Just picked up a JD 290D excavator,, 6200hrs. Decent shape, not a busted up , has a mechanical thumb and 3 buckets with it. I am looking for pros and cons of the 290D, anything that I should be aware of as far as possible issues. I also have never even been in the seat of an excavator, I am a dozer operater, I am 64 and retired from a Logging and sawmill business, too old to chase women so I am starting up a small land clearing, food plot construction, excavation operation, I also have a D4C with a root rake. Thanks
I am 33 and new to the seat of an excavator. Ours is a 4800hr 270D. We added a hydraulic thumb. I've put 10 hours on it so far. Looking forward to hearing the same advice that you're seeking. Does your radio work? If not, I know how to fix it. Is your sunroof transparent? Mine isn't and i don't want to spend $800 on a new one. I polished it, wet sanded it, and polished it again but i still can't see through it. We just added a root rake to our 750 deere dozer yesterday. HeavyEquipmentForums
Ok I was wondering about a hydraulic thumb, how much trouble was it to install one on your 270D? I am in the process of getting my excavator home, kinda hard to find a trucker with time to make a quick run. It has been so wet here that as soon as it started to dry out everybody is trying to catch up and we also got hit with a lot of flash flooding which has caused a lot of havoc. That 750 with a root rake sounds neat, So far I like having one on my 4. Root rakes are not all that common in the northeast, that may be due to our rocky ground. I have used mine to grub out a path that I was building and it worked fine, you have to be careful,the blade had to stay straight because if you angle it the rake could get bent. I found that by tilting the blade I could cut roots on trees and then just pop them out and it’s nice to carry debris without a lot of dirt. I see that they make root rakes for excavators,, I bet that would be awesome for clearing.
Not much trouble, but our hoe already had aux plumbing for a hammer. However it still was a chore finding the right fittings for the thumb cylinder.
The 290D is a late 80's early 90's machine, basically a Hitachi EX100-1 painted yellow with a Deere engine. It will have an aux valve in the MCV, most likely capped off with no circuit relief valve cartridges. Do you have a floor mount aux pedal to the right of your travel pedals?
Wow, my mistake. Deere has some weird model number issues.
GregsHD, no there is not a floor mount aux peddle , I will take a peek at the valve bank, thanks. JDB, That 270D is a nice looking machine, I bet you will love that hydraulic thumb. The 270D is bigger than my 290D , My plan is to learn the ropes on the 290D and refurbish it then trade up in a year or so to a bigger Deere or a Cat. I like the looks of the Cat 312 but who knows I may stay with Deere. At the moment I am still trying to get mine hauled home,, we have had a lot of rain in this area so as soon as it started to dry out everybody got busy again so finding a trucker is proving to be a challenge.