probably beat to death....but...

[vagabonddreamer]

i have looked around on the site and tried some terms in "search" but my query is difficult to put in terms of a boolean search engine. I have owned a 1996 John Deere 310D backhoe loader since 2002. I have put over 10,000 hours on it creating a ranch out of bare land. It has been an amazingly reliable machine and owes me nothing. I have been able to do all repairs and service to this backhoe myself. I have never used an outside mechanic always managing to find enough information on the net to complete most repairs even though I am "mechanically challenged" at least according to most people.

I am going to purchase a smaller loader to try and take some of the "load" off the backhoe. My long winded question is twofold:

• at what point (model year) did the domestic equipment manufacturers make it difficult to do your own repairs. i have heard 2002 and 2006 as some kind of demarcation??
• are the new offshore compact loaders just as difficult to maintain yourself as some of the mechanics i have talked to indicate??

For all the mechanics....it is not that i dont like you guys but we are fairly remote and sometimes it is difficult to wait as long as it can take to get outside help. So my learning curve was steep but i only fell down a couple times.

Also I need a swing frame for my JD 310D. I am in western Canada. Any ideas on where i might find a used one?? there used to be a place in Alberta called "Twin Deere" but they are sadly no longer in business...thx...vs

 

[Mobilewrench]

My advice comes from the states and that may not be useful in Canada.
In my opinion, the demarcation of doing it yourself happened with Def and dpf. These are systems that I do not want to learn, and it is my business to know them. Other than that any machine newer than your 310d will still have some components that almost absolutely require a dealer to deal with (ecu's come to mind).
If I understand "offshore" machines correctly; in my mind that is grey market machinery. This is where my stateside thinking might not help. Grey market machines are machines intended to be sold and operated in places that have different safety standards than the states. Dealerships have pretty unilaterally decided to distance themselves from these machines and will often refuse to even try to identity and provide parts for them.
As far as I am concerned; the only thing harder to maintain than a grey market machine is a price of military surplus equipment.
I would say in your situation, stick with a name brand machine. You will have better luck down the road when some UFO problem pops up. Because 90 percent of the time you will find the answer on the Internet.
Lastly, why do you need to replace your swing frame? That is a pretty old machine and any used swing frame you find is probably suffering from the same malady as yours. Unless it is actually broken.

 

[DMiller]

You are holding one of the last units before went fully electronic and thus Proprietary. Tier 1 engines began around the 95/96 model years soon to be surpassed by Tier 2late 90s early 2000s then the march to emissions on field use went ballistic. Can buy diagnostics machines to use on these but most aftermarket devices only access partial data recovery. After the early 2000s electronic joysticks took the place of mechanical controls on all manner of machines where when work are great but as fail can be perplexing to damned near impossible to diagnose without Factory Manuals. Currently a crap shoot to find a owner repairable/diagnosable machine.

 

[colson04]

What kind and size of loader are you thinking of?

Skid loader? Skip Loader? Articulating Wheel Loader?

Depending on type of loader you're thinking, I'm sure some guys here can help you figure out which models to seek out for your needs. Skip loaders are very minimalistic machines and would function very similar to your 310D. Older skid steers can be a money pit real fast if a pump or motor goes down and wipes out the entire system. Wheel loaders of the mid 90s are where the sweet spot for me is. Least amount of electronics, but better ergonomics to make running the machine more comfortable. Even a mid 90s ag tractor can be pretty productive with a loader attachment, though AG Loaders are never built as robust as a loader frame on a dedicated loader machine.

 

[Nige]

A comment about searching HEF.......... as you have experienced the Search function is a bit clunky and not necessarily user-friendly.

Try searching with Google using the following expression. You must use the inverted commas at the start & end.
"put your search term here site:https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com"

 

[vagabonddreamer]

Thanks to all who replied:

• Mobile Wrench - after reading responses it gave me an idea to look up when Canada adopted Tier 2. It was not until 2005 so that may be why i had the 2006 date in my head. The swing frame is cracked on one side. I have been wrestling with it for a couple years. My son is a Fabricator/Welder in the oil patch. We have welded it and used gussets but as you know it is cast iron and difficult to repair. My use of the work offshore was meant for manufactures like Sany, Shaffer, Everrun etc.
• DMiller - yes i enjoy using joystick controls on a couple machines i have rented but can see where they would be problematic. The 310D was in a nice place between the old technology hoes that had a bank of a hundred levers to control hydraulics and the joystick system.
• colson04 - I have been looking at proper loaders. I am a bit hesitant going with a skid steer as i am doing quite a bit of material handling and hay unloading/loading. I need a machine that can lift at least 4000lbs (two 4X4X8 square bales or two large round bales) and not feel unstable. Skid steers seem confined to me and i am not a fan of the visibility. I am trying to keep the max height below 9' so i can get in some areas in the barn. Right now i have to drop the back boom on my JD to go through the doorways. I also do quite a bit of top soil, gravel and screening work so i think a commercial/industrial loader seems to make more sense. I have looked at Case 321 JD 444 and Cat IT18 i am just not certain whether the reach is high enough to grab the second row of bales on a step deck.
• Nige - thanks for the reference to search function. I appreciate you taking the time....

Again thank you to all who responded...vs

 

[skata]

Can probably find parts here.
https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...d-machines/list/manufacturer/deere/model/310d

 

[vagabonddreamer]

Thank you Skata...I have already contacted Conequip....the problem is my 96 is the last year for the 310D model and there is a serial number break and a change to the last two model years. This limits the amount of swing frames that can be used according to JD. They have one for the serial numbers prior to my machine but i am unable to find out what the difference is. If it is not a geometry difference and only involves different pins and bushings i can deal with that as my son just set up to do line boring so i can change sizes of P and B...thx for the reply...vs