Hi guys! New backhoe owner & I have some general questions. Have an older JD 300C. Not going to win any beauty contests, but everything works as it should for the most part. I'm a novice operator at best - probably about 80 hrs total running one. #1 How should the machine be parked when left to sit for long periods of time? Just drop the buckets to the ground or should the hoe be fully extended & down? Outriggers left up or dropped to the ground? #2 The alternator isn't wired correctly. Will have that fixed, but am not going to go thru the trouble of moving it to a shop just to fix that. So basically it runs off the battery. Is there an issue with that? I don't use the lights so other than starting it, is the diesel engine using the battery for anything? Attaching a 50W solar charger w/ regulator to recharge between uses. So i'm wondering can it just run off a charged battery 4-6 hrs at a time? I use the machine very little so it would probably have a week between uses to solar charge back up. #3 The rear swing controls are stiff. They work, but it's difficult to make fine movements or 'gently' swing the hoe. Other machines I've used you could about use fingertip pressure to work those controls. The best I can describe this is the difference in feel turning the wheels on a car with & without power steering at a stop - easy w/ power steering, more effort but possible w/o power steering. Is this an indication of a bad condition I need to have repaired or just a nuisance? #4 Anything special I need to use for hydraulic fluid? Is regular R&O tractor hydraulic oil ok (ISO 32) or do I need something else? #5 I only need to use it occasionally - say once a month. To keep the gremlins at bay I assume I should start it up, drive it around a little, & run the buckets through their range of motion in between uses. What would be a good interval for that? a 5-10 min exercise once per week? #6 Lastly, I primarily use it as frontend loader moving bucketfuls Carolina red clay & gravel. My land is really soft, can stay muddy for days after a rain, but is mosly flat except one small hill. I know guys with 2WD tractors will fill the rear tires with fluid for better traction & balance for heavy FEL loads. My machine is 2WD & has AG tires on the rear that are probably 75% or better tread. Would filling the tires be beneficial? I'm thinking all the weight on the rear from the hoe should be plenty & more isn't going to do anything except help the rear tires dig deeper if it gets stuck but I really don't know. Thanks in advance & sorry for all the dumb questions.
Hi CMV and welcome. I can't answer all your questions but will take a poke at a couple. Others may have different ideas and will chime in. #1. I like to leave hydraulic cylinders closed as often as possible when setting for any period of time. Seems to keep the shiny and the pitting away especially in salt prone areas. #2. If you shut a key off to kill the engine you probably draw some electrical to hold the fuel solenoid open. If you have a manual kill shutoff you do not probably use and electrical power while operating. #3. Check the linkage connections. They are prone to stiffness if setting a lot. Probably not been lubed in years. #5. I would run it at least a half hour to reach full operating temperature and evaporate by condensate out. Working it for a while after warm up would be optimal. Every week is not necessary. Once a month is plenty adequate. #6. If you are well balanced with a full bucket it should not be necessary. One can push the hoe out farther from the tractor when you need that extra back weight if there is room. That is a bit of a pain though. Fluid does add traction at a neutral balance point at the back of the machine so it does not change the balance when loaded or empty on the machine attachments. Personally I would not add fluid unless you find you need more traction. Most of the time if you need fluid in a backhoe you are pushing its limits, but then we all do that at times. No dumb questions, We all learn some every day, If we think we know it all, we are truly ignorant.
Second on Old-iron's post. I would add ... parking the hoe bucket and front end to drain any water. Standing water will rust out a bucket quickly
Hello CMV #1 both buckets down, rear dipper extended a small amount, put the bucket where you want it they won't stay up very long. #2 Those Motorola alts. are difficult to keep going replace it with a 10si delco one wire. #3 It is stiff most likely from setting it'll limber up if you use it. #4 Use a oil with a 303 designation ,regular hyd. oil won't make it. #5 Running it occasionally ,keeps it ready to go. #6 I would not load the tires, these machines are light and that's what makes them so handy, if you get stuck you can move around with the hoe end. If you load them up it will be heavy and sluggish when used on soft ground, if you need a little ballast extend the dipper when needed it will shift the balance over the rear tires. If you have ques. fire away we are here to help
Thanks for the replies so far. Got it moved to my land this morning. Was running run, got it loaded on the trailer, moved about 30 miles, got it unchained, then it wouldn't start. Figures Just needed a jump start & it's sitting on a battery charger now. I'm not much of a mechanic so don't know if I want to tackle putting in a new alternator or not. I'd have to wire it as well. The one on it looks newer but no wires are hooked up so it might just be a matter of doing that. Or there could be some serious electrical issue and it's disconnected for a reason. I think I'll try the solar panel route first since I already have - just need to mount the panel & install. If all the battery needs to do is start the machine that should be sufficient. It starts up real easy - it was about 32° this morning & it didn't seem to care it was cold. The battery in it is an Exide 27S with a a 2013 date code. Don't know if that's the correct one but a replacement isn't very expensive. 900 CA, 750 CCA on the sticker. So when parking to leave sit overnight or longer, I want all the buckets on the ground, angled not to collect water, and with as little of the chrome parts of the cylinders showing correct? Do I need to treat the fuel with anything? Plan is to top it off after use so the tank stays full, but with as little use as it will get it will probably take a while to go through a ~35gal tank. I'd expect to add 5gal or so. I don't need to run the machine hard - not doing major excavation, just moving piles of dirt & gravel, building berms with loose dirt, & grading. The rear tires are an R-4 tread pattern. I thought they were regular AG tires because of the 'slant' of the tread, but looking at how they overlap in the center it's an R4. Will see how they do. They are in great shape, so won't be replacing them with something more aggressive since they're so expensive. There is a lever forward & left of the shuttle. It disconnects the hydraulic pump. Previous owner told me that's to make starting easier. Seemed to start just fine with it engaged. Is this something I should be engaging/disengaging all the time or something I should just alone? Another controls question - there is a foot pedal on the floor by my right foot to engage the differential lock. It seems to look like I just put my foot on it when I want diff lock & when I take my foot off it disengages by itself? Or do I have to turn it off somehow? When would I want to engage it? I know not to engage it turning or on hard pack, but w/o engaging are both rear wheels under power when I'm moving? Or does it normally just give power to one wheel & the diff lock gives power to both for better traction?
Honestly a one wire Delco is super easy to hook up, lots of net info on wiring it up. The worst part of the conv. is the pulley. The last two I did I bored the center out of the old one in our lathe. If you have a auto elec. rebuilder near you they may have a pulley. Trust me that trickle charger thing will get old fast. Don't worry about where to put the buckets, just on the ground, you will use it more than you will ,think it wont have a chance to rust. Everyone has a pet fuel additive, I use a quart of atf or some hytrans oil. The lever disconnects part of the trans. for cold winter starts, my advice is ignore it and get a block heater. The diff. lock stays engaged as long as it is depressed, that said it might not release if in a small turn or on soft ground. Often on my old 310 I have to saw the steering wheel back and forth or back up to get the pedal to pop back up. A diff. lock keeps the spider gears locked so it does'nt send all the power to the loose wheel. A tank of fuel is going to go quick, spring is here and you have a new toy, been there done (doing) that!