Franklin 170 grapple/winch questions

[just farming]

Looking at a Franklin 170 to use cutting timber on family farm. I cant find any specs or info for this machine. The S/N is 12906. I have a lot of question and seeking advice.

[BargeMonkey]

Baker and sons equipment- in OH.  740-567-3317. When I had a Franklin that's who I used for parts, where always decent on the phone. Every Franklin from what I'm told had a unique serial #, they could pull the build sheet and tell you exactly what you had, model didn't always matter. Some parts are out there, some parts don't exist off the shelf anymore.

[Skeans1]

Wonder if some of the parts are still out here in Oregon where the foundry was.

[BargeMonkey]

Wonder if some of the parts are still out here in Oregon where the foundry was.

Honestly they where a great machine, the 405 I had would eat a 440D alive. The story I've heard is there is a few buildings still full of parts and a couple half built machines down in VA, the bankruptcy was how many yrs ago ? I doubt you ever see that brand come back, I see a few for sale but less and less. I was sold on that center pivot, another local guy ran his Franklin forwarder till it literally broke in half, some of the boogie parts where so hard to come by it went to Cat on a new machine.

[Skeans1]

I'll ask a buddy he lives not too far from the old foundry out here and see if they still have anything sitting out there I doubt it but anything is possible. For some of the parts being made out here we sure didn't see many.

[just farming]

I have not made the deal on this machine yet. The ol girl has been rode hard and put up wet several times. The exhaust was left open and it hasn't ran for about 4 years. The pc. that bolts to the blower has frozen and busted. The owner says it will crank. The rear tires are probably 40-50% the fronts are about 5%. The price is just above scrap metal price. I would like to get my hands on an operators manual.

[Southside]

I would like to get my hands on an operators manual.

Well so would I, so if you find one let me know.  From what I have been told the manuals were printed when the machine left the factory and are as rare as hens teeth.  Yes castings and such are going to be hard to come by, but these were component machines for the most part, at least the 170 series were.  I have found most everything I need off the shelf.  The trick is to know what you are looking for - you can't just google "Franklin wheel seal" and get a result, sometimes you need to dig a little.  I have been very happy with both of my machines - well with the recent exception of a single 12 point 10 mm bolt that was used to hold a starter in place but that is more of a Cummins design fail than Franklin. 

Is the one you are looking at a cable or grapple machine?  Cummins or Detroit power? 

[just farming]

Its single arch grapple with winch with 453T detroit.

[mike_belben]

Those cummins starter bolts are pretty absurd.  Its not like its a connecting rod.

[Southside]

Where are you located Just Farming?

[just farming]

Southwestern VA. 30 minutes from Blacksburg

[Southside]

Well welcome to the Forum - there are several members from your area.  Does the 170 have a power shift transmission?  Off hand I want to say that the serial number you are looking at is close to mine, I can check tomorrow on that, if so age wise they would be similar. 

[woodmaker]

I bought a service and a parts manual for my q80c from baker equipment.They did prints from a manual they had in stock. They were pricey,but i do all my own repair,and there was no way to figure out how things worked without one. Just so you know ,even the factory manual is not worth much if you need to actually have to rebuild a transmission,or rearend. There is no information on clutch thickness,wear  limits,etc
I have never seen a 170 manual,dont know if they were any better

[just farming]

Thanks for the welcome Southside Logger.This is my first time on any forum and first skidder, from what I'm seeing this is a grate place for information and help.
The 170 is a power shift. It was supposed to have been rebuilt before the previous owner passed away.
A friend has a good runnig 453N in an old paver that he said he would be happy to give me. Tires are another problem on the 170. I wasn't able to find the size on any of them. I know they are 26's but the width I'm unsure of. Measuring with a tape measure they were just shy of 30". Another problem I seen was the end was out of the brake master cylinder.

[Southside]

My machines are in the 15,000 serial # range and are 1992 model year, so I am guessing that one is late 80's or maybe 1990. 30.5-32 is the tire size on my skidder and 30.5-44 on the buncher so based on your tape measure it seems those are 30.5 wheels, not cheap rubber when new but at least it's a common size so used ones are around.

[just farming]

Thanks for the tire info. I compared the s/n to the ones listed on machinery trader and the best I can tell is between 85 and 88.