt caked on the undercarriage when you inspect it. If there is, ask them to clean it before you look at it. If they wont clean it or tell you it doesnt need to be cleaned with dirt on it, RUN AWAY! Dirt hides alot!
-Start it up. Diesel will smoke black at first yet clean up after 5 minutes of idling. Is there any smoke after the 5 minutes? Blue = oil, black too rich, white = water / antifreeze.
-When the engine isnt running. Remove the oil fill cap and look at the underside. If it looks milky it has a water leak somewhere.
-Pull the dipstick, how clean is the oil? Does the oil have an odor? Let the oil try to drip off the dip stick. If the oil easily drips from the stick, it has not been changed and has fuel in it. Gasoline engines the oil pours like water if seldom changed).
-Has the owner kept records of maintenance? What maintenance has been done? Do they change the oil regularly? Have they replaced the filters annually?
-If diesel, drain the fuel filter briefly and does any water come out?
-What are the conditions of the batteries? How old are they? Average battery is good for 6 years.
-Are the terminals corroded? Might be overcharging.
-After the dozer is running, ask if they have an old tree you can push against. Put the tractor against a tree with blade down. With tractor in gear try to move against said tree. Does the tractor stall (shouldnt). Will the tracks turn if the tree is stronger than the tractor (they should, if they dont you could have bad clutches)?
-Did you rip out the tree? We want the pictures and tell us about it! LOL
- Hopefully the engine is relatively clean. How does the water pump look? Any water seeping? The front and rear oil seals, are they dripping?
-How old is the fan belt? Does it sound like it is cracking if you twist it (belt may be older than the hills if it does).
-Do the hydraulic cylinders leak oil? With the engine running, push the bucket or blade down. The front of the tractor should raise slightly. Does the tractor have the ability to raise the front of its self? (might have bad hydraulics if it cant).
-Can the blade / bucket do all the movements? Up down in out and so on.
-Is the antifreeze green? Can you even see the antifreeze? After 5 minutes of operation does the engine show any temperature on the temperature gauge?
-Do all the switches work? Do any of the wires look like they are not factory installed? Beware of poor man splicing with black tape.

[440 iron popper]

About the chains... I was told to check that bushing have no flat spots, have enough adjustement left (idler not at the end of the frame), sprocket theet ok. Everything was fine but due to my lack of knowledge i missed that: The pin are welded to the links and the bushings are round pipes just the same diameter than the real bushings. They have been inserted between links. Actually, I can turn them by hand. It does the job for now but... 440 chains are rare and expensive if good.

Have someone who knows old john deere crawler to inspect it. Pay him if you have too!

A lot of good points are mentionned in this post as for the model, application and everything. It is not to discourage you. It is more to get you armed against bad sellers!

I hope you find a good crawler near you that you can use without worries. Those machines are very fun to operate. I can't wait to have one of mine running. Best luck to you.

[magnus]

Do you own a torch and 3/4 drive socket set?

Bought mine non-running on the cheap, and trying to do the clutch packs. Already broke 2 sk 1/2 drives. Trying to split the track looks like it needs the hot wrench.. Unfortunately my tank lease ran out, and its gonna cost a few bucks to renew it.

[Tigerhaze]

Nick-

There are some very simple measurements that can be made for rail height and pin/bushing internal wear- also as stated there are visual (qualitative) obersvations on undercarriage wear.

Links to these are posted in some other threads on this site but here is some of that information:

http://www.crawlerheaven.com/wearlimits.htm

http://www.crawlerheaven.com/tracklinks.htm

http://www.crawlerheaven.com/tracklinks_chart.htm

http://www.tractorparts.com/undercarriage.htm

http://www.tractorparts.com/PDFs/undrcarguide.pdf

[Nick30605]

Thanks for the info

[Willyr]

BTW a 440 is not a newer crawler it is an older one.

350 or 450 is what I was recomending. Something newer than 1970 is best.