After testing several out, mostly Takeuchi's (really wanted a TL10 cab, just too much money), I just pulled the trigger on a JD 333E ROPS with 2600 hours. First CTL. Traded in a 20 year old Ford backhoe that was just too awkward for most of what I do. Anyway, the only real issue I could find, was the sprockets look worn to me. Tracks look good, and since I assume you usually go through a couple sets of tracks before changing the sprockets, that I can replace the sprockets alone. They are less than half the cost of a single track, so I don't want to risk tearing up the tracks with bad sprockets. Of course the place I bough it from said they have hundreds of hours still to go. What do ya'll think? There's a local store with them in stock for just a little over $400, not Deere brand. This is for my use on 144 acres, probably won't ever put more than a couple hundred hours a year on it. Also plan on greasing everything, usual oil/filters ect. Any other suggestions right off the bat? I don't even have a hour on it yet. Any good sources for parts, manuals and rock grapple? Maybe a tooth bucket and/or tooth bar.
I would replace those sprockets. They are shot. I would also dump the oil in the drives and replace with new before doing anything with it.
Those sprockets are totally shot .They will tear up your tracks .Replace them .
Yea, I had a feeling they needed to go. I have the sprockets on hold, might try and swing by today. I'll change the Final drive gear oil as well, looks like that's not very hard. It is hard to find much info, other than JD wanting you to just buy all JD fluids/filters. I assume 85/140 gear oil is good for the final drives?
why dont you buy the service manual for that machine and you wont have to guess on oils and how to work on it, its an investment not a cost for the manual..
No it still costs, about $200. I'm sure I'll end up getting one, but it probably still wont list the viscosities or anything other than their products. I've only had the machine for 3 days. So far all I can find from Deere is, PLUS-50™ II Hydraulic & Hydrostatic oil, and Plus 50 gear oil and Plus 50 so on and so on, and I don't have a Deere dealer very close. In my experience, a lot of the manufacturers just buy fluids and filters, rebrand them, try to hide what they are and then charge you double. This is my first Deere, and CTL, but not my first piece of equipment. I've had several tractors, a backhoe and rented CTL and dozers on numerous occasions. I sent the closest Deere dealer a request for prices (since they're not posted), and have not heard back. I've found all my filters in stock at close-by Napa and OReiley's stores, and the sprockets. I'm sure the dealer with the sprockets (HeavyQuip) carries plenty of gear oil since they specialize in undercarriages, but I bet they don't carry the JD oil. So it would be nice to pick some up while I'm there getting them, just need to know the viscosity.
I am not sure what weight they recommend, but I would not use any other weight but what is called for. When it comes to finals, I only use the oem oil at the recommended weights. Perhaps I am anal that way, but considering the cost of replacement and the small amount needed, I will pay for the extra cost for the two pints of oil or whatever it is to fill the finals.
I will take look and see if I have the manual.If I do I can email it to you .What is your email address?
I have all the manuals for it .What is your email address?
that is probably true, but then you can google the name brand oil and see what the specs are to match it up with a noname, if thats what you want todo..as others have said the small amount of oil you will need for that machine it may pay in the long run to pay for name brand..whats the saying" penny wise and dollar foolish"..LOL...for engine oil any name brand that meets spec is good but for hydraulics I would stick with dealer brand, for the hours your gona put on the machine you arent talking big money for the dealer brand oil and you know its 100% right for that machine...parts are not cheap to replace and the labor to go along with it..I have service manuals for all my equipment and they dive lots of good pointers and info when needed..
That would be great, [email protected] , Thanks
Ray Manuals were emailed to you .
I run synthetic gear oil in our drives. Kubota shop foreman recommends it. Been running 140w. He says change it once a year no matter how many hours. May be over kill, but that's what we do.
