450 case crawler with 4 in one bucket

I was going to look at a 450 case crawler with a 4 in 1 bucket. starts and runs good steering clutches are ok as well as engine clutch tracks are fair. one cylinder is missing on the 4 in 1 and the brakes dont work was woundering how hard it would be to fix brakes and find a cylinder for it or if all parts in general for this were impossible to find. or if I should look at other brand crawlers. would like to have a 4 in 1 thank you.

I have a 4 in 1 bucket on my Cat. For some stuff they are good but for other things they are a big hassle. If you want to do any brush work, a 4 in 1 bucket can be a real problem. The hoses and lines on the back of the bucket are just waiting for branches and everything else to fall on them and wreck them. Even clumps of dirt that fall over the back of the bucket can cause damage. I need to replace the steel lines on the back of my bucket. Over $1000 for 4 lines from Cat! I did find a local hydraulic shop that could make them a lot cheaper but will still cost a few hundred dollars. A 4 in 1 doesn't fill as easily as a regular bucket and when back blading you have to watch the hydraulic lines as well. All crawlers can be money pits! I guess it depends on the purchase price and how much you want to put in it. Pay someone with crawler experience to look at it first. It will be the best money you will spend. A lot of equipment is sold because the owner knows it needs repairs and they don't usually come cheap. Sometimes if you're lucky you can find a good deal. Having someone inspect it can stop you from making a really expensive purchase/mistake. Trust me, I know. I have a good machine but it cost me a bunch to get it that way. Dave

I've got a 1968 Case 450 with the Drott 4n1 bucket. I bought it to clear trees for my house and barn. Its more than paid for itself. I have found the 4n1 to be very handy for picking up trees, limbs, brush, pretty much everything it can grab. I've even gotten pretty fair at picking up the bigger rocks I've got all over the place.

The brakes on my machine were pretty much frozen. The brakes are disk and sit in two housings below the seat. They are hydraulically actuated using an automotive style master cylinder, and a simple slave cylinder.

You probably won't use the brakes real often on your machine, but there have been times where I needed them. Typically you would use them to hold on a hill or when making an especially sharp turn.

The brake hydraulics are pretty simple, but the housings are kinda heavy and awkward to get in and out. No rocket science to it though as they are pretty simple. Parts are available from Case (or at least I had no problems a few years back).

Everybody has their favorite machine, but unless you are going to use this for a living, it's hard to beat the Case 450 for the money. I've been pretty pleased with parts from the dealer, although crawler parts are certainly not cheap!

The original 450 used either a gas engine or more typically the 188 diesel. Later models used the 207 diesel, which is a larger bore 188. The 188 is a pretty good engine, but they do require reasonable service. I'm told that when the engine "goes" it typically makes a window in the block with the #3 rod. I'm told that the engine gives plenty of signs of needing rebuilding before that typically happens. I'd say if the engine starts quickly, runs quietly and does not have much exhaust or blowby smoke then you should be okay.

I rebuilt my 188 after I foolishly used too much ether when trying to get a fuel starved engine to run. I ended up cracking the top ring on the #2 piston. The engine ran well, but developed lots of blowby, so I rebuilt it. Rebuild kits for the 188 are in the $500-$600 range and typically include whatever main bearings you choose, gaskets, pistons, rings, cylinder sleeves, and the usual smaller stuff.

I broke one of the 4n1 cylinders on my machine earlier this year. A new one can be had but it was something like $2000! A pull-off from a breaker yard was like $600. I simply had mine welded up again for $50 and its held okay since.

The 450 is a good little machine. You can also find lots of help on this forum.

Best of luck,
John
1968 Case 450

Obviously I have a case 450. Mine is a crawler loader with an excavation bucket on it (bucket with teeth). With the exception of picking things up with a clam bucket there hasn't been much I couldnt do with mine.
I bought the machine for five grand canadian but the undercarriage was shot. I replaced that for with new berco for 3500 all in. Haven't had any problems other then an extremely dirty fuel tank when I bought it.
I am not an operator nor a mechanic but with the help from local guys as well as this forum i've been really lucky and learned a lot. I wish i had someone in the know look at my machine before I bought mine! I'm sure i could have saved a couple of grand.
The biggest problem i've had to date was my dad and brother were running the machine and didnt perform any maintance for about four or five months straight. Ended up blowing the left hand final drive completely. After months of searching Steve from P & D Mechanical on this site found me exactly what I needed at a really good price. Now i'm back on track (no pun intended) and back to work. I've since hid the keys for my crawler and no one runs it but me now!! lol of course if it breaks again its totally on my head! lol!!

I would recommend this machine to someone looking for a crawler but thats only based on my very limited experience with heavy equipment.

Good luck bud!!

If I can help ya out in any way I will just like the rest of the guys here have helped me!!

I had a friend who's usually a careful operator puncture my oil pan on a branch when he pushed a tree over and kept pushing. The branch seemed to miss the entire belly pan and go straight for the hole to drain the oil! I did the rad at the same time as the engine. Only $8000 and some to fix it! I made a cover for the drain hole. Just did the undercarriage, another $8000+! You're not into yours that much. LoL I also paid a pretty premium price for my machine but it's too depressing to mention! I do have a hoe on it and a 4 in 1 bucket. I think a 4 in 1 bucket is a little over rated. Dave