The Township I work for traded Graders. We had a 2011 JD770G machine with 2,500hrs. Had purchased it new. Ordered a new JD672G on 14 June 2019. It delivered on 14 August 2019. I was in the middle of a road elevation project. This first pic was taken 5 minutes after unloading it. Forgot to get one before I made a pass pushing dirt. Options are 14'x27"x1" moldboard with 8" cutting edge. Slip Clutch gearbox on table. Front Scarifier. Rear Hitch. 17.5x25 Bridgestone tires. Deluxe Lights (18 LEDs). 1 Auxiliary hydraulic function control on right side. Powered Cab Air Precleaner. Standard fabric air seat. Non opening windows, exterior mirrors, FM w/Aux radio.
Very little change in the chassis. Basic size and weight is close to the older machine. A little heavier on the front axle because of adding AWD. Same engine at 255HP. Most noticeable changes are at the engine compartment. These are caused by adding the Tier IV equipment. Our previous machine used a DPF but no DEF. These machines make normal service ease a priority. They are very well organized in regards to filter and fill point locations. First pic is location of engine air filter.
This pic is with all the left side panels open. The center opening provides access to the engine oil and transmission dipsticks. Switched light for night work. The rearward panel accesses coolers for all the oil filled boxes including the rear axle assembly. The diesel fuel fill is just below that with the green cap. DEF is below that with the blue cap. I'm a bit concerned about the DEF fill location. During snow pushing this area will be covered with ice and snow. It'll require a dead blow hammer to remove the crust so the panel can be opened....
On the right side of the machine you can access the dual alternators at the front opening, filter bank in the middle, engine and AC radiators at the rear. I had ran the machine 3 hrs and got out to pee. I noticed oil leakage on the side of the frame. Opened the panel and found that the axle filter head hoses were finger tight. How they didn't leak more than a little is beyond me. Quick tightening and everything was good. JD marks all tighteners with paint at the factory. These two had no paint marks. Were just hand tight. As you can see, filter maintenance is very easy. Everything is visible and simple to remove/replace. I like that about Deere.
The G model cab is very user friendly. Lots of storage space. Ergonomically organized. Great visibility. My only petty complaint is the location of the 12V power receptacles. They are low and behind the lunch cooler rack. Very easy to bump them with the cooler and impossible to access them with it there. Biggest change is the trans shifter. Our previous machine used a gate shifter. Lever completely forward in park. Come out of park and push lever outward to gain access to reverse gate. Pull rearward on lever, click, click, click thru gears to 8th. Go back to gate and pull lever toward you and gain access to forward gate. Pull rearward on lever, click, click, click thru gears to 8th. This shifter only has one gate. Full forward is neutral. Click lever toward you and you are selecting forward. Pull rearward, click, click, click to 8th. Click lever away from you and you are selecting reverse. So, if in forward 4th and you want to reverse, simply click the lever away from you and you've got reverse 4th. This is going to be a hard habit to break..... But I think it'll be better once I get used to it. Also in this pic you can see the 6wd selectors, cruise control, heat/AC controls. The 6wd controls are very easy to understand and get used to. Big change for me. First AWD grader I've ran.
Another change is the dash computer screen. Still gives you all the needed info, just completely reorganized. As in all new machines, you are flooded with machine information and data. The first pic is the screen when you first activate power. The second is what remains on when operating the machine. As for user friendliness I don't see any improvements or losses. Just different. That's how Techno Guys have job security, always changing. This switch panel is on the right side B pillar at eye level. Pretty self explanatory. Notice some of the center keys have numbers on them. They are used as a keypad to make selections on the various menus on the main screen.
Here's my rack setup. I've used this for 15 years or so. It fits me mentally. I really like the one hand lift setup with the articulation handy. My thumb is always resting on that lever. Can run those three functions without lifting my hand.
