John Deere 401C. My next work partner.

Should be here soon!

 

It is here! For a 40+ year old machine it is in great shape. Upon closer inspection, the paint is not as faded as it appears. There is a thick layer of dust stuck to it. With a good thorough cleaning it should really come back to shine nice. Oil looks good. I need to install a plug in heater for cold weather starting. And the heater fan in cab doesn’t want to run. So I have some electrical trouble shooting to do. Hopefully it won’t be too bad a job. For some time when it’s a little warmer. And it should make me a good workhorse.

 

Sweeeeet!!!!

 

That's going to be handy! I'd love to have a back hoe. Looks to be in good condition. How many hours are on it?

 

It’s in very good condition. The hour meter works and reads 1468. Guy I bought it from says they are accurate. I won’t have a chance to do any work with it until Monday or Tuesday. I will get a good idea of it when I put it to work.

 

Wow, you go switch hoes more than I do work boots!
That should do a nice job for you...and just FYI, about 75% (more?) of the parts on those machines are shared by the more common 2020 or 2030 tractors...depending on exact age.
Buy the parts through an JD ag dealer when you can, they'll be 10-20% less

 

Nice. Leave that dust on there, it's a protective coat.

 

That “dust” looks like salt to me…

 

Well. It did just go down the road on a trailer for 270 miles, most of which was Central and Northern NY.

 

Yup a good pressure wash is in order.

 

PSI wash then grease gun. Would be my first tasks.

 

Fluid film, is good stuff too.

 

Cool machine! Let us know how it does. Looks to be in really good shape.

 

Thanks. Will do. Been cold here overnight, down to almost zero. And I’m working. So we will see when things warm up a little. And I’m going to try to install a plug in in-line heater sometime soon too.

 

Congratulations! About 20 years ago I had the privilege of running a John Deere 1010 with a back hoe on it. It was about a 1962 model. It was very worn out, low compression and sloppy, but the hydraulics worked. We used it as a loader and log mover with some forks that we made pockets for in the bucket. We trenched in water lines at 6’ deep with it. I had to replace the points and condenser once a year and fixed many broken fittings and blown hoses along the way, but that bugger was handier than a pocket on a shirt. It is amazing how much work you can do even with an older machine. Yours seems in a lot better shape for its age. Grease it up and put it to work!

 

My niece bought this 401 industrial the other day
Nice tractor's

 

COOL!

 

COST. This old girl was a good bit less than half what the Kubota was. I needed to reduce my debts/monthly payments to help offset the cost of everything going up and two young ones in college. They are paying for their education. Extremely proud of them with all the scholarships they got and they are working part time and paying their rent. But we are helping them out with food and utilities etc. I was able to get a LOT of work done with that Kubota while I had it and got almost all my money back.