How bad was your dozer when you got it?

[jd350quigly]

I recently acquired a JD 350 Dozer, 1965, 5,500 hours. It seems like everything was neglected until it broke then was patched together. Anything that required periodic adjustment is seized. Every hydraulic hose looks like it was purchased from a local farm center with whatever adapters to make it work.

I purchased the dozer because it recently had the tracks replaced, there was no weeping from the cylinders, and it started and ran good. Also it appeared that everything was there.

Are these smaller machines improperly maintained due to lack of knowledge by owners or did I just end up with a dud?

How was your dozer when you acquired it?

[Lunch_Peak]

I am still relatively new to 50 year old Dozer ownership myself but I'll throw in my two cents. Machines this age have usually changed hands at least several times and every owner falls somewhere different on passive/proactive scale of maintenance. But very few owners will undo and redo something that is working, so the jerry rigged solutions of more passive owners tend to compound if they are functional. Also, as these machines become older and less valuable (we wouldn't want to use the word 'cheap') the decision making for even a proactive owner starts to change and become influenced by cost relative to purchase price and personal utility.

An owner 45 years ago would have thought "I spent a lot of money on this new machine and want maintain it's value, so nothing but the best parts will do!" Whereas today an owner might think "Do I really want to spend $1,000 on all new hydraulic hoses for a machine I only paid $10,000 for? Maybe I'll just keep working until a hose blows and I'll fix that one hose then."

But to answer your question, my machine was in pretty good shape when I bought it. It has many layers of jerry rigged fixes but everything works. Since I am a proactive machine owner it took two days of tinkering on the machine to knock out my entire punch list. She has several new modifications now including some new pins, a shiny fire extinguisher and new fluids and filters.

[dtoots1]

My .02...i guess here is the problem....brand new most of these machines cost around $2600 to maybe $5k......so now you come to replace parts and to replace all hoses you get into maybe $2000 or tracks and get into that or much more with undercarriage etc....so it makes you wonder what in the world....so now to buy a new machine your gonna get into 10 20 or 30k or more....so fixing a "cheap" machine that does the job becomes a much better solution...and you at least get to know the machine as well as bleed a little ..both ways!


Kindalike the older automobiles..."57 chevy convertible cost..$2700..new....today most are rusted completely away....however, these machines are still effectively solid and still serviceable when repaired....you probably dont want to know what a new chevy convertible would cost..im gonna guess like $60k????

[Eli]

I found mine under a tree, rear backhoe attachment and arm fully extended on the tree, parked behind two 53' storage semi trailers so no way to tow out, and have to be able to retract the hoe arm,had to fix it and drive it out, started right up but PO did not know what's wrong with the backhoe so after befriending him he allowed me to remove the 80lbs control valve pack, was siezed in a few areas but I rebuilt it myself and was all fixed.
I bought a house with acres in a Rocky area and home depot tractor suffered for one day rental so I opted for bigger heavier machine and I have a lot of work for the backhoe.
Turned out I over paid for a highly used machine, owned by some contractor, no hour meter, all hydraulics leak, wear on both undercarriage that can't be ignored, leaks from both turning clutch housings, transmission and hyd. Fluid was milk, and a lot of frame weldings around where the poor thing just cracked.
So what can you do? That's life, machine runs and drives and turns and lifts and backhoe is awesome and I'm fairly broke so I will take it a step at time, piece by piece, be patient with jobs and not try to push hard, I have more time than money and lots of super nice people on the forum and just have to deal with it

[njoldiron]

IT is not just dozes this happens too. Most of my machines are older from the 1980's but I have kept them all original and have kept all the original parts on the machine even if they do not work any more. I have looked at a lot of machines if something does not work they take it off and it is lost forever. I guess a lot of people just put in whatever works at the moment and leave it like that.

[Kzinti]

I was very fortunate, (lucky, stupid, whatever). I bought my 350 loader sight unseen, sitting out in the middle of a field in Wisconsin through an auction site. In my mind it made sense. My thoughts were that even if the engine was ok I could scrap the unit and sell the engine to cover costs. Sent a crew out to get the unit running, (or drag it to the road) to load it on a truck. Besides a messed up ignition switch and a dead battery, it popped right over and ran out to the road under its own power! Only issues I've had was a stuck clutch from sitting a few years and not being driven. Replaced it and a bunch of hoses just to be sure it was work ready. Oh, and replaced the seat too. Not bad for $1150

[Hubler13f]

Hello, new here been lurking around here for a few weeks though. I just bought my machine John Deere 350 gas from the local scrap yard for $1600 which included delivery to my house. It had sat there since 2018.
The track chains are so far gone the previous owner removed a link to maintain some tension, all the track bushing are worn the whole way through, both sprockets are shot the left one will spin freely inside the track, the cross bar mounts are wallowed out to almost double the size, the front idlers look like they were welded on by Ray Charles using his feet, and all the wiring was stripped from it. But I have a bad habit of dragging junk home to work on.
I got it running, moving, electrical system charging and hydraulics working by the second day I had it. So I ordered new chains, sprockets, cross bar bushings, track nuts and bolts, seat, two track pads and tune up parts over the past week.
I now have about $4700 total in it and realize I probably could have got a decent machine for a little more, but I'm a glutton for punishment and can't do anything without dumping a little blood into it.