NTM JD 350B

[ecostruction]

I'm in the process of acquiring a 350B. I know nothing about these machines. I'm acquiring for my business that I just started.

The particular machine in question is of unknown year (how do I check) and has been sitting for almost 4 years. It was used on a farm. I noticed it a year or so ago as a "barn find" through a friend and had inquired about on occasion since then. The farm has now been sold and it's time for the farmer to part with the 350B. It's a loader with two buckets and a set of forks. Everything is in pretty rough shape. It does not run (dead battery) and the one bucket is almost shot. Also sat for that time with mud caked on the undercarriage (assuming the UC is the mechanical workings from the sprocket front on each track).

The owner thinks it should run. It was kept sort of covered for that time in a portico off the side of the barn. Exhaust has been covered. Sprokets though a bit rusty, are in good shape with little wear.

Asking 3k and I'm not sure I can get it any cheaper. He's in a tough spot and I don't want to low ball him. I've been doing some research and I don't think it's that bad if he gets it running. If not I may walk away or offer him something less.

The only known issue is the left steering clutch. Lever won't even move. Plates on top of the linkage inspection port under the seat are missing. Not likely to find either as the place is extremely disorganized and overgrown.

I've got no experience and only very limited knowledge of crawler loaders and heavy machinery in general. Limited experience with an excavator. I'm mechnically inclined, but not a mechanic. I've been trying to learn as much as I can as fast as I can. This site is wonderful for that.

Now, after that qualifier, here are my questions:
What should I be looking for with this machine?
Anything jump out with the left steering? Seems like the pads/discs aren't terribly expensive. How is it to replace? Is there a good manual for this? I'm handy and mechanical provided I have a good manual or set of detailed instructions.
It's a diesel. Considering it's been sitting that long, what's the risk in this guy just getting a battery and trying to fire it up? I'm used to "deuce and a halfs" and they can sit a long time and still fire off with strong batteries. So I'm marginally familiar with diesel engines from my 5 trucks. If this deal goes through I will be purchasing the manuals that I found on-line or if someone has them for sale elswhere that may be a bit cheaper.

Any help is greatly appreciated and you have a great site.

Kindest Regards,

Eco

[Lavoy]

It's your deal, but I would not consider that machine, it is just not worth it. If you really wanted that exact crawler, and had the time and inclination to restore it, that is a different thing. I am assuming you have no particular preference as to which crawler you buy, you just want something to use. You can or will put a lot of money in that one before you are ready to use it.
By way of comparison, I know where you can buy a 350C, wet clutch machine, running and driving for $8000. There are machines out there with less hours, or better shape for not that much more money. If you are using it for a living, you need a better machine than if it is an occasional user. Just my two cents, and worth every nickel you paid for it.
Lavoy

[jdemaris]

I'm in the process of acquiring a 350B. I know nothing about these machines.

It's worth around $3000 as a parts machine - but that's not what you're looking for, I assume. High parts and scrap value makes it hard to buy cheap.

Keep in mind that good running 350 loaders can be bought in the $3500 - $6000 price ranges - and sometimes cheaper when you're lucky. All 350 crawler-loaders are known to be underpowered for hard loader work -and thusly, the engines tend to take a beating.

Two major things to look for - even if you ARE a mechanic, can weld, and have your own shop.

#1 What type of injection pump is on the engine? If it's a model C pump with a push-on wire connector - it's long obsolete and no parts are available. Deere sells a change-over kit to put a different style DB pump onto it. That's big dollars.

#2 - Just about all 350s have a problem with the reverser housing separating from the transmission case. Once this happens, and the locating dowells and holes get egg-shapfed - the machine is junk. There is no fix that is worth the value of the crawler. Once loose, shaft-splines wear out on the reverser output and trans input, side-frames keeps breaking by the steering-clutch housings, etc. I was just offered a 350 diesel dozer with a 6 way blade for $2500 and I passed it up. A parts dealer came and bought it.

[mini kahuna]

I must say that is the best advice anyone could receive,and from two guys that know crawlers inside and out.
better to find a running machine for more money than trying to resurect the dead.

[ecostruction]

I guess the 350 appealed to me because of the weight and size. It's not big and I could haul it with what I got.

Other suggestions for a loader similar to the 350? Are all 350s bad? I do want something to use for work. Not 8 hours a day, but maybe 100 hrs/year of actual job-site work. Maybe more.

I appreciate the advice. If I pass, and think I will, if someone else on here is interested in it for parts, I'll connect you with the owner.