I'm more than a little excited about the LED lights. I push more snow at night than daytime. I messed with the lights last night and got them sorta adjusted. I'll take some pics first chance I get. It's a huge leap from Halogen. 18 lights total. Completely lights everything around the machine. Blade visibility is as good as daytime.
Being my first 6WD machine, I was a bit disappointed to realize I can't rotate the tires. The front wheels are different than the rears. Backspace is different. Best I can do is rotate the four rears amongst themselves and the two fronts side to side.
The front axle ground clearance is very good considering everything hanging on it. I don't notice any loss of turning radius, wheel lean or anything else. The hydraulics seem to be a bit exposed but can't see any way to improve that. Have used the 6WD a limited amount. First thing I noticed is it takes a bit more rpm when doing delicate work. I'm used to feeling the rear wheels slipping and adjust the blade accordingly to get maximum work. With 6WD engaged this slippage is gone. First time I got in this position I stalled the machine.
The engine has a block heater. The plugin for the heater is located outside the engine compartment. It's under the black square covered box just to the right of the red pin in this pic. Again, I expect that to be covered with frozen ice/snow when it's most needed. But when it was located inside the engine compartment the same problem existed. Had to dead blow hammer the crust off to get the panel open.
Nice machine, interested on your thoughts on the 6wd when you use it, I would think it would be good in the snow and also for doing some ditching, lifting both sides of the mouldboard with just 1 lever I think is a great option, we have a few Deere's in our fleet but I never spent any amount of time running them, led lights are really nice running at night time, we have a led light bar on the m I run in the winter mounted up on the cab, it has 165000 lumens and really cuts through the falling snow in a storm for great visibility.
Looks like a very nice and well thought out machine. Congratulations. Snow will be here sooner than you think.
Thanks. Yeah, I'm curious to use 6wd also. As you said, it should make ditching a lot easier. Also working on steep banks. Not sure how beneficial it'll be pushing snow. About the only time I have a traction issue in snow is with the plow on and trying to back out of a drift. I'm always conservative when going downhill ramming into a drift. I've never been stuck but have had to rowboat myself back out a few times.
Thanks. We are less than 60 days from first frost here. Normally don't have any snow to push until December. But that's not far away either. Been very busy this Summer. It has flew by.
Yes.. cold weather will be upon us soon, December is when we get snow also but sometimes in November, my 140h is in the shop for some long overdue mouldboard maintenance before fall grade, been fairly busy here also this summer, ditches have stayed wet this year compared to the last 3 summers, a bit harder to ditch, summer has flew by.
I'm spoiled with low hour machines. A year ago I replaced the bronze blade slide bushings on our machine. They are adjustable but that was gone. Sorry I don't know the technical terms. The bushings where the blade lift cylinders fasten to the grader were worn with slack. Also the turntable bushingd had a bit of slack. I noticed all of that. I also realized that bit of slack hindered the ma hine's ability to blade smooth. I immediately noticed the difference with a new machine. The slightest slack is noticeable.
Yeah, my machines mouldboard quadrons are wore bad, the two large pieces on each end that the mould board slides through and holds the shims, my mouldboard slide guide for the shims is wore bad also not sure how they will fix that, my lift cylinder sleeve bushings on the yoke are gone, they are fibreglass and a major pain to replace, and a few other easy fix bushings, starting leave some finger prints in the road when spreading from all the slack movement sometimes, I was after them accouple of years ago to address these issues when it would have been a easier fix, when you rob Peter you will pay Paul every time, working with a tight machine does make a difference for sure.
Hope you enjoy the new Tonka toy. How crammed that engine compartment is concerns me somewhat. It’s okay if you don’t have any trouble with it. Even a hydraulic hose can be an adventure at best, this looks like it could be a nightmare.
hi 20/80 i run a 2017 12m we got our machine shop make our slide wear inserts out of self lubing poly . its as tough as and lasting two to three times longer and the rails are mirror shiney cheers
That is a great idea, I was thinking there should be something better then the brass shims, any pics? thanks for sharing the info, and cheers to you to!!
