? about JD 450 differences

[Leland]

Hi,

My name is Leland. I live in La Grange, Texas.
I am looking for a JD 450.

I have a Komatsu D65E that I want to sell. I am through with all the big projects I had on my Farm. It getting to hard to have it moved.

I would like to get a smaller dozer to only do light work and fence rows.

I have been looking at JD 450. I am a JD man with Tractors and other farm equipment.

I have several ? regards to the JD 450.

1. Is it a big benefits to go with a JD 450C or newer because of the Oil Cooled steering clutches & brakes?

2. Is the 6 way blade allot better than the older blades with out one?

3. I have found a JD 450B that has a older blade that has the Hyd. Lift Cylinder close to the operator. Does this type of blade have a Hyd. Cylinder to lower the Left or Right Corner to cut tree roots? If properly adjusted will the dry steering clutches and brakes do well?

4. Is the older machine with a N/A engine just as good as the newer ones that are turbo:?

5. What different transmission were available?

I work on heavy equipment before but work in the Oil Field as an Automation Tech. now in the Bryan. Texas area.

I am grateful to find your site.

Leland

[mini kahuna]

I use a 1010 loader personally,but it only gets used here and there,old and slow,parts are scarce..you know the drill.
worked on and around alot of small dozers,"mostly deere".
the dry clutch system on the deeres work good if taken care of and properly adjusted,"some 350's are stinkers to keep working right",I am not sure if the 450's are so tempermental.
the wet clutch system gets rid of the stuck clutches and adjustment tantrums,they seem to be a nicer setup,they had their problems when they first came out too,those problems were pretty much worked out in time.
a six way blade is the only way to go,anything else...just not the same.
a turbo'd 450 too me is a completely different dozer than a n/a,alot stronger machine.
if you want a jd crawler and are going to use it alot I would hunt for a 455 series machine,those are some tough,strong dozers,a big leap ahead of the 350/450 series.

[Leland]

Thanks for the lead on the JD 455 I will check them out!

[JD430C]

hello, a 455 is a loader only crawler. i have a 450C with the 6way and turbo. like mini kahuna said, its the only way to go. if u can i would suggest a C, D, or E series.


andrew

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

The most common blade is the 6-way PAT one, and is mounted inside the track frames. The next most common is the manual angle and tilt blade and is mounted outside the track frames.

The manual blade has only two hyd cylinders and they lift and lower it only. If you want angle, you get off and pull two pins - one on each side - and manually move the blade and put the pins back in. That part's not so bad unless you need to go from straight to angle a lot. To tilt it, you need to get off, grab a hammer, beat out some wedges, tilt it manuall, then beat the wedges back in. Again, not too bad unless you need to move it often.

Personally, I'd be looking for a PAT. I've been beating on blades all my life and am getting tired of that drill.

Later!

Stan