Thanks again,

[mini kahuna]

350s are very good little dozers,like you said they are easy to move around,easy on fuel and great to have to do finish and site work.
it is also very tough to find a good one that hasn't had the tar beat out of it.

[jdemaris]

I guess the 350 appealed to me because of the weight and size. It's not big and I could haul it with what I got.

Other suggestions for a loader similar to the 350? Are all 350s bad? I do want something to use for work. Not 8 hours a day, but maybe 100 hrs/year of actual job-site work. Maybe more.

I appreciate the advice. If I pass, and think I will, if someone else on here is interested in it for parts, I'll connect you with the owner.

Thanks again,

350s are good crawlers as dozers - and underpowered as loaders. For a crawler loader, a 450 is a much better working machine. But - I'll also add the the 350 track-frames and crossbar setup is not very good. Since it can't flex, it cracks and takes out bolts. Just about every other brand crawler on the market made versions that allow movement - except Deere. Alllis Chalmers used a pivot bar and springs, Caterpillar leaf-springs, Cletrac coil springs, etc. We sold a lot of 350s new and also had a fleet of rentals. They all had track-frame - crossbar - and sideframe problems - but the 350Cs held up better then the older 350s. The first 350s had the crossbar bolted solid to the track frames and it would crack something awful. Later 350s attached the track frames with dowels so they floated little. They cracked a lot less - but wore instead.

The problem now with either is their age, and the price and/or scarcity of parts.

In regard to what I mentioned about 350s getting loose between the reverser and trans - it's hard to find one that doesn't have the problem. Techically, I'm not sure I'd call it a design flaw. Seems to happen after the first reverser rebuild - and the bottom bolts don't get retightenend properly. It's not an easy thing to do.

[Lavoy]

I would not shy away from a 350 in general, just that 350. We have had a B model with a loader for many years, and have had no issue with any of the things John mentions. As for power, I guess I have never been disapointed, you can't load or dig in 3rd gear, but never expected it to.
Lavoy

[jdemaris]

I would not shy away from a 350 in general, just that 350. We have had a B model with a loader for many years, and have had no issue with any of the things John mentions. As for power, I guess I have never been disapointed, you can't load or dig in 3rd gear, but never expected it to.
Lavoy

Much depends on how they get used, and where they get used. First Dealership that I worked at was in northern New Jersey. All pretty flat and soil was just about all soft clay and sand. 350 crawlers held up very well down there. In lower new york - in "black dirt" county - 350 wide-pad crawlers with three-point hitches are used as farm-tractors in the onion and lettuce fields - and there too, they hold up fine. Here in central - upstate New York - ground is full of shale/hard pan and very little flat ground. In my area 350s were the #1 machine for bunching logs together to get to the skidway where a skidder would take over. Also #1 machines for small rock quarries to peel bluestone and shale. 350s did not, and still don't hold up well in this area. My last boss used to buy southern 350s from NJ and Virginina to resell up there -because they were often like-new -compared to used stuff around here.

I've looked at a dozen 350s for sale in this area, this past year. Every one of them was basically beyond repair. My neighbor bought two recently, and is trying to make one good one out of the mess. It is rare to find a 350 that still has all it bolts attached to the track-frames, steering-clutch housings, and the side-frames not cracked and/or patched all over the place.

Just about every crawler company other than Deere offered crawlers in two versions - one for relatively flat ground - and one for rough terrain with a pivoting or spring-supported trackframes. 350 is basically good for flat land. The 450 series track-frame setups held up much better under the same hard use.

350 is a good crawler, but was not the best built on the market for its size-class. It did, however, have the best company behind it.

In regard to 350 crawler-loaders and power? Again, I guess it depends on what someone is trying to do. We had nothing but complaints with them that had 152 engines. 164s were better. The block-men from John Deere-Syracuse headquarters told us they had the same complaints in most of the USA. 350 crawler-loader is pretty heavy to start with. Take that weight, and the 23 gallon-per-minute hydraulic pump - and a 30 something horsepower engine - it lacks power to charge into a pile of hard fill with tracks spinning a bit, and raising the bucket at the same time. The older 350s had 152 c.i. engines - just about the smallest in that class. Allis Chalmers HD3 had a 175, and HD4 a 200 c.i. engine. Case had a 188 or a 207.

