jdeere 440b?

furltech · April 22, 2014, 06:00:00 PM

Was just offered this skidder at an unbelievable price .was told it needs injector pump .couple questions .is there any things i should look for as i don't know much about skidders .not even sure what it is powered by, but one of those deals you got to snag.so any advice or things to look for the input would be helpful .thanks

redprospector · April 22, 2014, 07:40:56 PM

I guess it depends on how unbelievable the price is.
Check the center pin's for slop, while you're at it you might as well check the pin's on the blade, and cylinders. Check the winch to make sure it's working and holding. look for hydraulic leaks, 440's use the transmission as a hydraulic tank. Any leak of any volume at all can cause you heartache in a hurry. Everything is hydraulic, loose to much fluid, you loose your brakes, steering, and blade.

I had a guy offer me a 440A for $25,000 a few years ago. I thought that was "unbelievable", since I've got about $10,000 in mine.
That's not the end of "unbelievable" you're talking about though...is it?

coxy · April 22, 2014, 09:57:17 PM

Quote from: redprospector on April 22, 2014, 07:40:56 PM
I guess it depends on how unbelievable the price is.
Check the center pin's for slop, while you're at it you might as well check the pin's on the blade, and cylinders. Check the winch to make sure it's working and holding. look for hydraulic leaks, 440's use the transmission as a hydraulic tank. Any leak of any volume at all can cause you heartache in a hurry. Everything is hydraulic, loose to much fluid, you loose your brakes, steering, and blade.

I had a guy offer me a 440A for $25,000 a few years ago. I thought that was "unbelievable", since I've got about $10,000 in mine.
That's not the end of "unbelievable" you're talking about though...is it?

25 grand are they nuts what was they new 18 grand use it 40 years and make one heal of a profit ;D

redprospector · April 23, 2014, 01:24:58 AM

Quote from: coxy on April 22, 2014, 09:57:17 PM
25 grand are they nuts what was they new 18 grand use it 40 years and make one heal of a profit ;D

Haha. I think it was "sentimental" value. The guy bought it new and has had it ever since. I approached him, wanting to buy it, I'm probably lucky he didn't shoot me. :D

furltech · April 23, 2014, 02:33:49 AM

no i mean it seems like too good a deal .For the 2500.00 he wants for it i am sure i could part it out but sometimes i get ahead of my self and wanted to pick everyone else's brain i haven't even went and looked at it, so it might fall apart real quick but i thought i would seek some expertise here .So they have an auto tranny in them ?or it just uses the tranny as a tank ? As i say i am new to the old skidders .

redprospector · April 23, 2014, 02:43:44 AM

Some had a PowerShift (kind of an auto I guess), and others had a SyncroShift. The transmission is the hydraulic tank. They only hold a little over 5 gallons in the tranny, it's no fun to come off a steep hill and realize that you should have added fluid before you started.
At $2500 it would have to be in pretty bad shape before I'd turn it down. I gave $3500 for mine in 04 (I think), and the syncroshift transmission was in boxes when I picked it up. Cost about $2000 to get her going right.

thenorthman · April 23, 2014, 08:39:09 AM

The B's are a little different than mine, but check for excessive frame crackage, its all weldable, just something to be aware of. The blade on mine was all cracked to Hel when I brought it home, it held long enough to pay fore itself and then get welded.

Center pins are expensive by the way...

You can still get injection pumps for em, not cheap, but when are they.

Make sure the winch actually works, should be able to tie to a stump and drag the skidder around, or pop the stump... winch brake is a bastard on these so if it doesn't hold well, its usually just out of adjustment or wet. Free spool should work smooth and easy too, its adjustable as well.

And if you plan on scrapping it out... I could use a radiator, I just stuffed the fan into mine... solder is holding for now.

Maine logger88 · April 23, 2014, 05:17:12 PM

I agree a machine would have to be in extremely bad shape to not be worth 2500, I believe that a reman injection pump would be around a grand so for 3500 it wouldn't have to skid much wood to pay for itself

Ken · April 23, 2014, 05:30:03 PM

As you've already said you could probably part it out for more than $2500. On the other hand if you are looking for a machine that you can put to work relatively quickly a machine for that price may be a significant headache if you don't take the time and money to make it "woods ready".

loggah · April 23, 2014, 06:18:40 PM

You might be able to buy it cheap,buy if your not really mechanically inclined, and dont know anything about a John Deere skidder,i would just walk away from it!!!! If there are any filings in he transmission they get sent thru the whole hydraulic system,also the transmissions are a bit expensive to repair.

