I'm looking at a 690D that is for sale and was wondering your thoughts on this model.(I saw the 690E post but know there were a lot of differences in the models) It is about an 87-89 year model I believe and has the older style undercarriage (No elevated top rollers). Thanks for your help I'm not well versed in slightly older Deere excavators and appreciate the help very much. Thanks again Erik Berg
690 and 790 elc We have a 790 elc, is there much differance between the two machines ( 690 to 790 ) besides 100 bones? Can we start up a forum on 790elc too?
Welcome to HEF soiled undies:drinkup
690d The 690D was more a John Deere built machine than Hitachi built. The Boom/Stick and cab were like the Hitachi machines, but that was about all that was Hitachi built. They were a good machine for their time. The 690D is more like the 690C John Deere than the newer 690E. They were built in a standard length track and long track option. They also had a wide track and narrow track option, along with two widths of shoes. With a 24 inch pad and narrow track frame you could get the machine down to 8 feet in width. The motor and hydr. are good and will last a long time if they are maintained. The buckets will interchange with the 690E and 200 John Deere and the Hitachi counter part. I would look for a long/wide track machine as they are very stable machine as where the short narrow machine is a little tipsy. Parts are about the same price as newer machines and you can get use parts easily.
buy the E
i rebuild pumps for those units and they dont seem to last
Welcome to HEF catman119! :drinkup
3rd response one more reply before i set up my first threat, i mean tread.
Well I decided against the 690D due to logistics of where it was versus where I was beyond the fact that although it would be fun to have I don't have as much of a use for that large of a machine as I would have to have in order to justify buying the machine. Thanks for the help by the way and maybe I'll be able to buy one of these machines that I enlist you're help in one of these days. Thanks again Erik Berg
John Deere Hyd. Pumps John Deere had a lot of problems with the Hydr. Pumps until they quit using their hydr. oil in the machine and went to engine oil or International HYTRAN. John Deere hydr. oil will not displace water and in turn the water will wreck the pump and you have problems. The Hitachi excavator counter parts did not have hydr. pump problems as they came with engine oil in them. Using the right oil has solved the problem, but it gave the hydr. pumps a bad name.
I just repaired a hydr. hose to the rear propel motor and then put AW 46 for the 790 elc deere. Is there something better to use than this? What type of hydr. pumps does this water affect?
my 690E has 7k hours on it, never had engine oil in the hyd. tank
690E oil You must of not bought your 690E new or you would have got an update in the mail about this. Most of the John Deere machines that had John Deere Hydr. oil in them have been long changed. If you ask RDO they can give you the service update no. If you do have John Deere hydr. oil in it, I guess you are lucky. I don't have that kind of luck. John Deere wants engine oil that meets CG-4 or if that is not available CF-4. They recommend 10 weight oil from -40 to 80 degrees, 20 weight from 30 to 100 degrees and 30 weight from 50 and up degrees. I know the temps over lap. What weight oil depends on what temp you use the machine at the most and how hard. I have a decal that goes on the machine but it is to large to scan. The John Deere no. for the decal is T190256
we change hyd oil annually....have always used cenex's universal fluid. no probs. rdo's mechanic from sioux falls said nothing about using a motor oil in the hyd. tank
Oil I don't know who makes Cenix's oil or how it compared to John Deere Hyd oil. I got along with Case/IH HYTRAN oil in the 690E's for thousands of hours, but it is a different formula, than John Deere Hydr. oil. I guess as long as you don't put a lot of hours on your machine and change the oil ever year you might get along. I put a lot of hours on an excavator every year and a lot of the time the bucket cylinder is operating in water so I use engine oil and change each year. I don't want to buy an hydr. pump, or can not afford to have a machine down.
nor can i afford the downtime expense or cost of a new pump, we run 3-200 class excavators....i'm 53, been at this since i was in my very early teens with my father...i've got a few hours "seat time"....i guess i'll trust my experience and rdo's mechanic's opinion on what oil i'll run in the tank....with no failures so far, must be working
690e Cenix Hydr. oil is not John Deere Hydr. oil and that is what John Deere does not want in it. Like I said earlier I do not know the formulation of Cenix hydr. oil. I used Case IH HYTRAN oil (CASE IH hydr. oil) in my machines before changing to engine oil and got along fine for many hours. RDO (Burnsville MN.) was the company that informed me about not using John Deere Hydr. oil, so I'm surprise that They have not said anything to you. As far as hours I was going by a 10year old plus excavator only having 7000 hours as being low houred. That is less than 700 hours a year and not many hours on oil in a hydr. system if you are changing it ever year like you said.
Hi, this is my first post in this forum. My son and I are about to purchase a JD 690ELC and the discussion here seems to revolve around replacing the JD hydraulic oil with an engine oil. Does this include things like Mobil One car oil or is it specific to certain brands/weights? I am asking because I don't have a heavy equipment dealer near me and I am looking to acquire the oil from a local auto store or other retail establishment. Any specifics on what to purchase would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
When I worked at Deere and this oil update bulletin came out it was for the 690D/E. they just specified that it was 10w-30 motor oil. But as the years went on we put 15w-40 motor oil in all the hydrostatic machines. Because we found that 10w-30 was was recommended for colder climates. Except the later excavators we used 15w-40. Because they came with Special Hitachi AW46 oil and was guaranteed to 4000hours for first oil change. Now days if the oil is a blue tint it is motor oil in hydraulic system and hydrostatic systems. But DO NOT use the motor oil in the transmission.