30hrs in. Two hyd leaks. Loose connectors from assembly. Delay shutdown isn't working. That's serious enough that the service truck is driving 100 miles to fix it tomorrow. Did slope work on the road project that I couldn't have done without 6wd. Started this morning skimming a slimy mud layer off the borrow area from weekend rains. Really like that feature.
old and new poly inserts , old one has in excess of 1400 hrs on it . grader is final trim and i keep it tight . cheers
Thank you, we might get 3-400hrs on our brass shims(inserts) thanks again for taking the time to post a couple of pics.
I replaced the bronze bushings in our previous grader at 2000hrs because I had no more adjustment.
Concerning hydraulic fluid. The older Deeres had one sump for both transmission and rams. Has that changed?
Yes, that has changed. Everything is separated and filtered.
Nice machine can actually see out of the can on your machine I operate a 2011 772GP that has the bottom moldboard windows open and visibility is horrible with them is the oil drain valve still on the left side compartment on the engine block?
We used these on our 16's. Much better wear life than the standard bronze wear strips. https://www.nationalplastics.net.au/product-category/mining-products/
I wore a set of those plastic slide slash tilt bushings on a Volvo in about 750 hours. We had 4 road grading and paving jobs back to back. Between all that fine grading and regular use, they were toast. I was told I shouldn't move my blade so much........yeah sure ok
Great review! Might need your hammer to get the fuel door open in the winter slop as well. Nice Machine.
I don't use opening windows front or side. I would never open them. And they definitely restrict view. The engine oil drain valve is still on the left side. Slightly unhandy to reach but still a good system. Oil drains thru a hose into bucket or whatever container you use.
Thanks. Our conditions create a lot of buildup on the machine. I push at 14mph which makes it worse.
Thanks for posting I enjoyed the review and great pictures. A township near me just bought a 2019 case 590 wide trak fully loaded how can they afford these machines?
Update. 220hrs on the clock. We've had a lot of problems with this machine. Every single one of the problems are quality control. The factory shipped the machine to the dealer with every one of the problems. That's disappointing. More disappointing is that the dealer delivered to us with these problems. 1. JD link didn't work. That problem required 2 service calls. First to diagnose. Second to install a new computer. 2. "Machine Setup" menu was missing on the computer display. That problem required a new program download. Problem was, JD hadn't finished writing that download. Had the machine 30 days before receiving the correct/updated program..... 3. Reverse lights would throw a code and quit working. Code light would stay on and lights not work until machine was shut down. Then it would reset and everything is fine until it codes again. Might be the next time it's shifted to reverse. Might not be until the next day. A DTAC ticket was submitted to JD. Their initial response was that I was shifting from F to R too quickly..... The shifter is toggled left/right to select F/R. There is no middle neutral position. I asked the service tech how I am supposed to slow down a toggle? He looked at me for a second, face got red, started cussing at JD and stroking keys on his laptop with a nasty response to their suggestion that I was shifting too quickly. Couple minutes later they responded saying yeah, that can't be it...….. Authorized the replacement of the shifter. Another return service call to install new shifter. Tech messed with it, shifting dozens of times and it didn't code. The next morning I started the machine, toggled to R and it coded. We are now waiting for JD to offer their next solution. I believe they are now simply throwing parts at it. I think it's a computer programming problem. The timing on the algorithm that controls the lights is off. When toggled to R the computer circuit checks everything. The light portion hasn't completed the action when the computer checks, so it thinks they aren't working and codes. Curious to see how long it takes to solve this one...….. 4. "Delayed Shutdown" isn't working. This feature protects the engine components from shutting down too hot. Our previous machine might delay shutdown 60 seconds or more, depending on what the machine was previously doing. This machine has never delayed once. First JD said the new dual turbos are water cooled and don't require delayed shutdown as much as the previous design. I stood my ground and continued to say it isn't working. Finally they said get the machine up to operating temps. 4th gear, full throttle, 6wd. Load the machine until you get the rpms under 1800. Hold it there for at least two minutes. Clutch the machine and hit the stop button, it will briefly go into delay shutdown. It did not, immediately shutdown. I called the Service Manager and reported my findings. He said well try it again. I told him to F off. I refuse to do that to the machine again. Now we are waiting for a JD factory Engineer to come and investigate......
