WHAT MAKE

LOOKING INTO GETTING A LOADER OR DOZER WHAT MAKE WOULD YOU GUYS RECCOMEND SEEMS LIKE DEERES HAVE PROBLEMS WITH STEERING
CLUTCHES WHEN THEY SIT A WHILE CATS ITS PONY MOTORS LEAVES AC,CASE,OLIVER,IH THANKS

I would choose a Case myself

Everyone has a favorite manufacturer and you will get plenty of opinions and suggestions on the brand to buy. They all have their good and bad points. JD, Case, CAT are all good machines if taken care of, and would be the first ones I'd look at. They have reasonable dealer and parts support. Komatsu and others are good machines as well. If not properly maintained and/or abused, any or all of them can be money pits.

The JD steering clutch issues are pretty much gone with the newer machines having wet clutch steering clutches and brakes. (in general this started with the 350Cs and 450Cs ).

Case, like others, can have some driveline and brake issues.

The ACs, Olivers, Massey Fergusons, Cletracs, Dressers, and Internationals are more or less orphans, so you may have to work to find parts, with little or no dealer support.

The pony motors were being phased out about mid 60's I believe and pretty much gone by the end of the 60's, but they were not a problem if cared for properly. Electric direct start phased in as the pony motors phased out. Many will say CAT can be more expensive parts wise than some.

To me the first thing you need to do is decide what you want to get for a machine, regardless of manufacturer name. Loader or dozer, the size (horsepower and weight), will you need to move it to different sites (and how you plan to move it if so, how old a machine do you want to go, and what is your budget? Do you know how to do a basic assessment of an undercarriage and tracks? You don't want one throwing tracks as soon as you unload it. Bear in mind there are no cheap crawlers. Many have bought a crawler cheap and found for the cost of the repairs they had to do to keep it usable, they could have used that money to have bought a better machine. Likely this is not the answer you were looking for but hopefully some thoughts to help with your decision. Good luck.

Case any day over JD

Over the decades I have had at least 13 bulldozers, 4 different makes, 9 were Caterpillar. I would choose the latter again. I found them to win on most counts. Do get one with wet (oil bath) steering clutches. Jim gave you some very good shopping advice. Best wishes on your shopping. Please let us know what you buy.

IM LOOKING OLDER AND BIG SO IT WILL STAY ON FARM THANKS FOR ALL YOUR REPLIES

As a heavy equipment mechanic,the only
thing I would add is that the aftermarket
support for the older CAT machines is far
greater than all the other brands
combined. In fact it's often easier to get
parts for an older machine than a newer
one...and at a far better price.