I lost a final drive (right side) on my 450c, serial number 3077743. The machine is a mid 80s I think, tracks are fairly worn. Until this it ran great and was really nice to have around. I bought the machine for 12.5k$, and with the fairly worn tracks, I am kind of back and forth what to do now? The rebuilt finals I am finding are 4500 with the pinion, I found one used pulled out one with pinion for 3500 "inspected" but not sure what that means, and would really hate to put that kind of cash into it to have it go out again. Anyway, Id like to fix it, I think the tracks will get me by for a few more years, so if I could find a decent priced final I think I could deal with putting some money into this machine. Any advice on what to do and where to look for parts would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
Do a parts search or a parts machine search on Machinery Trader, there are yards that specialize in scrapping out the older machines for usable parts. Inspected means they have disassembled far enough to verify it is not exploded or failed or going to do so very quickly upon install by the buyer. Does not guarantee it won't happen but is a hedge against buying something that appears to be shot. Will need seals, some small parts, gaskets and a good cleaning so on a few occasions not worth the effort. General Gear in Boise ID has a lot of older machines, he would be a choice as to a closer supplier to CA.