The oil leaks. First one was the in/out connections on the Axle Filter head. I caught them when I saw oil running down the side of the frame. The dealer PDI (pre delivery inspection) initialed the axle filter indicating everything was okay. His writings are about 3" from where the leak was...… This showed up within 3 hrs of delivery.
At the dealership they converted the machine to one hand controls. This required swapping some hoses and adding some angle fittings to the valve boxes which are located under the front of the cab on each side. Both sides had loose fittings that leaked. These leaks were discovered at 10hrs.
Next oil leak was in regards to the 6wd. Under the main frame cover at the front of the machine is a distribution block. There are solenoids on this block that activate/deactivate the 6wd. Also on the block are four test ports for diagnostic testing. These fittings use adjustable 90* elbows with quick couplers attached to them. First time I noticed the leak was at 15hrs, I shutdown, removed the cover and discovered one of these elbows wasn't locked in position and was leaking past the O-ring. I tightened the elbow and continued to work. The leak resurfaced 6hrs later. I removed the cover and a second elbow was leaking. The one I had previously tightened was seeping. I removed the elbows and went to the local JD AG dealership. They didn't have the two elbows in stock. But they had replacement O-rings. I replaced the rings, reinstalled and haven't had any problems. Another example of every poor quality control at the factory. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the block. But you can see the results of the leaks.
At 40hrs I washed the machine. As soon as I started washing the front tool bar I noticed paint flaking off the main beam. This main beam was originally painted JD green. Must be used on AG equipment also. Factory shot gray paint over the green. That didn't work out so well. Contacted the dealership about some of the other issues and also added the green beam. Next time they were here they removed the beam and took it back to the city to be repainted. Two weeks later I still have no toolbar...… I called them and said I needed a replacement. Next day they came with a used beam off a rental machine. I said that's fine, no need to bring the repainted original back. "Oh no, we'll bring it back as soon as it's done getting painted". Okay. Couple weeks later they came with the original beam painted gray. Installed. Problem solved...… Nope. Next time I washed the machine the paint blew off just as bad as the first time. A 10yr old kid could have done a better job of painting...… Couple weeks later they came with the used one I had earlier. I washed the machine again yesterday. Damnedest thing,,,,, it didn't turn green!!!!
So,,,, here we are. Have had the machine 100 days. 220hrs on the clock. Service truck has been here 8 times. Replaced Computer, Shifter, toolbar main beam. Added new Computer Download. Fixed JD Link, Machine Setting Menu. I fixed four oil leaks. Still have reverse light coding issue. Still don't have Delayed Shutdown. We've not been charged for any of this. Every issue was in the machine when it left the factory. So far the Dealer has supported that theory and is billing JD. So far JD is eating the charges. Most disappointing part of this to me is that the dealership didn't protect us from all this. They loaded the machine on the trailer for delivery to us with the Active Code light on. They checked all the blocks on their "Pre Delivery Inspection" checklist saying everything was "Okay" including no leaks, JD working, no Active Codes...… On a positive note. The machine has worked flawlessly. No mechanical quirks. By coincidence my "to do" list mainly included road rebuild and ditching projects. I've used the 6wd a bunch. The machine has worked hard. So far all the problems have been minor. I'm a little apprehensive heading into Winter. And trying to keep a positive attitude....
Amazing......... And there was me with the impression that only Cat had customers do product development/snagging/QC work for them in the field..?
