My trusty old 310B is oozing fluid from the top of the steering column. How far into this am I going to go to stop it? Just the top seals? Or is this one of those jobs that just keeps on giving? Thanks
reddust, I was hopping for a reply so I can learn something new about the older JD 310's. i looked at the parts drawing on deere.com, 310b parts catalogue. It's showing 2 o-rings. Probably just as well to remove the steering unit and replace the o-rings. Then it will be like new again. After all your machine is like close to 30 years old. O-rings don't last for ever but they are cheap.
Thanks for the reply Deon, This machine is numbered 171665 T (Terrahaute?) so it's most likely a '74 or '75. I bought it with a boatload of hours on it at auction in '86 to use on my farm. I completely rebuilt the engine and clutch in '03 or so. I keep thinking I've touched every part of this machine but not so! I've never been into the steering box. In addition to the leak out of the top which may well be just an O ring fix, I have a fair bit of free play in the wheel that should probably be dealt with while I'm in there. One thing I've learned is that "small jobs become big jobs." I really like this machine for it's sheer brute work ability. In the grand scheme of machinery it is a pretty simple system. I plan on passing this machine on to my son so it's time to roll up the sleeves and go after the whole steering system. I'd appreciate any insights if you have any. I'll try and keep everyone posted as to how this job goes.
reddust, Just to clarify things for who every may be able to help you. The 310B would be a 1982 or newer. If its a 1974 or 75, it's a 310A or just a 310.
I've actually had a few "head-scratching moments" at dealerships when I buy parts. The two ID plates on the machine clearly have "310B" stamped on them. And like you say, the year and serial number do not align to classify it as a "B" model. I haven't had any problems with parts -yet, but it does cause a bit of consternation. I think that I may have the right parts manual for whatever classification this machine is though. It has listings by serial number rather than A-B-or C.
reddust, This photo may help or may confuse you more. But you can see the years and changes in styles.
Thanks for this. I've never seen it before but heard there were some style changes that differentiated the models. Based on this mine could be an A or a B. If it ever stops raining I'll get out to check the angle of the loader end. Is there a list of serial numbers that correlates to models?
Just to add to the confusion, my serial # is xx610CBxxxxxx, which I'm pretty sure is a 610C, and maybe the B just means backhoe? would a 310B have a serial # xx310BBxxxxxxxxx?
I need to look at my serial plate again. I know it reads 410D and then I think the serial number with maybe a "T" at the end. Somewhere I heard the "D" on mine means built at the des moines plant if there ever was one there. :beatsme
Ah, one of the tricky things of these old JD backhoes to figure out is the overlapping data plate labeling. What I've come up with is the best number to figure out what you have is by using the serial number which as far as I can tell were sequential. My 410-B (which is old and has a square ROPS) has a serial number of 166866, which when the JD dealer looked up a MFG date came up as a FEB 1974. I call it a 1974. So with that info, it looks like reddust's machine 171665 (about 5000 serial numbers later) is a 1974 or 1975 date of MFG. I'm thinking it is a 3 cylinder diesel so his 310"B" is different than a 310B (1982-1986 as pictured above) that has the 4 cylinder diesel.......... ugh. The difference of the 310B and 410B through 410D (all square rops or erops) is unknown to me. I am not sure if the 310A (MFG 1975-1982 as pictured above) had a 3 or 4 cylinder diesel. At the end of all this, I am pretty sure reddust's machine could be best described as a "straight" 310. ?????????
I wish I could edit to the above post. I just looked up the JD310A (MFG 1975-1982) and it has a 4 cylinder diesel, so that is a major difference from the 310 (straight) = 3 cylinder engine, VS 310A + 310B = 4 cylinder engine. Sorry I can't meaningfully help with your original question though.
I had a 1981 410, 4 cylinder engine. No letter. At the time there were 310s, no letter with 3 cylinder engines. Don't remember ever seeing a 310A or B.
Deon, I have never checked on the year mine was made. Do you still know your 410 serial number? Mine is 410-D 307220T
Deon, Yes, no doubt there is confusion. Some A's and B's and D's are on the data plate on the frame, but the decal on the side of the loader by the cab entry is straight (ie no character / 310 or 310A, 310B). My 1974 410 has 410-B on the frame data plate, and just 410 on the decal where the entry step is. I'm getting my info in the previous post from the Deere website, just click on a particular model for a spec brochure, hopefully it's accurate. Here is the link: https://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US/products/non_current/backhoe_loaders/backhoe_loaders.page?
