Hey everyone, I am looking at purchasing a 1984 JCB 4x4 214. The gentleman seems nice enough but he is not a mechanic. His mechanic friend did the regular maintenance but no records, etc etc. He used it every so often to move dirt for his garden, break up his concreate sidewalk, etc but overall he hasn't used it for heavy work in 2 years. It fires right up, no grey smoke and the backhoe and the 4 in 1 loader work (he demoed it for me). Comes with a 4 in one front bucket and a 2ft and 1ft buckets for the hoe (along with forks) No hose leaks but there is a slight transmission leak. He wants $16k for it. I've been attempting to decode the VIN/serial plate without luck. If anyone could provide advice/information on the VIN it would be greatly appreciated, as well as feedback on if this is a good buy or not. I have attached the picture of the VIN plate as reference.
The last digits of the vin is not the year usually with jcb machines. You could call a jcb dealer to run the vin and give you history on it. But 16k for a machine that's 35 years old? Personally I'd spend a few thousand more and get a lot newer machine. Check the auction sites like ironplanet for some deals.
Can you post a pic of the machine?
See attached......
And 2 more photos.....
Spoke to a local tractor shop who asked for the last 7 of the VIN/serial. They say it's a 1991, not a 1984. They also told me JCB parts are cheaper then CAT, Ford, etc but getting some from England can be a pain. That's everything I've learned so far.
I'm assuming that has a perkins diesel. Very common engine and easy to get parts for. You can also get jcb parts cheap on eBay.
Would have to check what engine it has. JCB has their own engines too. Not sure on this machine but JCB uses a different type of fittings on their hyd. hoses that aren't as easy to find. This could be a factor if you blew a hose on say the weekend and needed a new one ASAP. Looking at the machine, it looks in pretty decent condition.
Definitely not a jcb engine. Jcb started producing engines maybe around 2005.
Looks like it is a Perkins engine but nearly impossible to find what engine it has on any JCB literature or spec. sheet. Seems kind of stupid not to list what engine on the literature. JCB must have wanted people to think it was their engine. They list JCB transmission on some machine's.
Welcome to HEF, Acelead ! If you are in Texas wouldn't you want an air conditioned cab ? If you buy it, I have the service manual for it. Free to you of course. The engine section only covers the R&R of it. The engine service manual is a separate publication depending on which engine the tractor has. Case did the same thing on one of their 580 models that has a Cummins in them.
Manuals can probably be found on ebay.
I would dare to say that it's a mid 1995, Nice shape. The hydraulic tank is similar to mine on drivers side and inspection plate on the side. Mine is a 1994, if you google JCB 214 1995 and look at some pictures, you'll see your machine. Pretty sure it has the Perkins engine also.
UGHHHHH British inverted flare if I remember right.
I've owned a 1550-B for maybe 20 years. I've never yet had a single issue finding a hose to fit. Virtually everyone around here carries them. I've also not had a single issue finding any parts for it (though fortunately I really haven't needed many at all....knocking on wood!!) For me, repairs have been tires, redo cylinders, hoses, exhaust pipe, I rebuild the backhoe valves last fall just because.... (I had bought the parts maybe 10 years ago and found them in my drawer so went ahead and put new seals & things in there) That's most of what comes to mind. It's been very reliable for me. Oh, and I do have a slowwwwwwwwwwww drip where the hoses go to the heater. Might just need tightened.
I've also replaced "Parker Flat faced fittings" on my machine with no issue. They do sell adapters for BSP to NPT fittings. But personally, I've had no issue's with leaking. Flat faced connector's is the way go in my "opinion". Good luck and try to talk him down to 14K. That machine look's very clean, but make sure tranny is operating well.
I'd buy a jcb no questions asked if it turns on, pushes hard, lifts, steers and stops and doesn't have any gaping cracks or holes. 16k for a machine that old seems expensive to me though but I dunno what kind of shape it's in. If it works well and you've got the cash maybe just go for it problem solved. See if hell take 15k
Let us know how it went and what you decided. PLEASE.