Author Topic: Buying a skidder (Read 10988 times)

buck5611 · « **on:** January 09, 2005, 08:13:31 am »

I'm in the process of buying a JD 440B 1974 cable skidder.This machine has been sitting outside for 7 years due to a busted motor. A friend of mine who is a good mechanic and have lot of experience with skidder as well as other heavy equipement bought it to restore and sell it .He will put a good used motor and also check everything in it so that there will be no comeback for him. The tire are 80% worn but in my case still usable for many years with good chains. The price will be between 10000-15000 Can.depending on what it will have to put in it .
Any comment on JD skidder (reliability,operating cost,repair cost,etc...)?
Any comment on buying JD vs. Timberjack or Tree Farmer?
Any comment on this particular machine( anything to be aware of, price asked for it)?
Thanks. Carol

Frickman · « **Reply #1 on:** January 09, 2005, 12:05:12 pm »

Congratulations on your new-to-you machine! I am currently running a John Deere 440, and there are both pros and cons. It is a very rugged, solid, skidder, and able to negotiate through tight spaces in rocks or a select cut. The working parts are very well shielded against contact from rocks, limbs, and other things. This shielding though makes repairs much more difficult. You basically have to take half the tractor apart to get to certain things, like the transmission. There is nothing too complicated to work on, just alot of parts to remove to get where you're going.

Parts availabilty is getting to be a problem also. John Deere still stocks many replacement parts, but some are hard to get. I recently had a local machine shop redo a shifting fork for me as it was no longer available new.

I don't have much experience with Timberjacks, but alot of friends do. They say they are a good, rugged machine and very easy to work on. An average mechanic with simple tools can do most anything he needs to on it, or at least remove a part or assembly and take it to a pro shop to get repaired. The older ones with the stick steering would drive me nuts, as I'm used to having a steering wheel. That's just me personally though. I guess the stick steering works good once you get used to it.

I have some experience with Franklin and Tree Farmers though. Currently I own a Tree Farmer C5-D forwarder and love it. It is a simple, straight-forward machine, very rugged and easy to operate. The brake system leaves something to be desired in the mountains I work in. It is kind of inadequate, but if you take your time going downhill you're OK. The once nice thing about it is it is very, very easy to work on. I can have the transmission out in less than thirty minutes, and the engine in an hour. My John Deere would take a day or more just to pull the tranny. Most parts are available at the local parts store too. If not I can go to the Franklin dealer an hour down the road.

Welcome to the forum! I hope you like it here.

sawmillsi · « **Reply #2 on:** January 09, 2005, 01:44:55 pm »

G'day Carol,

I Australia, the JD 440B has a really great reputation. It is a real hard working and honest machine.

I wish I had one!!!!

Everyone that owns one won't sell it - bummer.

Simon

buck5611 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 09, 2005, 02:12:17 pm »

What do you tink of the asked price? Carol

devo · « **Reply #4 on:** January 09, 2005, 02:41:26 pm »

I don't have much experience with JD machines, but I have a friend how has an older 440. Like Frickman said they are starting to get a bit tougher to find new parts for, although he say he says he has had good luck with some dead iron dealers.

As for the price, and this is just my opinion...$10000 with a good engine is probably a good deal. $15000 I might get a little scared. You said the machine has a dead engine, 20% tires, and has been parked for 7 years, that maybe suggests that the former owner pushed that machine for as long as they could and when it finally died they gave up. There could be other hidden problems that won't show up until you get it running again. If it were me I would take a close look at the entire power train - transmision, power divider, axles, and planetarys. Also look at the winch and center pins. You said your friend is a good mechanic with skidder experience so you probably already know all this.

As for the other brands my personal favorite is the older TimberJacks. I really like that I can get off the shelf parts for them from any good auto parts place.

1953greg · « **Reply #5 on:** January 09, 2005, 03:17:17 pm »

reverse is the weakest link in the 440. do not push with reverse. 1953greg

buck5611 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 09, 2005, 04:04:53 pm »

According to the previous owner, the motor was running well and the next morning,it does not tunr at all.Jammed. He discover soon that the motor was freezed and the block was ruined.Not good enough antifreeze..Carol

devo · « **Reply #7 on:** January 09, 2005, 04:49:55 pm »

I would still check over the skidder very carefully, there still may be a maitenance issue with it. That being said, it could till be an excelent purchase for you - we all make mistakes ( I'm not admitting to it, but I may have frozen an engine once too ).