We have a new to us 2016 770G (500 hours) and the paint quality is awful. Peeling everywhere. Not too many issues otherwise other than one of the batteries shifting and wearing a hole in the case. Hold down must have never been tightened properly.
For several years I have bragged that JD doesn't have the R&D issues that Cat does. No longer will I say that. JD pushed this machine out knowing that the JD link did not work because they hadn't written the correct program yet. Unexcusable.
Our previous machine was a 2011 770G. It was flawless. I think I mentioned this earlier. Only time JD service saw that machine was when it was 8 years old to do an appraisel for trade-in. Our dealer had it sold the day we traded it.... the paint still looked new.
Case Ag dealer gave me a brand new combine that "passed" PDI. It was hauled all the way to SW OK before I found the computer screaming about no spreader speed 5 seconds after engaging the separator. Took half a day of tracing wires and checking deutsch connectors before I found an incorrectly installed pin in a 4 pin connector. While I was crawling around I found loose intake piping between the air filter and the intake manifold.
Is it a DEF machine? If so, how much DEF does it consume? We started out at 5%. I'm down to a bit less than 3% now.
No. Because ours is sourced in Canada all the smoke goes straight out the stack. That being said it could never be exported to the States. Fuel consumption is comparable to our Volvo’s with DPF and DEF. I’ll post some pictures of the areas where the paint is sketchy.
Wish we could have avoided DEF. Yeah, I'd like to see your pics!!! Thanks!!!
My Son and I were talking about the reverse light situation today. I asked the Tech if he had saw this problem before? He said yeah. I asked if the other problem machine used LED lights? He said yeah. I'm wondering if the problem is because of the slow "light" time of LEDs plus the low amp draw? Maybe the computer diags as it should and detects an abnormally low draw so throws the code? He suggested adding a Resistor between the hot side and ground side of one of the lights. This might add draw to the circuit and trick the computer into thinking the lights are working and prevent a code?? This is done commonly with cars/trucks that have had the lights replaced with LEDs. He said the newest vehicles actually have a computer setting that can be changed if LEDs are introduced to eliminate the need for the resistor. Next week I'll call the Tech and visit with him about this. I'll post my findings.
They delayed it in some unique cases in off highway equipment. I’m not sure how they determined which could be delayed and which couldn’t. It was a different piece of equipment excluded with each manufacturer. Last couple years, we’ve had it across the board too.
In my studies regarding DEF I was initially concerned about a product that freezes. Thru research I learned that the machine will run without access to DEF for a long enough period of time that the tank heater can thaw it out and then pressurize the DEF system. I struggled with this because I originally thought the DEF tank had to be heated non-stop to prevent freeze up. Would deplete batteries very quickly when parked for days at a time in freezing conditions.
Might be why those things have 2 alternators. I knew the pickups worked something like that. People complained that they weren’t charging but the alternators were hot. They were putting out all they could to thaw the tank out. I’d like to know what they are doing in Germany. I’ve been told they did away with DEF/ UREA on vehicles years ago? What are they doing to meet emissions?
Good question. My gravest concern is owning a DEF machine when the "next greatest thing" is added eliminating DEF on new machines. Price of a used DEF machine will nose dive......
I tried the resistor on the reverse lights today. I only wired a resistor on one reverse light. The machine runs separate circuits for the two lights. When they don't work the fault code is different for each side. The side with the resistor wouldn't light up the LED light. Not even a little bit. As if the resistor "swallowed" all the power leaving nothing for the light. I messed with the shifter for a few minutes in this condition until it coded. It only coded on the side with the resistor. Neither reverse light worked once it set off the code...… Tomorrow I'm going to wire up a couple incandescent lights and splice them into the circuit on each side. Theory being add load. Then mess with it and see if I can make it code.
