My buddy has an older case 450 forsale he is down to 3,000 for machine, I have used machine on and off for a few years now, i know the tracks are worn , but if you keep them pumped up and don't turn sharp, the tracks stay on. if you are rough then they may come off. Has newer rebuilt engine, grouser pads all good, rear sprockets don't have not much wear, but idlers set is whooped both side and rollers,. six way blade works some excess movement, one leaking cylinder , .. opinions???
How mechanically inclined are you? Do you have a couple thousand you are willing to put into the undercarriage? What type of work are you planning on doing with it?
I guess you can say mechanically inclined, lol been a ford tech for dam close to 25 years holy **** i am getting old! Not sure i want to put anything to undercarriage yet, hoping to use it for awhile without doing so Machine will just be used on farm time to time personal use, building motocross jumps, grading fields, pushing tons of horse poop! lol
If the tracks are that bad, they'll need to be replaced but if the rest of the machine runs half decent $3000 is a good price. Might be able to find some used undercarriage. You don't want to take out the final drives from having bad/too tight undercarriage.
engine rebuild is worth $1k if you do it yourself, All gauges work? no rust in the coolant? 3k sounds like a good deal to me.
The one thing that really sucks about machine is the brakes do not work , when i am close by barns,house or fencing i had a few mishaps, i have been to brakes always suck on machine not to fix, but that is a killer
if they are band brakes, they may just need adjusted, also, if they have the wrong oil in the rear drive, that may cause problems as well.
I looked at a JD 450 C. It looked good, I returned with a more knowledgeable friend, truck trailer, and check. Upon a more thorough inspection we found very expensive problems. I passed on it. Ended up with a more gently used Dresser TD7G. Factoring needed repairs on the Deere, the Dresser was more expensive to buy, but half the real cost. Willie
My case 450B loader has been great, bought with a rod hanging out of the block and needing all new hoses.....sat in a field for 3 years when I found it. Bought a used motor and rebuilt it and made new hoses, been running good for over a year now. Only problem has been keeping the hoses underneath in good shape as it is missing the skid plates. Many of those came without brakes and lots of people take the brakes off as they are a major problem, they tend to lock up in the worst possible places! The 1150 I bought had the brakes removed 25 years ago! The 450B still has working brakes and we rarely use them, when they quit working we will pull them off....