I'm lookin at a used galion grader, year is a 1964. Cant find a model number.... anybody know? Also when I go to look at the machine, what are the problem areas? Also what kinda tests do you do to a grader to determine wear? See I'm a grader greenhorn, but I think I can get one for cheap and my dad has alot of dirt farm roads that could use some maintaining. Figgured they would be my practice areas. Any help?
Galions usually go by the name T400 to T600 A-D. The 'a's' are around the time you are looking for, with the 'D' improvements coming in around 1970. They have now gone out of production, but went under the name 'Dresser' before being bought over by Komatsu. My mother usually says that a second hand machine is someone's second hand problem, but when you go to see, ask for a test drive, and watch for the front axle, hydraulics, and transmission. You should always run over the machine to check for leake and missing bits and pieces, but shattered glass shouldn't be too much of a problem. These graders are real good, and with proper care, should last a lifetime. Down here in South Africa, a lot of the graders that still work for or are being auctioned by our public departments and municipalities are Galion/Dresser, and were the BMW when they were bought round about 15 - 20 years ago. The newer graders tend to be Caterpillar. These graders usually go for around R500 000 to R700 000, but they tend to stay around R500 000. good luck and lots of fun!
Galion graders. Hi, Stumpjumper83. I ran a couple of Galion graders back in the late 1960's that had 4/71 'Jimmy's' in them, Those graders were Galion 118's, roughly equivalent to Cat 12's of that era and not a bad machine either. They were all hydraulic when Cat were still geared controls. Mostly look for general wear and hydraulic leaks - it's hard to stop a 'Jimmy' donk from leaking oil somewhere or other. I'm not aware of any specific failings that they may have had. That doesn't mean that they didn't have any, only that I'm not aware of any. Put the blade resting on the ground with no great weight on it and gently move the control levers for the various functions to see how much slack there might be in each function. This should give you a fair idea of the amount of wear in each area. Hope this helps. Happy hunting.