I tried adding load to the backup light circuit. Caused the lights to not work at all. Didn't "code", they just wouldn't light. JD Tech came Monday and replaced the backup lights per John Deere's guidance. Today I went to the Grader shed to check out the results. Powered up the machine without starting the engine. Shifter was in "F" neutral. Toggle to "R". No code. Toggled back to "F". Selected 3rd gear. Toggled to "R". Code light came on, no backup lights. Called the Tech and let him a phone message with the results of my test. So now I'm amused to think what John Deere will throw at the machine now. Stupid uneducated operator me thinks it's a simple Algorithm in the Computer. The LED lights hesitate a micro second before coming on. I think the computer runs a check test looking for load to the backup light circuit when the shifter is toggled to "R". It runs this diag before the lights come on. Trips code and shuts off the backup light circuits......
I'm curious (unless I missed it in the text) what specific code are you getting for the reverse lights?
TCU 516773.06 TRANSMISSION RIGHT REV LAMP CIRCUIT FAULT TCU 516770.06 TRANSMISSION LEFT REV LAMP CIRCUIT FAULT Always get both codes. After coding neither rev light comes on. Won't reset and turn off code until the machine is shut down and restarted. Thanks for any input you might have.
.06 identifiers are for over-current conditions (short to ground). It would be quite rare to have that on both lights at the same time. The backup lights do not share a common power wire.
In my opinion why doesn’t Deere just put them on a switch like they used to really hated when they did away with that switch and made them only come on in reverse they must not think anyone works after dark.
Yeah, I remember when they changed. I was a bit disappointed as well. I usually switched mine on and left them on. Later Deere improved their light packages a LOT. Now the backup lights aren't as necessary. This machine, as well as the previous two, have four lights on the cab pointing rearward. They do a very good job of lighting the area behind the machine. Backup lights are only effective if the work lights are not turned on. If you look closely at the cab roof you can see one on the left side, three on the right side.
Yeah ik where the lights are at on the top of the cab I operate a 2011 772GP to me the lights on the back of the cab are to far away to see what your doing behind you I like having 2 work lights on the very back of machine that I leave on while grading or plowing snow I just turn them off when I run down the highway
I've noticed during cool weather when I first start up the machine "steams" a lot out of the exhaust for 15 minutes. Then after this point for another 15 minutes it struggles to develop power. It won't reach governed speed in high gear on flat ground. Is this normal? Do I need to expect to thoroughly warm the machine before starting out?
It is very common now to see FT4 Deere machines letting steam out the exhaust when the engine starts up on a cold morning. I am not sure about the motor grader but some of the other Deere machines (dozers in particular) now have restricted movement and limited engine rpm until Engine/Hydraulic/Transmission temperatures reaches a certain threshold.
I was visiting with a friend who has a new Kubota CTL. He said a light flashes on the dash and it won't rev up for a couple minutes when he first starts it. Says it will do that in anything cooler than around 40F. I'm not a crank up and go guy on a cold engine. But I don't want to have to warm the machine 30 minutes either. Especially in 50F weather.
Definitely shouldn't have to at 50 degrees. Any codes?
No codes.
Did it run OK when warmed up? Did the steam stop when warmed up?
Yes on both questions. Steam stops after 5-10 minutes. Regains power after 15-20 minutes. All depending on what the machine is doing.
Makes me wonder if a temperature sensor is having what we call an "in range" failure? I don't recall how many temperature sensors you can read through the monitor, but it might be worth looking at. With machine cold, key on engine off, look at temperature sensors. Maybe a trans or hyd temp is reading 0 degrees while the rest are at 50 degrees?
Good stuff. I'll check that in a day or two. Aren't running the machine now due to weather. Thanks for the tips!!!
