I have been wanting to find myself a small tracked loader for years to have at my hunting shack with 80 acers to play in. I'll be expanding my gravel pit that I've started with a Ford 4000 and putting in new trails ect. I've posted a picture of my new baby! I went over it with as fine of a comb as I could and found both top idlers need to be replaced along with one bottom roller and the right front main idler needs to be replaced. I was pleased to find that both drive sprockets had been replaced at some point as they were in good shape. I was told it was a 1974 model but not having any manuals or documentation I can't be sure about that yet. Seems to run and operate like it should (having read and researched the hec otta this machine) with all of the misc. things that need to be given some TLC and a good bath for a machine of this age. This is my first post in any forum on the internet but I have used it as a great resource in the past. I'm hoping that this forum will be one those. What I'm looking for first is info about the serial number of my machine D350 #3049910 and also the best places to start looking for parts. Having retired recently and I've toyed with the idea of possibly documenting this project with all of the ups and downs that you encounter along the way. I know how many times I've looked up something on the internet to see if someone else has done it already and could save me some time on mine. The only problem is I'm not the greatest typer (hunt and peck). I also considered the size of the machine I was looking for because my hunting shack is 45 minutes away from my home and fitting it in my shop here at home was a big consideration. At 63" wide 91" tall 13' long and from what I can gather about 11 thousand pounds it was perfect! I know when it's all said and done I'm going to be having some fun! Never let the child in all of us disappear.
Good luck with your 350. I had one 30 years ago..it had a Gearmatic 9 winch on it. The diff steering case requires a special oil.(GL4 ??). General Gear in Idaho,maybe A&I ,& many others can supply parts. I think some parts can be found on eBay. TRADEBIT or eBay might have manuals. I always liked the way the machine tracked along...smooth,unlike the smaller Jap machines. I've seen 350s fitted with a backhoe. Also in super Swamp tracks,almost walking on water.
Machine appears to be pretty clean for its age. Looks like it could use a set of track pads, hopefully the rest of the undercarriage is decent. If you're going to use it for much land clearing, excavating, road building, etc adding some teeth to the bucket will make it dig a lot better. I've had really good luck with Case equipment over the years, currently have a Case dozer, backhoe and skid steer. Don't discount your local Case dealer for parts. You're machine is older and not as common as some, but I bet there are certain things they still can get. My Case dozer and backhoe are late 80's vintage and they still have probably 75% of the parts available for them.
Thanks so much for your reply. I'll be fabricating the engine ROPS along with getting some teeth for her smile! I like the fact they are bolt on so when I want to do some smooth back dragging I can take them off. I'm thinking about putting up some wanted posters at some places that old equipment operators, farmers,construction operators ect. may visit, in case they may have an old one sitting in the back 40 that I could get some donor parts off or even buy for my own reserve. I plan on this to be with me the rest of my days! I will be contacting a case dealer next week in hopes of finding some parts and what year of machine I have. Thanks again
Depending on how heavy a brush type area you may be in, you may want to install what I refer to as Limb Risers to keep branches from slapping you in the face and may want to lower your exhaust to avoid having limbs constantly pressing against it. Hope this is helpful. And,,, Congrats on your new machine.
That's a good idea Reganj as I will be in the woods making some new walking trails.I looked into the OEM squatty muffler that hides under the hood but at 300$ I'll be coming up with my own creation! I do like that the original was protected though. Then I can keep it under what you call the limb risers. I should be getting my manual set this coming week then I can get down to formulating a plan.
I cut my exhaust pipe and rewelded it about 12 or so inches lower.
Those are the factory Case limb risers on my 450C in the pic. Notice how they are tall enough to protect the exhaust too. You should buy/build something similar if working in the woods. Looks like yours may have had them at one time, the brackets are still on the canopy portion.
Thanks MG, Wow what a line up! I,m so damned excited to get going on this thing I can hardly stand it! My manual set is coming today I like the cross piece that's in between the limb risers I might add that on to my material list. I read about a procedure using acetone to soak the pistons so as to dissolve carbon buildup that could affect compression. Do you think that would be a wise thing to do? I remember it takes about a week or more with daily soaks and being it's gonna be in my shop for the bulk of my restoration I though it would be a good piece of maintenance. Thoughts?
Thanks, that lineup was what got me started in excavating. A dream team for a small one man operation in the 80's but antiquated by today's standards, they'll all still put in a full 8hr day though. If the engine is running good don't mess with it, fresh fluids and filters is all it should need. Maybe check the valve lash, but that's about it. Also if you go on the Case Construction website you can view all the parts diagrams for your machine, and get pricing and availability from Case if you select a local dealer: CASE CRAWLER TRACTOR | CASE Construction | MyCNH US Store www.mycnhstore.com It will probably say 'out of stock' on most all the parts, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't available, just not in stock at the dealer. With that said, I'd only guess than less than 50% of the parts are still available at all from Case, given the age of your machine and the fact that it wasn't a super popular model. Still usually worth giving them a call though.
Heh Everyone, Sorry I haven't posted for quite some time but life is busy as I'm sure a lot of you know. I did get alot done though since I got her! I'm going to try to share some pictures of the udercarridge journey I was on. Hope it works. I can only put 4 pics at a time so bear with me.
Looks like you're getting along pretty well. Be especially careful with those track tension springs, some are still under considerable tension even when removed.
Wow that was excruciating !!!!! I'm going to have to get my grandkids to come help m,e next time . I'll be starting to work on other things soon and I will try to keep up a little better with my progress.