Cat 933 or JD450 help

[chrismill]

Hello everyone I'm looking for some advise from the people who know because my knowledge of heavy equipment is very limited. I need a small machine to clear a few acres of farmland and for other related ground work. There happens to be a couple machines down the road from me for sale and would like to get some input about them.
The owner has a late 60's? jd450. Owner says the undercarriage is good but the left hand steering clutch is bad/frozen wants 4000.00
The cat933 is a bit more rusty looking owner said it ran fine with no problems but has been sitting for 8 years or so without being started he wants 3500.00 for that one.
Was wondering what the better choice would be and what the better machine is or if I should just stay away from these things because funds are somewhat limited and dont want to spend tons to get one or the other working. Any help is appreciated-Thanks

 

[thebaz]

I don't know a great deal about either of these machines, but I spent a few days on a 933 and didn't think it was a great machine at all.
The JD450 I would think is a 70s machine and would be a better machine to operate than the Cat. The JD would have a forward reverse shuttle compared to the Cat's direct drive.
There are still so many variables that are unknown such as motor condition, undercarriage, trans, hydraulics etc. The frozen clutch could be the tip of the iceberg or a quick fix who knows. Unless you like the challenge of working on a machine as well as using it, I think you are better off with a machine where you can fully assess the condition of everything at the time of purchase.
These thing can become a money pit very quickly.
Baz

 

[Buckethead]

I don't know a great deal about either of these machines, but I spent a few days on a 933 and didn't think it was a great machine at all.
The JD450 I would think is a 70s machine and would be a better machine to operate than the Cat. The JD would have a forward reverse shuttle compared to the Cat's direct drive.

Nothing wrong with 933s, unless you want the convenience of a modern machine. JD 450s are not bad either. They were all over the place when I was a kid, and also Cat 955s and 977s.
Chris, whatever machine you get, if you are going to use it for landclearing, you need a ROPS to protect you from falling wood! Landclearing is seriously dangerous especially if you're inexperienced.
See if you can have a mechanic look at the undercarriage of any used machine before you buy. Bottoms are very expensive to replace.

 

[chrismill]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm going to bring a family member who is a heavy equipment op. for the power company and owned a track loader at one time to help me look at things. I talked to the owner and he said he would try to fire the cat up and see if it moves. He said it had new pins and bushings when it was last used and wasnt sure if they had frozen up over time from sitting, well see. The land I have to clear is mostly dense brush with a coulpe small trees but when the time comes I will prepare accordingly thanks for the warning! Hopefully Ill have an update on these machine post weekend-Chris

 

[thebaz]

frozen track links can be a real problem and difficult to fix without the use of a track press and sometimes they can be as stuck as if they were welded.
You can work a machine with the tracks like that, but it will A. drive you crazy and B. eventually break something.
Baz