Inspecting a 1010 Diesel Crawler Loader

[Rich-out-West]

I originally posted this to the Yesterday's Tractor Co. Forum, but Lavoy was kind enough to put me on to this more dedicated resource so here goes...

In a couple weeks, I'll be taking a look at a JD 1010 Diesel Crawler Loader. We just finished building a house, and I'm in the market for a smaller machine to do some light clearing and grading around our place. A friend brought this particular machine to my attention. The owner has had it for twenty years, using it for light work around his 5-acre property. He says the machine runs and operates fine and has a few newer parts he replaced to get it ready to sell.

Up to this point, I've done all my sitework and excavation using a borrowed D6, and rented rubber-tracked Bobcats and light excavators. These machines are great, but the rental fees will start to pile up considering the landscaping we want to do over the next few years. Buying one of these newer machines is definately beyond our budget. Heck, we just finished building a house - this old machine is beyond our budget! Anyway, I figured if I can only have one machine, a small used track loader would be most versitle especially if I can later fit it with a 3-point hitch backhoe.

Anyway, what I'm looking for is an affordable machine that with reasonable care and maintenance will do light work for the next few years. I've restored old cars, motorcyles, and even a 1970 JD 112 garden tractor, but never anything as big as this. This being said, to maintain peace with my better half, I'm mostly after a working machine right now versus a project.

If it's not already obvious, I'm a newbie so the inspection has me a little intimidated. I can measure the tracks for undercarriage wear, but I don't know what else I should look out for. The owner did note one potential problem. He said one of the hydraulic cylinders that lift the loader is somehow worn or out of adjustment. The result is the bucket droops slightly to one side as it is lifted. He indicated though that this hasn't hindered operation so far, so he hasn't bothered to fix it.

I don't know at this point if the machine has a reverse system or not. Reading old posts, it sounds like the reverse setup makes the mechanicals quite a bit more complicated. I'm assuming without the hydraulic reverse, you can still reverse, but only in one gear.

I understand the previous owner had a ripper and a backhoe, but the current owner chose not to buy them from him. I'm crossing my fingers that this means the machine has a 3-point hitch. How would I determine if all the linkages for the hitch are in place. I've heard it can be a pain when part of a hitch assembly needs to be replaced.

Any tips...Am I crazy...Thanks in Advance!

Rich Johnson

[country53]

Keep in mind any dozer that old is going to need something done to it if not a lot. I fixed up a 420 a few years ago that I got givin to me and so far I've got around $8000 in it. But I've enjoyed every peice I've taken off and restored. $8000 is more than I think the dozer will ever bring but Ive had a lot of fun with it. So if You want one to use without working on it You would probably be better off to buy something newer,However if You don't mind working on it to use it come on in, the waters fine.

[Lavoy]

I can almost guarantee you it does not have a 3PT hitch. The factory setup for a hoe is a large pair of hooks on the back of the crawler that the hoe sets in, same with the scarifier. Normally if it is a loader, there should be a large rack of weights sitting in these hooks if the hoe is not installed.
As far as 3PT hitch, they really do no fit on a loader crawler, only dozers. It is possible to make some sort of homemade 3PT I guess and hook it to the J hooks, but will be kind of a pain. Other thing is you may or may not have an auxiliary valve to run it. Plus, the loader hydraulics would be too high flow to run any hoe small enough to put on a small 3PT hitch.
Do you need a loader, or would a dozer work? Loader are significantly heavier, they are harder to work on, and typically have led a little tougher life due to the type of useage that a loader endures.
1010 is a little more complicated to work on then the two cylinder crawlers, and parts are not as readily available.
I guess the main thing is not to get into it too deep so if something big breaks (and it will) you can afford to fix it.
Lavoy

[Rich-out-West]

Guys,

Thanks for the comments, and thanks Lavoy for the specifics on the backhoe setup. I've seen 1010 crawler loaders with a backhoe and I'd just assumed it was a 3-point. It sounds like if I end up needing a backhoe, I would need to locate one that was made for this this model or like you said rig up something custom.

I definately need a loader. I have a pile of about 100 yards of top soil sitting in front of our house waiting to be re-distributed. Some of it needs to be moved as far as 150 ft. I'd hate to have to push it around with a dozer. I also plan to build some retaining walls so the loader would be nice for lifting stones and backfilling.

The reason I though a crawler might be a good idea is I've had problems with wheeled Bobcats getting stuck in our sandy soil. When I started using a rubber tracked Bobcat it was like night and day. It never got stuck, had more digging power, could drive faster (yes faster then a 4wd unit) and was more stable. When we backfilled our foundation, I managed to place 320 yards of pit run in and around the foundation in a single day with one of these babies. I figured a 1010 would offer many of the same advantages, except for the part about being fast.

As far as working on the machine, I know old machines need TLC and locating parts can take some patience. Like I mentioned I have a soft spot for old iron (machine tools, cars, bikes, etc). I just need to make sure my wife sees some dirt getting moved before I have the shop benches filled with crawler parts. My main goal is trying to make sure the machine is unlikely to be on the verge of a major breakdown before I get 40 or so hours on it. I guess I might want to bring along a crystal ball

Finally, with regards to getting in too deep, the selling price is likely to be around $2500. This is for a complete machine that supposedly starts right up and operates as it should. If it turns out this is the case, it seems like that gives me a bit of financial wiggle room when I end up having to do some work on the machine. Thanks again.

P.S. I have a compression tester. Would it be a good idea to do a compression test, and if so what values would I be lookign for?

Rich Johnson

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

FWIW, I figured out a long time ago that I need two machines. Mind you,. I have more than two, but I only really need two. Oh, and don't worry about my wife - she already knows that I happen to have more stuff than I *need*! So does she, so we're even!!

Anyway, one is a crawler/dozer and the other is a tractor/loader. I dig with the dozer and transport with the loader, so I don't have the issue with the wheels not having enough grip. Besides, if the tractor does get stuck, there's a crawler nearby to get it out with. Now, if I get the crawler stuck, then I'm in trouble, but that's a different story......

I also figured out a long time ago, that the last thing in this world I want to wrench on is a crawler/loader. Those loader frames wind up in the way of *everything*, seemingly!

Then, too, the crawler/loaders put a lot more load onto the undercarriage and so it's a lot more likely that you'll need to be wrenching on one, unfortunately.

Now, I know that this way of thinking isn't the best in regards to your budget - or lack thereof....

Stan

[Lavoy]

At that money you really can't get hurt too bad. If it does the one job you need it to do, and then dies, deduct the value of that work, and sell it to the next guy. That being said, once you have run one, I kind of doubt you will ever sell it regardless of how much it costs you to restore it later.
Lavoy