JD 455D - New to Me and questions

[kiotiugly]

Hi there.

I recently acquired a John Deere 455D loader for use around my farm. I've got an older Case 310G dozer that threw a rod and I've been in the process of rebuilding it, but decided to pick up something newer and bigger.

I have no idea how many hours are on the crawler (hour meter was busted), but it seems to be in fair condition. Undercarriage is good, steers well and everything operates like it should. The only gauges that work are the tach and the oil pressure, so I was going to see about getting those replaced.

I was planning on replacing the filters and fluids. I got the operators and technical manual (906 pages - woof) in electronic form and have been looking them over. It looks like the recommended fluid for everything except the engine is J20A. Is that the common thought with these units, or do people use something different (i.e. a newer fluid that's come on the market since the 80s).

Anything in particular I need to watch out for when changing fluids/filters? It looks pretty rudimentary in the manual, but I haven't gotten started yet.

Any thoughts on cold-starting aids? Mine has a button for starting fluid, but it looks like all of the apparatus has been removed at some point (if it was ever there). Is there anything like a block heater, radiator hose heater or manifold heater available for these engines. Mine is a 4219TT 03 if matters.

Anyway, I appreciate any advice and guidance anyone can provide. I've had some trouble finding information on the internet just because there's a John Deere 455 lawn mower that appears to be way more common than 455 loaders, so I've looked for a lot of 450D dozer information.

Thanks and take care.

[Jim B]

Welcome to the Boards.

Yes, on John Deere Hy Gard for everything except the engine. J20A was the spec for Hy Gard when your 455 manual was published, the current spec to look for, if you are going to get a generic equivalent to Hy Gard, is J20C. It is backward compatible to the previously recommended oils/fluids. Mobil Delvac Tractor Hydraulic Fluid and TSC Traveler Universal Premium Tractor Fluid are a couple that meet the J20C requirements. There are other UTHFs that meet it as well, just check the label to say it meets John Deere J20C.

Filter changes are pretty straight forward as far as I can see.

Keep starting fluid to a minimum if possible. Here are a couple options for engine heaters, depending on the head and block. First a picture of a tank heater on a 2030 with a non-turbo 4219. the second is a in the block heater on a 450E with a 4276. I don't know if there would be clearance issues with the turbo for using the tank heater and I don't know as your block has the port for the in-block heater. You can look at yours and see what might work.

[kiotiugly]

Thanks for the suggestions. As far as the block heater goes, it looks like it doesn't have the port for the "in the block" heater like the 4276. However, the online parts manual shows that it had a block heater available similar to the one shown on the non-turbo 4219. I'll have to have a look and see if I can figure our where those ports are and maybe add one that way.

I got all the fluid and filters changed. The transmission and clutch fluid looked good; the final drives were kind of dark, and the hydraulic system was a little milky (I'm assuming it might have had some water in it. I'll probably run it for a while then change it again.

I installed new temp gauges for the coolant and transmission temperature and a new voltmeter. It looks like the alternator is not charging right now, so I'll have to investigate that a little bit.

I also made a new set of seat cushions and got them installed - the ones that were on it were pretty much gone.

I took it out in the field and tried taking down trees and it did really well. Clearing with just one machine is pretty slow going, but that's why I bought one instead of renting. I've got some vacation time at work to use before the end of the year, and if it stays relatively dry I might have a few good days to work on it.

Anyway, I appreciate the advice and help.

Thanks and take care.