Hello all, my question is what would be a good price to put on this machine, i know its hard if the machine is not in front of you. The dozer is a early 70's has 4791 on the meter, tracks look nice, sprockets replaced, current owner is the second one, has hydraulic 6-way blade in real nice shape, no sag, machine starts right up no smoke no leaks, needs a new seat. Now I'm not a dozer guy, never operated one, I'm looking to purchase to have around, and use around the yard. So if any one can also chime in on what to look for in the under carriage that would help. I did see the machine move about so the clutches are not seized, anything else i should be looking for.
Since you are "not a dozer guy" consider having the JD dealer do an evaluation for you. If not check the following: have the bushings been turned, check final drive oil for filings, check bottom rollers, check the rail height and pin spacing, and finally count the rail links as sometimes one link will be removed to allow the adjuster to get a worn out track tight. Also the dry steering clutches on the 450b are more prone to seizing up than the wet clutches on 450c and later models. Price? Check other units for sale local to you and their price/condition compared to the one you are considering. Prices vary by region but you have to add in the cost of transportation and the cost of going to look at equipment far away.
Hi and thank you for your reply, the sprockets were replaced, the bushings according to them have been flipped. Can you be a bit more specific on checking the rollers, pin spacing and rail height. How many links should these tracks have? Ive been checking online and calling around for prices, from what i can find they are all over the place, from $5900.00 up to 18k, i did call an auction house, he said at auction it will bring 3k maybe a bit more, private sake 5500-6500. I did see one on ebay fir 11k which is gone not sure what it sold for since it was obo, again any help would be great thanks to all
Make sure all the bottom rollers turn freely, no loose play and are not worn out. You have to raise the track up so it hangs freely to do this properly, use a pry bar to look for play. You will have to get the specs for your track from the dealer or perhaps you can find it online. If neither is practical measure a new set of chains and yours should be close to those measurements as possible. Rail height is the vertical measurement of the chain. Measure the center to center distance of several pins in a straight line and divide by the number of links to get the average. If the bushings were turned or "flipped" your chains (rails) are at least 1/2 wore out. Turning the bushing prevents excessive damage to the sprockets from worn bushings and is cheaper than replacing them. As to price, those sound reasonable, problem is any repairs you make to the tracks and or engine may mean you will lose money should you sell the machine. You will find machines for sale where the seller can show you repair bills in excess of what the dozer is worth. Take your time, the more you look, the more you will learn and then you will know when a good deal comes along. Good luck.
The following is what an experienced 450 guy gave me whan I was looking at a 450 C. It had wet clutches and a power shift transmission. Yours are dry clutches. Don't know about your transmission. The tests and checks will be the same except the shift f to r part if you don't have pwr shift. "What to look for - Undercarriage wear (all the parts that make it move or come in contact with moving parts). Rear Sprockets - pointy(bad) broad & flat (good) Front tensioner, idler roller, and track rollers - are they nice & round or, cupped / U shaped, or out of round. Track Link Bushings (the round part of the track chain that is driven by the sprockets) Are they symmetrical round? or do they have flat spots? Track link wear (slop in the bushings) - are the tracks properly tensioned - is there a little sag in them or a huge amount of sag? Take a look at the track tensioner mechanism, it is usually a cylinder rod that pushes up against the front roller to take up track slack, how much travel is left to keep the tracks from excessive sag. You can tell by looking how many inches of travel are left at the front of the track rails. Long track has 6 rollers. Leaks - any leak anywhere is not good. Hydraulic cylinders and rods, are they leaking? Rods pitted / gouged? Rod seals leaking ? Steering breaks & steering clutches - Drive it around turning left & right, get a feel for how far each lever has to be pulled back to steer it. Find a place to lower & bury the blade, BOTH tracks should continue to spin at the same rate, this will tell you the steering clutches are still good, or at least have some life left in them. Pull both steering levers back about half way at the same time so as to dis-engage the steering clutch but not so far that it activates the steering breaks, both tracks should roll to a stop, and the engine should not bog down, then slowly release one lever, the dozer will be powered by one track but should still go in a straight line. Repeat with the other lever to make sure the dozer will go in a straight line by being driven on only one track. Be patient look for a good deal and a good working machine that needs little or no repairs. Parts prices for dozer's are shocking to say the least, Dozer's are money pits. When the time comes to replace major parts, (all parts are major) you will not believe what some things cost, so be prepared for the shock of your life. ++++++++++ so its got wet steering clutchs- thats very good. track frames front cross bar had bushings with bolts thru them ..the holes wear, bushings were very hard and broke easy. fixed mine by having some made to fit the worn holes also added a brace from cross beam to track frame outa 1" plate. end of problem. blades were never tight. put in new pins, build it up, 1000hr later its loose. no tilt power but thats fine for you. there was a recall yrs ago to put a netural in the manual trans. even with power shift in netural sometimes it would move. sideframes where it bolts to final drive most cracked ..just weld it- can reenforce from inside. it needs 1500 to 1700rpm to shift rite. it should be quick but not quite throw you on the hood going r to f. as far as to much hp just dont turn it over 1800 rpm youll be fine. rolls, sprockets, ft idlers, pins, bushings, rails, pads, ok??? center punch track shoes? rock guards? keep it outa the rocks, dont let it freeze to the ground or undercarage freeze and youll have a blast. 450 was as good as any better than most" Good luck
What are the specs on a John Deere 450b dozer for the head and rods
Welcome to HEF Pamela ! Head bolts - 110 ft-lbs, retorque after 1 hour run time. Rods - 52 ft-lbs.