The ultimate homeowner machine was supposed to have a question mark after it. Not trying to make it a statement. Hi all, recently started wrenching at a new outfit a few weeks ago..(heavy equipment tech) and they've been discussing getting rid of some of the older fleet. Low and behold, there's a 450c wide track, with 6 way and a winch sitting there. Decent undercarriage and 4k hours. I'm hoping they'll cut me a break on price. Probably under 10k. To me, they seem to be the ultimate small dozer. Cummins motor, solid drivelines. Good parts availability. A friend of mine had a deere 450e a few years ago, and he had to get the transmission housing resleeved, it was bypassing oil. Hydrostat machines are nice, but cost more and more expensive to repair. Am I missing anything? This will be just a toy for home use. Clearing land, dragging trees etc. Question mark added to thread title. ~Diggere242J~
I've got an '87 Case 450C wide track that I still use commercially, great all around small dozer. The wide track models (20" pads, 104" blade) are pretty rare, never seen another in person and the one you posted is only the third I've seen pictures of. Does it have a GBE prefix to the serial number? If so that's more desirable as they have modulation on the power reverser and wet brakes.
That's a good question. Where is the serial plate located? I've looked it over briefly, but have been pretty busy with work. Company owner told me to get it going though and he would get me a price on it. End goal is to have an easy to maintain small dozer thats easy to find parts for. Also, do the wide pads make steering more difficult, or consume more power than the standard width pads?
Serial number plate is next to your right foot, below the blade controls. It steers fine with the 20" pads and has plenty of power. The wide track models handle like other LGP dozers, with a relativity wide blade hard cutting and pushing with the corners of the blade is not it's strong suit. It will still pioneer roads, clear land, and dig stumps but you just have to take lighter bites. It is excellent at holding a grade, spreading fill and working slopes however. We have a lot of really steep ground here in the mountains of VA and it will hang on some incredibly steep hills. They also have pretty low psi ground pressure, good for working marshy bottom land. Haven't had mine stuck yet (knock on wood.) In addition to my construction business I also use mine in the woods around the farm for skidding logs and pulling my log trailer. Pic from a road building job last year:
The plot thickens....this has 28" pads, and serial plate looks to have fallen off at some point. Ny road salt is rough on things.
Ok so that's one of the true LGP models, how wide is the blade?
Nice looking machine. What kind of winch is it?
Looks to be around 106-108". Great news. They had the serial number in their records. It is a "gbe" prefix, looks to be around a 1989. I got to fool with it after work. Threw a jump pack on it and had no power to the dash. Jumped the starter and it fired up immediately. I drove it around a bit and most things seem to work. Brakes dont work, but I did see 2 master cylinders under the dash. Maybe they're empty or need bleeding. Now just have to wait for a price. Fingers crossed.
Looks to be a gearmatic 30
You probably already know this, but don't put brake fluid in those. They take hydraulic fluid
That's a long track also, by the looks of 6 bottom rolls instead of 5. You should be able to go about anywhere without sinking in. Looks like it has or had a stick rake also, based on the brackets on the blade. And the trailer hitch on the blade is pretty cool too!
You probably already know this but the key doesn't start it. Turn the key to on, make sure all three levers are in neutral, then push the little start button under the metal cover on the shifter tower. The brake master/slave cylinders are notorious on these for leaking and loosing prime when left to sit for long periods of time. As mentioned above, they take TCH hydrualic fluid, not brake fluid. If the cylinders and lines are all good, you can usually get them to gravity bleed pretty easy.
Awesome little machine…especially since it has “records” giving you a fighting chance to keep up with it. In your area with the temp fluctuations you will definitely have a bit of water in the various systems/components…do what you can (when you can) to hit the reset on those fluids/filters. I highly recommend you start at the fuel tank and make sure the tank drain opens/works/drains…water/**** is heavier than fuel and WILL be at the bottom of tank- make it gone/clean!! Then work forward to check lines and fittings (and the occasional/surprise splice/union!)…get filters swapped and you’ll avoid alot of headaches Looking forward to watching this one come around!! Oh almost forgot- if you don’t plan to paint, check out Fluid Film or New Hampshire Undercoat- won’t eliminate ur rust, but will definitely keep it in check. Product does wear off after 12-18 months so not a forever solution, but will buy you some time.
What Mater said, do look around for the rake it might be laying somewhere and does nobody any good rusting away without the dozer.
Yes, I think I remember seeing that in a YouTube video as far as the starting goes. I had a case 350 track loader about 15 years ago, so some of its coming back. That sounds right for the brake master cylinders.
That's my favorite part about getting a new machine. Going through it and learning new things. I like all my machines to be turn key. No major leaks, lights work, charging system working etc. I plan on changing all filters and fluids.
Starting to get excited, need some more pictures please!
It took a couple months of bugging the owner, but she's home! Let the fun begin.
That's a nice machine for a good price. Probably last forever too.
Outstanding!! Gotta know- did you find/get the root rake too? Either way, great score!
If there is one, I haven't seen it or found it yet unfortunately
Did you get it for under $10K? It looks pretty good.