That all being said - I use my 1010 crawler-loader a lot and it only has a 115 c.i. gas engine - basically the same engine size as a two-cylinder 420. Just has four little pistons instead of two big ones. But . . . I'm not in a hurry. I have an 863 skid-steer Bobcat with a Kubota diesel that will work circles around the 1010 crawler and move dirt twice as fast.

[ecostruction]

So I get a call from the owner and the abondoned 350B has come back to life. Not missing a beat. Just took some new juice from a fresh battery. So, I hopped in my car and drove to check it out.

Sure enough, it runs and fires off right away. I was amazed actually. The frozen clutch broke loose and now works ok. Not great, but ok. The right side however, that had the free lever, doesn't work at all. Maybe a very slight attempt, but realistically, it doesn't work. All hydraulics work. It's got forks on it now. Transmission is tight in the gear selector and the throttle his hard to adjust, but it does adjust and the engine keeps on cranking. Most gauges don't work. Or, maybe it wasn't running long enough to work. There is oil, but the gauge isn't reading oil pressure. Nothing seams to heat up though. I think the temp gauge is working properly. It seamed to drive fine, but I didn't have the "what to look for thread" in front of me so I didn't know about the gap between the transmission and the reverser. I think it has the new IP on it because it matches the one in another photo of jdemaris in his thread.

I took photos and some video, but can't seem to figure out how to download a photo onto this website.

I offered the guy something less than 3k and clarified that if he needed more, not to worry about offending me. He can walk away if needed and I won't care one bit. After thinking about it, he accepted my offer. I figured from some research I've done and thinking about what I could use it for in it's current condition, it was worth that to me. This machine was only used (for most of it's life) to clean a chicken house out. So no earth moving or anything like that. They had larger machines for that. But the 350B loader worked well in the chicken houses.

I was about to walk away but after seeing it run, operate and the final price, I thought I would go for it. Not that I don't appreciate the advice, because I do. Greatly.

Thoughts on the right hand steering? Owner says it just needs "adjusting" under the seat. Sound possible?

Will post pictures if I ever figure out how.

[KenP]

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[ecostruction]

I figured as much. Where is a good place to get manuals? I've been searching some, haven't found any yet.

[KenP]

deleted

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I have had only one JD350, but it was a very decent machine for what I needed it to do - personal projects around the place.

Mine was a 1966 and did not have a reverser, so I didn't have the loose reverser problem. The lack of a reverser didn't bother me much as 2nd and R are the same ratio (or close enough) and I did most of my work in 2nd anyway. When I bought it, I figured I'd hate it not having a reverser, but it did't work out that way.

Mine was not a loader, though. It was a dozer with the manual angle outside mounted blade. I used it for around ten years and never had the first problem off of the usual list with it. When I bought it, it had recently had a u/c rebuild and also had the replacement injection pump on it. The only real issue is that someone had worn out the cutting edge on the blade on both faces, so I had to buy a new one.

It was also orignally a farm machine, and I got it because the farm went under and everything was being sold off. This was in the mid 1980's, so it was already 20 years old at the time.

So, decent enough machines are out there, and you might be OK in most respects because yours was a farm machine and not one used by a contractor that ought to have had a larger machine under him most of the time. That's what I see these days, anyway. A lot of 350's out there that have just plain been overworked and so aren't worth much more than the scrap iron price....

I've been looking for another one for a couple years now, and so far most of them I see are piles of self-propelled parts or scrap iron. That goes for the 450's I've looked at as well. However, my hopes are up lately as the economy worsens that some outfits might soon be parting with a 350 or a 450 in decent shape and at a decent price.

In the meantime, I keep using dad's old 420c when I need a dozer. I'd like to retire her to shows one of these days, and so that's why I keep eyeballing those self-propelled parts piles!

Get your manuals, get it caught up to, and don't over work it and you'll be OK in the end I think.

Later!

Stan

[ecostruction]

I haven't really put much time on it yet, but already I know I got a good deal. It's going to be so hand with those forks and all.

Only issue I have at this point that I'm hoping you guys can help, is the left side steering and track adjuster. Steering is not great. Seems like it needs adjusted (like the slack taken out or something). The track is a different story. It's loose. It sags between pulleys and sprocket. The previous owner gave me a grease gun with a special fitting. It's for the forward most cylinder. If I pump grease into it as advised by previous owner, track tightens. Not sure how long it will hold though as i ran out of grease before track was tight. Any thougths on this? didn't think pumping grease into a cylinder would tighten the track, but it does.

All help appreciated. I don't have the manuals yet. on order.

J.