New to Crawler JD 420

[skobydog]

Hi everyone,
New member here and I'm looking at a crawler.

I understand that undercarriage parts can be an issue with these older crawlers.

I cannot decide if purchasing is a good investment or not due to not finding parts. If the undercarriage is decent how many years or hours of light home use would someone expect?

Also, has anyone ever successfully modified undercarriage parts from a newer JD to an older one? Someone said you could cut the centers out of older sprockets weld something newer such as 350 sprockets. Anyone ever modify newer parts to fit the older 420?

Here's a picture of the machine. It seems like the track is loose to me (if so maybe there's more wear then he's leading onto?). Also, it doesn't look like any other 420 I've seen online. I don't know if it would be a good investment due to finding parts.

What are people's experiences buying these older machines? Thanks

[JimAnderson]

What you are looking at has 40c track frames and sprockets,at least on the side pictured.It looks like you have some adjustment left.Count the
number of pads or links.You should have 35 on each side.If you have
only 34 then someone has taken out a link to gain some limited run
time.If rails are 40c then pins and bushings are a Deere only item.
The tracks from a 350 will work if you rerim 420 sprockets.The 40c
sprocket has much larger lightening holes that might make them iffy to
rerim.The bottom rollers from the 350 will bolt up in place of the originals but most new ones use 9/16" bolt instead of the 1/2" in the
originals.These little crawlers are capable of a lot of work and are lots of fun but with that said they can be money pits too.
When you buy a used crawler you are buying undercarraige so take the time to really check it out.Luck,JimAnderson

[skobydog]

What you are looking at has 40c track frames and sprockets,at least on the side pictured.It looks like you have some adjustment left.Count the
number of pads or links.You should have 35 on each side.If you have
only 34 then someone has taken out a link to gain some limited run
time.If rails are 40c then pins and bushings are a Deere only item.
The tracks from a 350 will work if you rerim 420 sprockets.The 40c
sprocket has much larger lightening holes that might make them iffy to
rerim.The bottom rollers from the 350 will bolt up in place of the originals but most new ones use 9/16" bolt instead of the 1/2" in the
originals.These little crawlers are capable of a lot of work and are lots of fun but with that said they can be money pits too.
When you buy a used crawler you are buying undercarraige so take the time to really check it out.Luck,JimAnderson

Thanks for the quick response Jim.

I've been educating myself on what to look for as far as wear goes specifically in the UC.

Even if it's in good shape I don't know if it's worth it with future mods just to keep her running. I may, or may not go look at it.

It may be best to just spend more $ upfront and buy something which has parts available.

Any suggestions on older machines can you still find parts for? Thanks

[JimAnderson]

If you want to stay with John Deere equipment I would go to the closest
JD industrial dealer and talk to the parts guy there.He should be able to give you a heads up about parts availablity on any JD machine.My local
parts guy is one of the best people to deal with I've ever come across.
He tells me that some parts for older crawlers are easier to get than parts for newer machines.Lavoy is a good source for parts not available from the dealer network and there is still a lot of good used parts out there.
You have an advantage now that that I did not have when I bought my first 40c in 1981.The internet will give you access to both parts and information.Luck,JimAnderson

[Lavoy]

It is almost always better to spend more up front when it comes to crawler.
Lavoy