There other thing that needs to be considered is how you plan to use this machine.

isawlogs · « **Reply #8 on:** January 09, 2005, 04:57:47 pm »

Buck
I have a JD 540 cable ... If I where to buy another machine , not that I will, I would be concidering the timberjack 230 or 240 .... the reason for this is the parts availabilaty and cost ....the parts for the timber is much lower than the deer prts and can be , very often , got at part store..... where as JD you got to go to JD.... my 2 cents...

Scott · « **Reply #9 on:** January 09, 2005, 05:54:32 pm »

My uncle used to have a 440. Apparently all the parts had to come from the deere dealer so they were more expensive then some other brands (timberjack treefarmer etc). Also the tires were narrow and rutted pretty bad. It was a really good little machine though.

isawlogs · « **Reply #10 on:** January 09, 2005, 06:14:46 pm »

the tires should not be an issue you can get floatation tires for the 440 ....

Scott · « **Reply #11 on:** January 10, 2005, 02:08:19 pm »

The 440 is a really nice little rig, I'd really like to see how it works out with wider tires on it. My uncle used his on pretty spongey ground and the tires were probably 16 inches wide (?). It made some pretty nasty ruts. You can still see them almost 8 years later.

buck5611 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 10, 2005, 03:45:15 pm »

My father in law had someone cut wood for him with a small skidder when the soil was damp in the automn, we still see the trace after 30 years. Carol

Scott · « **Reply #13 on:** January 10, 2005, 05:09:21 pm »

A wide tire with a flat profile should reduce rutting quite a bit. Are there many of those Bombardier muskeys or J5s around your place? Dad was thinking about one of those rigs for our woodlot.

buck5611 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 10, 2005, 08:18:07 pm »

I saw a J5 for sale in Pte à la Garde during september.This is about 15 min. from Campbellton on the Quebec side. As I will probably pass there this or next week,I can check it for you and get the contact number for you. Carol

Oldtimer · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2005, 08:04:27 am »

I ran a 440B once. quiet, fast, smooth. I'd want a bit more protection than the cab offered,but thats just a nit-pick. I would be wary of the winch. The JD winches don't hold up like my Can-Car or a gearamatic. Ground clearance is a bit low. Just run her easy like, don't force feed it, and you'll love it.

On a side note, a sure cure for a frozen engine in winter is a Duetz. No water, no freeze. And it it blows warm air on you all winter too. Drawback is it blows HOT air on you in summer.

One more thing the JD has that the TJs and TFs don't have is the lock in lock out diffs. Those make the machine. Without them, I'd prefer the TFarmer.

Good luck with it.

beenthere · « **Reply #16 on:** January 11, 2005, 11:31:15 am »

Just heard that the air-cooled Deutz is history, and they are going to sell just water-cooled. Something about EPA and noise pollution, and needing to have a quieter engine. Don't have a source for that information, but thought I would pass it on.

isawlogs · « **Reply #17 on:** January 11, 2005, 03:46:56 pm »

Oldtimer wrote

Quote

One more thing the JD has that the TJs and TFs don't have is the lock in lock out diffs. Those make the machine.

Small addition : only the front diff on JD have it ..... Makes for ease of stiring the machine in tight corners..

Jwinter · « **Reply #18 on:** January 11, 2005, 06:05:55 pm »

What do you guys think of the Caterpillar 518. I have a chance to buy one (new engine, newer trans.)

timberjack240 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 11, 2005, 06:24:55 pm »

My dad and my pap had a 540 G and A 440C they were reliable and the 440 was a good little machine that was very reliable. the C is styled a little different than the B bu they are good machines. As for the other brand s myself i would rather run the old 240 Jack that my other pap owns. John deere s are more expensive to fix and the way they are put together it is either a long down time or a high labor bill. the old timberjacks are easy to fix and cheapas well. the price sound like it is pretty good. I get it for as cheapa s possible no matter what you have to do to it. the last time i priced tires for the 240 they wer handy 1000 and if the tire are good thats a plus.

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Author Topic: Buying a skidder (Read 10988 times)