Hey y’all, I would love the forums opinions on owning / working on these dozers (jd450c vs Td7e). I am considering going to look at a 79 Td7e not far from me that is $15k I have mainly been looking at the JDs but know this is similar in size. I am mechanical and work on / own other equipment but hear international parts are harder to come by. I plan to primarily use it for building a dirt bike track and trails in some good hilly terrain.
International/Dresser is now supported by Komatsu. Son had td7-c (sold it about 10ths ago) naturally aspirated and with large transmission (short driveline between torque converter and tranny). I think he said the short transmission is the better of the two. I kinda like the torque converter- when coming up against something solid, she’d just squat down and push. I also liked a deceleration pedal- nice when easing through tight spots, etc. I had a Deere 450b- dry clutches not as nice as wet. It had turbo’s engine and power shift. Decent working machine. Son now has itge Deere and wished he’d kept the TD7
I owned a Td7e for about 10 years and went through most everything on it. Lots of parts are really hard to find and places that have used stuff are super expensive. You can have hydraulic cylinders and piston rods remanufactured but that’s not cheap. They have a good amount of power for there size and are really nice for working in the woods making trails. They don’t hold value well anymore with the parts issue so you don’t want to go in too deep. If it were me I’d pay more and find a good used d5 cat.
Thanks for all the insights, sounds like it would need to come at a great price. Width is a big constraint for us but I have been watching for a d3 or a case but they are harder to come by
Great info, appreciate the insights
Does the JD have a 6 way blade ? I wouldn't want one without it. The angle blade is much more versatile than a straight blade. Wide tracks are plus. I spent a lot of time on 450's with the hydro-static drive in them and they were awesome. The older ones with steering clutches were nice to operate too. If i had to chose between a John Deere, Case ,Caterpillar or that TD7. It would be the JD. I also ran TD7's they aren't in the same league as the JD's as fer as I'm concerned. Bigger dozers, my choices would be different.
Yeah the JD can come with a 4 or 6 way but I’m only in the market for a 6 way. Thanks for the POV