Mid 70s Deere 350

[BargeMonkey]

 Ive got a customer who has been breaking my stones about a small dozer for their hunting club, doesnt need to be fancy but they want a forestry package and something simple.  Supposedly this thing sat in the barn for 20+yrs and didnt move, i cant get the pictures to load but its clean, limbrisers, 60-70% and about 6000hrs. 3305 winch ? Im under the impression its come off the farm. It has "clutch" issues 😂 My mechanic says its a 3 day job to put clutches in it and hopefully you dont find anything else while your in there. Anyone of you veteran deere guru's want to give me some ideas ? Where these generation machines known for the track frame / bellhousing issues also ?

[BurkettvilleBob]

I'm by no means a deere guru, but I'm sure that there could be issues if the bellhousing bolts were ever allowed to become loose. If all bolts are tight and the side frames aren't cracked its probably fine.

[coxy]

look at the bolts where the side frame  fastens on the in side housing of the final drive also look at the bolts on the track frame where the front cross bar bolts there is 4 on the out side and 2 on the in side most will look loose but jd for what ever reason put cones in there and they do move there are also bolts under the cross bar that go to the bell housing  you should be able to tell right away if its beat if the bolts that go through the side frame and in the bell housing look they have worked loose at one time  they are right by the upper blade rams  look at the inside final drive housing good for cracks if it has a winch you can do both side steering clutches with all new parts in one good day been there done that the hardest part is the final drive seals they suck if you hit them putting it together it puts oil on the disks you also should adjust the new pressure plates when you put them in I have the nifty jd tool to do it  there is drain plugs in the bottom of the inside housing we always take them out and throw them away ;D this lets the moisture run out check the brake bands while your there if they are worn or rusty  put in new ones some will say just sand them but if your that far may as well go for new should be about 3k for the parts to do both sides I have run in to a lot of trouble with the cheap ones on  flea bay  oh also put in a new throw a way bearing and the little piece of pipe it rides on in less the pipes are shinny new  if you need more info call me is the tack on the dash or the floor between your legs

[coxy]

one more thing is the reverser lever on the dash or on the side box if its on the box its a b model if the tech is on the floor its in the 60s and will not have power steering 

[woodmaker]

 I had an early 450 (but the 350 is built the same way) that would shear off the  bell housing bolts that go through the frame from the side.I re -tapped to 7/8 grade 8,still broke them.It also broke the frame rails where they attached to the final drives. The engine ,radiator,and hydraulic pump have no support from the bell housing forward;the frame rails only support the the nose piece and grill.Whenever you got into rocky ground ,and the machine slammed down,all that weight would slam down and break the side bolts.
I finally cured it by putting in front motor mounts.I removed the hydraulic pump mounting bracket,put a piece of 3/8 plate between the motor and the pump bracket,welded on "legs" to get down to the frame rail,welded nuts to the bottom of the legs,then put in two longer belly pan bolts(one on each side) that went through the belly pan and frame,and into the nuts on the bottom of the leg. I did put a 2" square piece of mud flap between the frame and the bottom of the leg to give some cushion.

[lewis]

usually they tie the winch fairlead to the blade cyl arms, but on 450 and 550, I have a 350 and have not had any problems with any broken bolts or frame rails

[coxy]

I have a few 350s a straight 350 a 350b and a 350c all with winches and never seen where they hook the fairleads to the blade cylinder arms ??? don't see how that can be done if you have a pic I would like to see how they did it I know its not a factory thing    as far as the bolts braking off in the bell housing well you said it your self slamming it down nothing to do with how it was built   

[woodmaker]

 I bought an 84 I.H. td 8e (which i still have) to replace the J.D. 450,used it for the same thing,used it the same way,and never had a problem. 10 times better machine in my opinion.

[BargeMonkey]

 It doesnt sit to far from you Coxy, i may call you when i get off the boat in a couple days. 👍
I appreciate the info guys, i ran a 350C in highschool but these machines are getting pretty uncommon around here, used to see alot of straight 350-450 dozers and track loaders, stuff just isnt around. My mechanic says they are "huge pain to work on", he basically is saying he doesnt have the time to spare for a project, im trying to convince my customer to go for a plain G series. I think its a handy awesome size machine for doing waterbars and BMPs, im bidding more wood / work out of town and not quite big enough for what im doing.

[bitternut]

one more thing is the reverser lever on the dash or on the side box if its on the box its a b model if the tech is on the floor its in the 60s and will not have power steering

coxy my 350 dozer has wet steering clutches and the reverser lever on the side of the battery box. According to its serial number its a mid to late 1976 model C. I don't think the reverser lever on the battery box makes it a B.

[coxy]

one more thing is the reverser lever on the dash or on the side box if its on the box its a b model if the tech is on the floor its in the 60s and will not have power steering

coxy my 350 dozer has wet steering clutches and the reverser lever on the side of the battery box. According to its serial number its a mid to late 1976 model C. I don't think the reverser lever on the battery box makes it a B.

b  c and d was on the box straight was in the dash 

[coxy]

It doesnt sit to far from you Coxy, i may call you when i get off the boat in a couple days. 👍
I appreciate the info guys, i ran a 350C in highschool but these machines are getting pretty uncommon around here, used to see alot of straight 350-450 dozers and track loaders, stuff just isnt around. My mechanic says they are "huge pain to work on", he basically is saying he doesnt have the time to spare for a project, im trying to convince my customer to go for a plain G series. I think its a handy awesome size machine for doing waterbars and BMPs, im bidding more wood / work out of town and not quite big enough for what im doing.

call ill look at it with ya   I want to find a d  I have every other 350 but a d and they want way to much for one  jmop but there the easy ones to work on  ;D

[mike_belben]

Any comments on Case 450 dozers and crawler loaders?

[BargeMonkey]

It doesnt sit to far from you Coxy, i may call you when i get off the boat in a couple days. 👍
I appreciate the info guys, i ran a 350C in highschool but these machines are getting pretty uncommon around here, used to see alot of straight 350-450 dozers and track loaders, stuff just isnt around. My mechanic says they are "huge pain to work on", he basically is saying he doesnt have the time to spare for a project, im trying to convince my customer to go for a plain G series. I think its a handy awesome size machine for doing waterbars and BMPs, im bidding more wood / work out of town and not quite big enough for what im doing.

call ill look at it with ya   I want to find a d  I have every other 350 but a d and they want way to much for one  jmop but there the easy ones to work on  ;D

Ive never seen a D real close, friend of mine just got out of his 350C for a 450B and regrets it. Ive seen a couple 400G's but they never caught on around here. The info is appreciated, this is sort of along the lines of my "snowplow" post, im sure youve got some NYC customers who have more money than brains, tie up 12-15k in a machine that will run less than 20hrs a yr, it will develop issues in 2-3yrs from sitting and they wont actually use it and i still come grade the atv trails 1x a yr. 😂

[coxy]

the d has a bigger cage mounted in rubber and a decelerator and maybe a little more hp than the c   don't know much about  d only seen 2 up close   the 400 from what I'm told had a 350 under carriage and the rest was a 450 to much hp for the bottom end  if they stick with a cor d with wet clutches they should be fine