Got them, thanks. They will come in very handy, I'm still trying to figure out all the controls on this thing. I changed out the sprockets, final drive gear oil (GL-5 85/140 was listed as an alternative), changed oil/filter, both air filters, one diesel filter and greased everything up. Put in a fire extinguisher and the only thing left for now is the hydraulic filter, but I have not done that yet because all I had was cheap hydraulic fluid I buy for my old Massey. Those sprockets were pretty tough, I think it would have been 4 times faster if I just had someone sitting in it operating the tracks. I climbed in and outa that thing at least 50 times and used ratchet ties to hold my pry bars in place to get one side of the track off front roller. Rather than deal with removing 400 pound tracks by myself, It gave me enough slack to ratchet them up and outa the way for the new sprockets. The bottom skid plate was missing, so I have to find one or make one, probably be easier to just make it.
Made the skid plate and changed the Hydraulic filter. Manual says to use the Deere Plus 50 or Hydrau fluid. Hydrau is factory fill and from the color, I think that's whats in it. After reading up, I like the specs of Hydrau better, as the Plus 50 oil seems to be used primarily so the engine oil/hydraulics can share the same fluid type. I went to the local dealer and the sales person said he never heard of it, and to use Hydra, showing me plenty on the shelf. While I was there a mechanic showed up and said they had some in the back, and took me to a pallet of dusty Hydrau. So I bought a 5 gallon bucket for $75, since I couldn't find what I thought was the same stuff elsewhere (ISO 68 with zinc) that was really any cheaper. I also discovered that without the skid plate, there was a good amount of mud under the cab, and a leak or at least it leaked a lot at one time. Didn't really see any leak now. I may buy another 5 gallon bucket and swap out all fluid later, after I clean out under the cab and make sure it's not leaking any more. Fluid from the filter looks good. I'm hoping to start using this equipment more than working on it soon! I was not impressed with my local JD store. The counter salesman was new and little help, then I asked about buying a bucket, grapple and forks and got even less help. None of the Deere dealers ever got back with me from email contact, or even a quote on the sprockets I needed. I called another one (got machine and left a message) to try n get a price on a 84" tooth bucket. The store I went to said there was one in stock at the Athens store an hour away they could get in a few days, so I called the Athens store to just drive and pick it up there, and they told me they didn't have one. Anyway, I found a Blue Diamond 84" tooth bucket in stock, specs show it may be slightly bigger/heavier than the JD, so I may be driving a couple hours to go get it. There's plenty of no name (I assume Chinese cheap buckets) closer for around $400 less. I'm scared of them. I assume 12,000# 100 HP would destroy them pretty quick. Anyone recommend another brand that isn't crazy expensive in the Dallas metroplex area, or comment on the Blue Diamond utility tooth bucket? May pick up their 6000# rated pallet fork carrier while I'm there. Really want a grapple, but can't decide (or afford all 3 attachments) between the root rake style (shorter/thicker bottom tines, cylinders in back, huge opening) or rock style (open long flatter bottom, two independent cylinders on top, but don't have to clamp to carry everything). I'm leaning towards the root rake style, because I think I'm less likely to destroy them grubbing up locust trees, or hitting roots trying to clear east Texas woods. I actually like the idea of the bigger one piece, all the way across top for back raking, and since mine is open cab, might give me a little more protection not having that opening right in front of me between the two independent clamps of the grapple when I'm charging into a pile of downed honey locust trees with 3" thorns. I think less branches will find their way past?
Good grief, I've never had such a hard time spending money. I can't seem to get anyone at John Deere to talk to me. I thought I had at least found a good toothed bucket, and was ready to go get it. They sent this, "Here are the prices you requested from Blue Diamond. All the attachments are in stock except the Grapple Rake would take three weeks to get." I assumed that meant they had the bucket, but no, they don't apparently have anything in stock. Ok, the metroplex is huge, there has to be some descent 84" toothed buckets out there somewhere? I'm heading to Pinkey's in Farmersville to look at their buckets, forks and grapples. Not confident in the quality of the products they carry though, but at least I bet they act interested in taking some money.
If you want an excellent dirt bucket, made in America, go to Virnig. Outstanding dirt buckets, I also have a Virnig scrap HD grapple, also excellent.
