450b or 450c

[450c]

I recently purchased a 450c crawler loader. The owner told me it was a 450c but as I get to know the machine a little better it seems to me to be a 450b. I can't find a serial number anywhere to cross referance. The engine is a fuel injected 4 cyl. diesel. I don't believe it a turbo. How can I be sure what I have here.

[digitup2]

If you have no turbo and dry clutch it is a no doubt a 450B .If motor and machine have no s/n plate you better have a good bill of sale handy .If you don't have a s/n of any type check out the guy you got this thing from see how above board he is . The engine number is on the right side of the block .If you find a plate and it is a 4-219 than it should be a B series if it says 4-239 it should be a C series .I would not buy a machine without any s/n tags .John Deere dosen't like machines out there without them .Get in tuch with the guy you got this from see if he will tell you where he got it .And he should at this point !!.I have been there and when they turn out hot it is nasty !I bought a 310 se at an auction and told my insurance company about it they had it stolen from them 2 years previously . The auction company came good for it but watch missing s/n plates they can be a waste of your money .Digitup.

[450c]

I talked with the previos owners wife. She got me a serial number of
140302. I cross referenced it by the numbers on this site and found it to be a 1972 450B. The tractor has a 450C nameplate on the battery box, and my bill of sale says I purchased a 1970 450C. Chalk one up for inexperiance to heavy equipment. The previous owner ownes a construction company and says he has had this machine for about 15 years. I'll be having another chat with him soon.

[digitup2]

Remember that designation C is for crawler tractor build not for what modle it is .That is the line build insignia only.Every 450B crawler tractor built by Deere at that time had a c in that spot .Serial number is the only way to tell.I have seen that letter used as a model designation many times that won't be the last . Digitup.

[jdemaris]

I recently purchased a 450c crawler loader. The owner told me it was a 450c but as I get to know the machine a little better it seems to me to be a 450b. I can't find a serial number anywhere to cross referance. The engine is a fuel injected 4 cyl. diesel. I don't believe it a turbo. How can I be sure what I have here.

450C has wet, hydraulically powered steering clutches. A 450B has dry steering clutches. It's as simple as that. In regard to turbos, some Bs have them, and some don't. All Cs have turbos.

[450c]

It is definitly a 450B. I had purchased the 450C owners manual and changed all the fluids including topping up the wet clutches that were supposed to be there. Now I don't have much in the way of steering or brakes. I was thinking of flushing out the clutch pack and brake by adding gasoline through the fill hole above the track. Any thoughts.

[digitup2]

That might be an imposible job as the face plates will swell and take on oil that you can't just wash off .It has too come out of the fiber in the face plates to get good drive .Gas won't do the seals any good either so don't clean them up too much in place . Taking the packs apart and cleaning them with a good break cleaner would do the job .Digitup.

[Tigerhaze]

This issue has come up many times- you can probably do a search and find several other posts about people in your position. Unfortunately if you added hydraulic oil to the top of the steering clutch housings, you probably contaminated the fiber discs in each steering clutch which cause them to swell and not allow disengagement. The oil is probably also causing the brake band to slip as well. That is why you no longer have steering or braking.

Some people have added kerosene to try and dry out the oil, but that is usually somewhat of a last ditch effort. The consistent advice you are probably going to get is that you will need to replace the fiber discs in the steering clutches and clean the steels discs between them and the brake brands to remove the oil. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[450c]

I kinda figured I would have to pull them, but was hoping for the best.
Thanks to all for the feedback.

[jdemaris]

I kinda figured I would have to pull them, but was hoping for the best.
Thanks to all for the feedback.

We used to pour laquer thinner into the clutch housings and it worked pretty good with oil soaked parts. I'm not going to call it a "proper" fix, but we did quite a few and it worked enough so customers could use their machines again.

In regard to using kerosene or gasoline though? Why? Kerosene is just a light oil, so you'd just be adding oil to oil. And gas? You'd be creating a potential bomb.

[450c]

Well I did rinse it out with gasoline and than brake cleaner. I may have gotten lucky this time as she steers and brakes pretty good. Only time will tell.
Thanks