Pushed snow yesterday. Totally forgot to check the various temps before I started the machine. I'll try to remember that next time. Was my first time working at night with the LED lights. Absolutely awesome. Seemed to be less eye strain. Definitely can see the blade just as well as daylight. Great visibility all around the machine. Was also first time with 6wd. We had gotten a thin layer of ice, then 3" of snow, then 1/2" of ice on top. I didn't chain up. Ran 6wd all day. One section of my roads has pretty steep hills. The worst one is at a T intersection. I wanted to scrape all the ice off that one. Had to cheat and put right side tires on the grass bank to get enough traction to get to the top the first pass. Once I had a swath cleaned for one side I was good. Loved running without chains!!!! Ran the front tire speed equal to the rears. Doesn't seem to take any more HP engaged or disengaged. I think I'll be able to do all light snows, 6" or less without chains. Drifts or heavy snow would still require chains though. I've saw pics here on HEF of all wheel drive graders with snow tread tires on. I never fully understood the value of those. Now I do. They would add even more traction without the addition of chains.
With the snow tires and 6 wheel drive only time you need chains is when you get really bad ice I haven’t put chains on a grader in 10 yrs and don’t miss having to either
Got another snow. Including a LOT of ice.... Thin layer of ice. Then 5" of heavy, wet snow. Then 3" of dry snow. It sucked. I chained the rear four. Had to run very slow (7-9 mph) to prevent lope. Took 16hrs to take off the snow. Then the next night went back and cut the bottom layer of ice the best I could. Some steep hills I had to raise the blade a pinch to not spin out. On those hills I wish I'd had the front chained. I've still got about six hours of work left. I'll go to bed around 8 p.m., get up around 2 a.m. and finish. Started at midnight Thursday night, worked til 4 p.m. Friday. Went to bed at 7 p.m. and got up at 2 a.m. Saturday morning and worked til 3 p.m. I try to work at night when I can to avoid traffic. I had to wait until midnight Thursday for it to quit snowing..... Here's some not so good pics I took this morning. Love the LED lights.
Wow the LED lights are amazing my township is going to be updating there machine there looking at a brand new 772GP I’m definitely going to tell them to get the LED lights snow on top of ice is never any fun.
Yeah the lights are a valued option if you do a lot of night work. As I said before, I prefer to work at night. You can see traffic coming. I'm very rural and can push snow all night without seeing a vehicle. About daylight that changes. Lost track of how many times I've had vehicles drive into a large drift behind me. Flip it reverse to back up and get another run, glance in the mirrors and there's a car sitting behind me!!!!!! Where the H do they think they are going?? The road is drifted full ahead of me!!!! People...… I've ran this township 30 years. This snow was the worst I've pushed in regards to traction and loping. I even stopped by my home shop and added 10psi of air to the tires hoping that would change it but not. It's so foggy this morning that visibility is almost non existent so I didn't go out. I'll wait for it to burn off a little. If you get a new machine start a thread!!!
You don't run a wing or one way on the front? I miss plowing with my grader. This back and forth with a loader gets hard on the neck. Newfoundland just got 50 inches in one storm last week. Lots of pushing there
We have a hydraulic angle blade that goes on the front scarifier beam. Haven't used it for many years. It uses steel wheels for shoes. If the gravel roads aren't frozen solid it just digs in. We also have a V-plow that goes on the front as well as a wing that fastens to the moldboard. If we get a windy storm both get used.
it always amazed me that you guys to the south don’t have wings but then again your snow never last long like ours does up here we’re normally solid snow cover from December to late March we have v plows and one ways and wings on every grader up here.
I knew you had that wing on your old grader, wasn't sure if your new one had one or not. I like a front plow for wide turns and clean up at dead ends with no cul-de-sac.
We have a V, but the trees are growing up around it now. Mostly use a one way on front now. She came with 6 new Michelin winter sneakers that we only used 2 winters. I'm in need of 4 new rears, so I suspect they'll pop the winters on and use them year round. I wish they would take some winter plowing with the grader, but government and municipality don't pay much, so better to sit than work for nothing
Still got the wing. It'll bolt on this machine. I've never used a one way. How do you hold your front end where you want it? Our snow is usually moisture laden and heavy. There's no way I could have held the front end with a one way last week. I struggled just using the moldboard. This year we have had 10 snows totaling 20". First snow was 28 October which is very early for us. We've got 8" on the ground now. No drifts. Supposed to be at or above freezing every day for the next two weeks. This snow will go away slow, but it'll go away. We are in the fields planting crops beginning the last week in March. I put on my yearly gravel allotment first of April.