BargeMonkey · April 23, 2014, 07:32:34 PM

The parts are out there for them. They had a 4219 engine. Halsey equipment had one sitting there for parts they thought about fixing but the centers where wiped. Depends how much you wanna do with it, for 2500 your getting your money back in parts and scrap.

furltech · April 24, 2014, 02:40:12 AM

all very good advice guys .thanks a lot

furltech · April 24, 2014, 03:11:00 AM

Now i have another question that may be way off base or just plain ridiculous .if a fellow bought an old skidder and the motor was gone. Could you take and old six cylinder car or truck motor and tranny and power it that way i realize it would take some chopping and modifying .but what are the pros and cons of that .

coxy · April 24, 2014, 06:41:15 AM

you would be money ahead to do it right and not cob it together ;D

thenorthman · April 24, 2014, 08:25:34 AM

Quote from: furltech on April 24, 2014, 03:11:00 AM
Now i have another question that may be way off base or just plain ridiculous .if a fellow bought an old skidder and the motor was gone. Could you take and old six cylinder car or truck motor and tranny and power it that way i realize it would take some chopping and modifying .but what are the pros and cons of that .

The motor will most likely not have the torque to do much good, the tranny taint got the fortitude to hold up to logging, and the clutch will need replacing on a regular schedule.

This does not take into account the need for a pto shaft to run the winch, a hydraulic reservoir for the hydraulics, a supply pump to feed the hydraulic pump... and about 2 extra feet of frame to fit all this into the skidder.

chester_tree _farmah · April 24, 2014, 10:04:45 AM

If it is a small older skidder than yes. The Ford 300 six is a very common inexpensive conversion on those old smaller skidders around here. Mine was converted to a 75 Ford 300 industrial six and I have seen them in old timber jacks too. It isn't a major conversion on these old machines. My machine most likely came with the 4 cylinder Ford diesel or gas motor new and the 300 six is a stronger motor. The 300 six is legendary and the T98 tranny in mine is more than up to the job in a small skidder. With the low gearing I never need to ride the clutch.

Now would you want to do it for a heavier machine or a newer machine. Nope.

redprospector · April 24, 2014, 11:28:40 AM

I had a "Terra Track" track loader once, it was a rebadged Case 310. Someone before me had put a 350/TH350 out of an Oldsmobile in it. I never cared much for it, but it was what I had at the time. If you got on too steep of a hill it would flood, or starve out for fuel (depending on if you were going up or down the hill) because of the floats in the Quadrajet carburetor. I finally sold it, and bought another 310 Case that had the original engine and all. Much, Much better, but still not impressive. :D

In my opinion, if the engine is bad, start looking for an old JD engine and buy it. At $2500 in the skidder, you'd still have a real inexpensive machine.

redprospector · April 24, 2014, 11:31:31 AM

Quote from: thenorthman on April 23, 2014, 08:39:09 AM

And if you plan on scrapping it out... I could use a radiator, I just stuffed the fan into mine... solder is holding for now.

How in the heck did you manage to do that? ???

chester_tree _farmah · April 24, 2014, 11:56:41 AM

Sorry. yeah if mean converting a 440 to a Ford or Chevy in line six it probably would be a lot of work. The old TF and TJ and Franklins etc were more off the shelf parts machines so it was more of a bolt in conversion.

beenthere · April 24, 2014, 04:52:29 PM

Might take a look at used combine engines. The fit and HP might be more fitting to a skidder than a truck or auto engine.

thenorthman · April 24, 2014, 10:16:46 PM

Quote from: redprospector on April 24, 2014, 11:31:31 AM
How in the heck did you manage to do that? ???

I was all but hurt at the guy that just shut it off when I told him to slack the line down... and since you have to arc the coil you need to pull the side cover off...

So when you put the side cover back on after starting... a guy really should be very careful of fingers and hitting the fan just right... I wasn't careful...

That was 8 am saturday, sometime around 1:30-2 pm I got it back together with 15 pounds of solder and 1 can of bars leak. Looks like it still leaks a little bit.

To add insult to injury we had the power lines down so we could dump 9-10 trees and needed the skidder to pull them over and then skid them so the power company could rehook the power monday morning...

finished up the logging part of that job sunday around 5 pm... now I get to run a chipper for 3-90 days...

Fixing the starter button is pretty high on my list right now... ( I know where the problem is its just not real easy to get to and I haven't had a whole lot of time lately)

redprospector · April 25, 2014, 12:31:56 AM

I hate it when that kind of stuff happens.
Sometimes you're better off to just take the time (but you already know that).
Now you've got 5 1/2 hours and a radiator invested in that starter button (just givin' you a hard time ;)).
If you have a hard time finding a radiator, try having one made by one of the guy's that make "custom race car radiators". That's what I did when I switched to a different brand of engine in my Fecon. Pretty reasonable in the big picture, but still a lot of money though.

thenorthman · April 25, 2014, 09:04:22 AM

so far its holding fairly well, its still pretty cool temp wise here though. Worst case scenario there are a number of radiator shops near here that can probably do a better job of soldering then I can.

I'm thinking of fixing that button while waiting on log trucks this morning, its that stupid neutral safety switch in the tranny, the wires keep coming loose, I've "fixed" it 2-3 times now and they keep falling off, time for something more permanent...