Case 310G

First time posting but I have been reading your advice for a while now.

I am looking at buying a Case 310G bulldozer loader to do some work on my 9 acres. It will be used to dig out for a driveway 12' x 225' and
about 9" deep, along with grading and removing stumps from about a half acre cleared area. I have probably at least 2 dozen stumps that are
8" in diameter or less that I would like to push out. I have more clearing to do before we start building our house so it will be nice to
have some equipment (so far I have done everything with my chainsaw and a sickle). I used to be a mechanic before becoming an engineer so I
am mechanically inclined and will be able to do field repairs that don't require extensive equipment. The guy selling this dozer said the
bushings and pins will need to be replaced in the not so distant future, and the steering brakes need replacing because it doesn't steer
too well but he said its not too hard to replace those, he did them the last time they needed replacing about 15 years ago. He said
undercarriage is good and was all rebuilt back in the 80s, engine was rebuilt in the 90s, hydraulics leak slightly and it has a gas engine.
The dozer has been used on their farm doing light work since the 70s. I was wondering what your guys thoughts are on this machine? I don't
have a large budget to spend on equipment right now, which is why I'm looking at equipment this cheap. When I go look at it, what are some
other things to check out? He is asking $3,000 OBO, to rent a Deere 450K for a weekend I was quoted $1,850. I included a link to the
craigslist posting.
Untitled URL Link

Those are excellent machines, about as good as it gets for the age. Changing the steering brakes is not hard, the hardest part will be lifting that counter weight off as you do that through the rear cover. In some cases the track bushings can just be turned.

Sounds like a good rig for what you want to do, but the main problem is getting too aggressive with it, especially on stumps, and busting stuff. You might want to rent a small excavator for 4 hours when you get ready for the stumps, and dig down around them to cut some roots before pushing them out with the crawler.

i rent so could get that done on to house project instead of working on it for half year, look for a good use skidsteer nowdays they can really do a lot or rent one. I been taking out small trees and brush last three weeks daily with mine. some been 12 to 14" stuff. mines in eighty horse range they will really surprise what you can do with them

Thanks for the replys, if I end up getting it I'll be cautious around the stumps. Since the whole rig is a little over 6,000 lbs I would think my cherry picker could lift the counter weight off. How much does the counterweight weigh?

310G is a crude machine (in a good way). Especially if all gear drive. The transaxle in it is made by Clark Corp. so parts are easy to get. Same basic transaxle as used in Oliver HG and OC3 crawlers. Using the wrong oil in the trans can plug up the steering brake bands pretty fast. Never supposed to use any GL5 oil in it.

I bought brand new rollers for my 310G a few years ago. I was happy to discover that there are crawlers in Korea that use the same rollers so they are still made new in parts of Asia.

Could I ask if the track chains are still available ??? Mine are completely shot!

Are the pins and bushings that need to be replaced in the bucket and loader or the tracks? If track bushings wear too far before they are turned they wear completely through and would need to be replaced. Getting them replaced or turned might be a challenge. Undercarriage repair costs on older track machines can be so expensive as to make it economically impractical to do the repair or replacement. I bought an older track loader to help with my land clean up, but waited to buy until I found one with a good undercarriage. It's a good idea to take a heavy equipment mechanic with you to look at the machine and advise you as to the undercarriage condition. It is cheaper to pay a knowledgeable mechanic for their time vs. Getting into a money pit situation.

you wont like it. you need bigger one for what you want to do. you have to shift every time. they did not make a reverser for those. if you have sand then it will dig okay. anything else and you will end up tearing it up. I had one for awhile. sold it because if you just wanted to push out a fence row, move some trees that were already cut down, move some gravel they wouldn't do much and I hated to shift every time. I have an Allis h4 that has a reverser and is a lot better than the case 310. I have never seen where anyone had nice set of tracks for them. don't get me wrong. they aren't a bad little dozer but exceeding there limitations will tear it up. best thing is they don't have steering clutches and the bands are easy to replace as they said. as always do your home work on the net. do a search and find out all you can about them. regardless what you buy get to know your seller. don't be afraid to ask him questions. a good maintain 310 is probably worth his asking price for some one. asking questions on her is a good start but in the end it will be your decision and you will have to live with it. Good luck