Never had an issue keeping the front where I want it. My wing pushes out from behind the rear tire so it wants to shove your arse end out. Lean my wheels right and it seems to counter perfectly. Going around a corner at an intersection, I take up the slack in my lift chains up front, puts a bit of weight on my front wheels. If the banks are hard enough, my wing swings me around a corner
Yes, I can understand how that would work!!! So the one way front blade is floating on chains? Does it have shoes to keep it from digging in the roadbed? I'm expecting to utilize your technique some with my front V plow. It's usually running on it's shoes with hydraulics in float. With the front tires pulling I think I will be able to lift it slightly to gain traction and direction control?
Hey ovrszd, your pics and descriptions are much appreciated. Very nice pics and thorough in details. I was out hauling snow again last night and had coffee with one of the foremen from our city works department, and one from the big construction company in my area. We got talking graders and all the problems with the brand new Cat 140 and 160 M all wheel drives. They said they bend the moldboard tilt cylinders weekly, the turntables bend and/or fall off, etc. And this is on snow duty!! And if you get stuck they don't have the hydraulic power to lift the machine with the blade. Said they have met with Cat reps and the Cat reps claimed "operator abuse." To which our city replied "well all the same operators switch between them, our old Champions and Volvo's and our new and old Deere's and none of them are breaking?" Everyone I have talked to lately really prefers the new Deere graders over Cat. The reps from Deere even went as far as to tell our city officials "you will never break one of our motor graders." And so far that has been true. I wish there were some new Komatsu graders around here. I'd like to see how they compare. I spent the last two summers loading myself with a brand new Komatsu WA 500 loader and I can say it puts Cat loaders to shame. And it had not one emission system issue.
Sorry, I missed your reply. It is like a plow on a pickup truck. Rides on shoes and the cutting edge. If I want some weight on the front tires, I just lift it a bit. It's not scraping, but it still takes the bulk of the snow. I run 4 heavy lift chains for this reason. Sometimes in heavy storms the weight of the blade, plus the snow it was pushing when I lifted it, would break lighter chains. Your v has down pressure I take it, no lift chains. I heard guys talking about driving old Austin Weston six wheel drive graders lifting the V slightly to get more traction. Snow tires are really the cats meow. We run them on all 11 loaders and 2 back hoes now. At first, they gave us a real edge over the other contractors, but everyone runs them now. Our engineer looks after the plowing and says the savings In fuel and the extra work we can do, has paid for them a couple of times now. They are taken off in the spring so they last forever. Some sets are ten years old and have seen different loaders.
A neighboring Township with deep pockets run a set of snow tires in Winter. They rarely chain up their grader. We don't have the financial resources to do that yet. Our V plow is attached to the scarifier beam on the front of the grader. It is a hydraulic toolbar with float. The V plow has three shoes. I'm almost always in float when plowing. Only time I lift is to gain a little directional traction if I'm drifting sideways. Now with AWD I don't expect to have that problem as often.
Follow up. I received a Customer Experience questionnaire from John Deere. I checked the appropriate blocks on the document and added a multi page document outlining the problems we've had with this machine. I actually don't expect anything exceptional from Deere. I believe they will pass it down to the dealer and they will be required to respond. We are down to two (2) problems. In seven months they've been unable to fix them, but maybe they'll be more motivated now. Who knows. What I do expect is a consideration by Deere that their Quality Control measures at the Assembly Plant need review. Every problem we've had could have been eliminated there. Check out my attachment for the document I sent to them. I included five pictures with annotations on each in regards to the oil leaks I've had.
At least now if this social distancing thing gets real boring, we have your phone number for crank calls
Exactly!!!! That's what friends are for!!!