I decided to not buy the older Komatsu but now have my eyes set on buying a 2005 John Deere 160C with about 8900 hours on it. The owner says that the engine has been rebuilt and new hydraulic pump installed by James River Equipment (Still under warranty). My questions are: 1) Is this machine suitable/heavy/strong enough to do land clearing/digging up stumps 2) Does anyone have any stick time on a JD160C? If so, what advice can you give me before I seriously consider buying? I want to gather my facts before I make the near 4+ hrs drive to test it out.
my thought is you be able do alot with machine looking/ thinking about but have think of how big or small of stumps gunna do with it obviously bigger machine is gunna be able do more work faster but smaller machine will be able do same type work at slower pace and more thought/precision within reason . it will be harder on the smaller machine unless work it how should be worked.. but if get frost tooth to cut roots an prep for easier removal the smaller machine will do the job. just comes down to productivity amd speed and how much will do and what can afford.... and how big trees want to do.. this is my thought and anyone can contradict my thoughts... looks like nice machine pump is at that range where needed replaced so that big plus
That is a helpful post above. I have time in 160's, it is one of my favorite sizes of machine because no permits or overwide just load and go. if it is that machine in the picture, subtract quite a few points for a fixed thumb. if I was buying to clear and stump, I want a progressive thumb and I would not compromise on that. People will chime in that a fixed thumb is not bad but I can do so much more with less turning and walkng with a full range progressive.
That's a 200 Hitachi I think? That's what we use for grubbing stumps. Common size around these parts. It's a great size as they are easy to move if you have the narrow pads (no pilot car). Ours was 11ft wide with regular pads, so 1 pilot.
For sure a thumb l. I can't tell in that pic, it's very blurry.
you can open the picture on a big screen aid it's a 160C with a fixed thumb/
Have way better eyes than me! This is the pic I see.
I run 210’s for clearing, ponds, drainage etc and I love the size but am often frustrated when clearing smaller stuff like scrubs etc. Ive been looking for a good used 160 size for the last couple of years but they are real hard to come by here in Aus with the LC & normal tail-swing. Can you envisage the size of majority of big trees you’ll be clearing? That machine looks quite straight but do you know if the uc has been changed? tracks look too tight but idler not sitting out far to indicate stretched chains. If it’s original then they will be flogged out and probably missing a link. I’d suspect they’re the 2nd set and also I’d be asking why he rebuilt the engine and pump. Seems a little early, maybe it had a damaging overheating episode. There are so many banana peels to come across with this gear that can me missed, I’d be doing my homework on how to inspect the machine as priority over the size. If it checks out and the price is right I’d buy it and not worry that it’s a bit small or powerless, most jobs can be done, may just take a little longer.
You will be disappointed with a fixed thumb, a hydraulic thumb is so much more versatile,
Correction: I talked with the owner today and he actually either replaced or had James River rebuild the fuel injector pump....claims it cost him $11k...does that sound correct? $11,000 for fuel injector pump replacement and warranty? I plan to make the 3 hr drive to go look at it tomorrow. Thx for chimming in and giving input.
I'm pretty sure I will ....haven't seen many mid-size with hydraulic or progressive thumb. My mini has a hydraulic thumb and I love it....I can only imagine not having the comfort and how cumbersome the manual will be....I would guess that by not being already setup for hydraulic thumb, it would cost a fortune to add now if possible.
I gotca on productivity and depends on size of the stumps. I have a mini now and I made me a FROST tooth actually designed to cut roots and it does the job well. I talked with the owner today and he actually said that he replaced/rebuilt the fuel injector pump ...dealer did the work...claims it cost him $11k.......that doesn't sound right, does it? $11,000 to rebuild/replace the Fuel Injector Pump??? I'm planning to make the 3 hr drive tomorrow to actually look at this machine. Thx for commenting.
I totally agree with the hydraulic thumb....I have that on my mini and it is worth its weight in Gold. I'm guessing it was be super expensive to add a hydraulic thumb after the fact as it isn't equipped for it now. I am planning to make the 3 hr drive tomorrow to go look at this machine.
Not super expensive, just regular expensive. Get the serial number and we can look up the part numbers for the lines and hoses, and figure out what to do at the valves. JD has a good parts catalog online.
Ok, I will do that today when I go look at it and get back with you.
I will ask about and check the UC today when I go look at it. Talked with the owner yesterday and he said the guy he bought it from said the engine had been rebuilt. ... I'm still trying to confirm and see if we can track the paperwork. Current owner had the fuel injector pump rebuilt...said it cost him $11k and has full warranty by James River Equipment.
11K for an injection pump ?? Deere offers a reman IP so I’m thinking parts labour would be closer to 5-6K . The shop must have done other work on the same work order which would be a bonus !
A couple years ago a customer had injection pump,Engine Control Unit,Engine wiring harness and water pump replaced and bill was around $9500.00.
How many trees of what size, or how many acres of what size trees? Impossible to judge if it's too light not knowing what you're dealing with. If you have only 4' oaks, it could still be the right tool if there's only one at each job and the jobs are fifty miles apart. I'd want something way bigger if I was facing hundreds of acres of 12" trees and smaller.
it is still the original UC and I saw some badly worn components....pins/bushings ...It had 3 hydraulic cylinders leaking and one at the drive motor....owner agreed to have his mechanic repack the cyclinders and fix the drive leak. I will see how much use I can get out the machine before doing the pins/rollers. I do part-time work but looking to go full-time next year.
Every since I cleared this with my D5G LGP and TB240, I have gotten many calls to give quotes to clearing land....some just needing de-stumped. So I need to step up in size with mid-size excavator. I went and operated the 160 today for about an hour and loved it...think it will do exactly what I need.
I went an operated the 160 today for about an hour and loved it....runs good...has pattern changer...wish it already had auxillary hydraulics....but I did get the SN. See attached.
I went to look at the machine yesterday.....runs good, needs some TLC for an 18 year old machine......few leaking cylinders that the owner agreed to repack. See data plate with SN. I really want that hydraulic thumb.
HKX and HCT among others offer hydraulic plumbing kits for excavators. Just Google excavator hydraulic plumbing kits.
Do you recommend any particular brand or have experience with one/some?
I have installed both HKX and HCT kits. Both have quality kits and great after sales support.
Ok, thx...Can you give me a rough cost estimate for a complete system parts? ($5k, $7k, etc)
No I can’t , at the dealer level the sales department purchased all the kits.
Gotcha, what was your rough install time for a mid-size machine like the JD 160C series? Just trying to get a fill if I could do the installation myself. I am mechanically inclined.
Approximately 20 hours. Generally the install instructions were very good. Being mechanically inclined, you would have no issues.
I priced them both out yesterday and seems that HKX offers the proportional joystick controller and I can get it switched to the left joystick....HCT only offers the push button joystick. With great experience with my proportional joystick on my mini that also has push button, the propoertional is a must for me. Thanks for the 2 recommendations....will look to add next year....still have to finish the deal with this 160 and go make some $$ with it...lol.