Yes, I've seen some of the Virnig stuff, looks very well built. I finally got a good contact at JD, bought a tooth bucket from Deere, their getting me a price on a HD wide pallet fork. Funny, I stopped by Himes equipment, since they are the closest to me. They had a beat up used bucket they said they would sell for $1,550, and one used wide HD pallet fork carrier they said they wouldn't even sell ( I have some very HD 54" forks I welded an extension on with a 2" bar to use on a backhoe loader bucket). The new JD HD tooth bucket cost me $1,500. I'll probably hold off on a grapple for a while so I can get a good one, and will just use the forks to move downed trees for now, one of the reasons I want a wider 5'-6' HD, so I can throw on my extra forks if needed. Pinkys stuff is mostly made by Jenkins Steel, seems like pretty well made stuff. I like their grapple for the price, they just seem to be sold out of everything I need.
I bought a set of Construction Attachment forks from Pinkys that are very well made. I've also purchased a few other things from Pinkys over the last few years and they seem to have decent prices from what I've seen. If you're willing to have stuff shipped, rootgrapple.com has a good reputation for attachments.
Can't get into those manuals anymore. I'm getting a active ECU code 2950.05 , Suction Air Throttle Actuator , out of range low. Any suggestions? I also finally got my forks, ordered a 6' wide Jenkins Steel with 5' forks rated at 5,500#. I wanted wide to see if I could get by with these instead of getting a grapple. Unloaded yesterday and seemed to work well with forks spread about 5' apart. Only got to play with them for about 30 minutes last night. Only issue was it took a month and a half to finally get them. I want to order the 84" Jenkins Brush grapple (not sure why they call it a brush grapple when it looks like everyone else's root grapples). But if I can get by with these forks moving brush, then I can spend the money on other equipment needs.
Do you need another copy of the manuals to download them?
Before you buy a grapple, look at the Faver grapple. The tines are AR400 and don't have tie bars across the front. I've worked mine plenty hard in concrete as well as trees/brush, and haven't bent a tine yet.
That would be great. I guess I need to open and copy them to a file to save them? [email protected]
Ray450 if you change you hyd oil out to 10w68 your JD will work better i did mine about a 100 hrs and it was like i had a new machine
If at all possible, I'd love you to send them to me again. [email protected]
I have 2 attachments from https://skidpro.com/ They are both VERY WELL constructed. I have a high flow forestry mulcher and an 84" rock grapple. I just sold a rock grapple from another mfg. that was a POS. Skid pro was more than twice the money, but well worth it. Ask for Dick in sales. I have no affiliation, just a happy customer.
I will email you them .
I used to own a 333E n now have a 333G if you have any questions etc holler. I run alot of John deere tractors n ctls
Finally bought a gooseneck and can haul this thing. It's been throwing a code since I've owned it, "2950.05 , Suction Air Throttle Actuator , out of range low", I have not been able to find any info on what to do to fix it. Accelerator pedal also seems to be not working well, I usually just set the throttle with the knob. I called two local dealers, both said they would get back to me about that code and never did. This thing goes thru a lot of hydraulic fluid and I can't seem to track the leaks, although I know where the oil is leaking, drain bolt connection to the outside port. Anyway, I plan on taking it to a dealer. I'm between three dealers, Terrell, Sulphur Springs and Mckinney Tx. The one in Terrell is small and is listed for just Ag equipment, but they said they service the yellow Deeres as well. Never been to Sulphur Springs, probably 10 mins further, also does not sell yellow. The one in Mckinney is by far the biggest and deals with yellow and green Deeres, but is probably 30-45mins further away. Any recommendations?
Maybe this will help.
Thanks, I'll play around with that and see if I can figure it out. There is a huge amount of dirt in the bottom of the engine/pump compartment. I've scraped out several buckets of dirt, and many hoses/components are buried, making finding leaks very difficult. I've been hesitant to remove all the covers on the bottom and clean it out with a pressure washer. Good or bad Idea? Obviously I'd try to avoid getting close to electrical components.
ive power washed mine it didnt hurt anything i had dropped all the belly pan pieces n got to washing i think i spent 2 hours cleaning mine out at 500 hours but it had alot of leaves in it scince i do alot of land clearing and extreme dusty enviroment
Joe's right. Power washing won't hurt it. Just don't spray the controllers on the side. There are small steel lines on the bottom and being buried in dirt, especially damp dirt, they like to rust then leak.