After all of this I think I have a straight 310 built about '74 or so. Three cylinder diesel. Mine is clearly stamped 310-B on both serial plates. It hasn't been a real problem getting parts though as I ordered them by the SN and they all seem to fit. Back to my original question: Anybody rebuilt their steering cylinder?
The cylinder is easy, not sure about the steering column?
OldandWorn, I've been thinking. I don't know where I would look to find my old 410 ser. #. It's been gone a long time now. Sorry.
My "310 B" which we have determined is really just a 310, has two serial plates on it. One on the left front frame under the engine and the other on the right rear behind the wheel. For some odd reason they both say "310 B" but by the looks of the machine and the serial number is is from the 310 era. It hasn't been a problem buying parts though. Mine came out of the DuBuque Works.
I was at a tech college a few months back and in the hydraulics lab they had this JD steering column cut-away that as I was walking by resembled my straight 310 backhoe column. So I snapped a photo of it just in case I ever had to open one up.... It looked like o-rings were really the only part that would require replacement in the column itself. Not sure of why they had a plastic bag stuffed in there... Maybe this will help...
I thought I'd update my repair for the benefit of anyone who may think they have a problem like mine. I got as many of the replacement parts from the drawings that I could from a dealer. I dismounted the steering column and carefully broke it down. After replacing all O rings and the shim plates - AND following the shop manual instructions - it went back into the machine and now it runs fine. I was even able to take out most of the "lost motion" in the steering wheel. If I can do it, you too can probably pull off this repair.
Thanks for the update reddust. Glad to hear it worked out well. Where was the slack coming from? Were the shim plates worn down?
Shims were shot! I compared the old to the new and was amazed at the thickness differences. A thought: When I took the assembly apart I took a lot of closeup photos to ensure that I got everything back together as exact as possible. Fitting the new O rings can be tricky but I lubed up everything with hydraulic oil and very gently slid the assembly back together. Practiced a few times without the rings to get the motion down. It all worked on the first fit. I still have a small bit of lost motion, but I think that is in the grooves of the thread and likely can never be removed. Next job: Chase a slight ground that is draining my battery. May end up rewireing the whole machine.
With a charged battery, disconnect the ground cable, disconnect the big wire at the alternator, then reconnect the ground, wait a couple weeks and see if the battery holds it's charge. Leaky diodes are one of the few things that can drain a battery on these old guys.
Thanks Delmer! I've looked at most - probably all of the wires and couldn't see anything obvious. I'll certainly try it. Right now the machine needs to go to work. I can easily start it with a boost from my truck and I just let it idle through breaks rather than reconnect the jumper cables. I also need to figure out why the red "charge" light doesn't always come on with the ignition turned on (before the button gets pushed). I had all of the wiring apart when I was rebuilding the steering column and may have inadvertently grounded something.
That's more than a slight ground in my book. If it's draining the battery in an hour then the battery wire at the alternator will spark when it's connected (it's hot so disconnect the battery ground before using tools on hot wiring). That's assuming the battery is good, and charged.
I've been "confounded" again it seems. I went out right after I posted this morning and the Old Guy started right up. I moved a couple loads of big rocks: took about 20 minutes, and parked the machine under the "repair tree." I got out the service manual and read up on troubleshooting the alternator. Voltage with the key off was fine (0.015 VDC). Voltage with the key on was low - supposed to be 6 to 8 VDC, mine was 4.6 VDC. The book says to check the regulator, the light bulb and the wiring. First check was the bulb. It was not only blown but the socket was pretty badly corroded and the spade connector was a bit too loose for me. My local auto parts store doesn't have a replacement but Bulbster.com does and it'll be here in a few days. In the meantime I'll search my junk boxes and see if I don't have a 12 V lamp I can jury rig to rule out the light as being a problem. I do plan to disconnect the starter, solenoid and the alternator and clean and put some electrical joint compound on all of the connections. Let's see where this job goes!