I've never had good luck with ag dealers that also service the construction side. It's a bit of a drive for you, but I'd give RDO a call. Everything Deere Const, I see around here has one of their logos on it.
Managed to find one of the problems, a broken wire on the Air throttle. Looks like the cab strut hit the harness connector and took out a wire, and scrubbed up another. Will have to solder later, but was able to connect it and was not getting the code anymore. It also almost immediately went into a cycle for the emissions, even though it's showing "low soot". It was staying at 1800 rpm, and I think I had read somewhere you shouldn't shut down if it starts, but I had to pick up a kid at daycare, so I had to shut it down after giving it 20 minutes. Never found the hydraulic leak, but got most of the dirt out of the bottom and put in a new battery. I need to spray it out good later, but was running out of time and it was cold. Might not have to take it in now, but funny you said that about RDO, because mine has a big RDO sticker on it as well. None of the Deere dealers ever did get back with me.
Oil leaks are nature of the beast unless its streaming out. Oil is cheap. Keeps the frame from rusting. Get familiar and registered with jdparts.com and call your orders in or Google part numbers for online deals. My jd service manager won't tell me how to diagnose anything just pay him $125/hr service calls so I don't go out of my way to support them on parts. Try not to buy a attachment from oem dealer too much markup. Do some digging online and find your closest quality aftermarket attachment mfg. Co. Here it is aim or werkbrau or tag I've beat the tar out of a aim grapple, still works fine. https://aimattachments.com/?gclid=C...c3EHXua-VTir4dEaOcUVurY7rVyE0ZMxoClpAQAvD_BwE
Hi all, Not to butt in but this looked like a good place to start. We just got a 2014 jd 333e with 2800 hrs, we put up a home and now need to clear some acreage. quick question is there any place to get operating and service manuals as mine didn't come with anything and this is my first run with a CLT, theres a lot of buttons and switches on these things. Any help is appreciated.
Other than new from Deere the only other place to go would eBay to see if anyone has used ones for sale.
I haven't seen anything yet on ebay, I was hoping there was alternative to going to dealer. How about place to get parts (online)? Any recomondations?
What is your email address? I can email you the manuals .
Excellent ! [email protected]
Can anyone tell me how to turn on ride control? Bucket float? 333e
You might want to invest in an operators manual. For float (takes a little getting used to) - Activate boom down motion. Press and release float switch (right lever trigger switch). Allow joystick to move to neutral position. For ride control (if you have that option) - 1. Press the switch on the SSM (the picture of the little skid steer with the wiggly lines under it). One of the LED's should light up. If it is an option that was not installed the monitor should show a message saying option not installed when you press the button. 2. Press the right lever trigger switch to activate (cannot use float when ride control is on).
Thanks, I'll try this evening.
Manuals are emailed to you .
You’re not to far from marble falls there is a huge attachment store there called I dig Texas.
Just purchased a 2017 JD 333E with high flow. Does anyone have the manuals for one of these?
Whats your email address?
What What is your email address ?
I've never used a root grapple, but I really like my rock grapple. It has teeth on the front and the spacings between the tines is about 3". It is plenty strong. I have seen it flex a little bit when I bite down on something really big, but so far I have not bent anything. I regularly move rocks around with my rear wheels off the ground. What I really like about it over the root grapple is that for other than sand, it can still move a lot of the kind of dirt i have and you can still throw junk in the bucket like chainsaws and shovels for when you are driving to an area. The forks I have are Bradco and they are very well made. An auger is also used a lot.
Hello tool_king I have just purchased a 2014 333e also and it is missing it's manuals. If you would be so kind as to send me the manuals it would be greatly appreciated. My email is [email protected]