270 JOHN DEERE SKIDSTEER

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hawg wild

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Joined
May 8, 2006
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16
2000 MODEL WITH 1774 HOURS. $17500.00 ANY OPINIONS ON THIS? ANY GOOD OR BAD EXPERIENCES WITH JOHN DEERE SKID STEERS? I HAVE NEVER OWNED A SKIDSTEER, AND I AM LOOKING TO BUY A USED MACHINE AND SOME ATTACHMENTS TO START A BRUSH CLEARING BUISNESS. I WAS LOOKING FOR SOME INPUT. THUMBS UP OR THUMBS DOWN ON THE DEERE?
 

skidsteer.ca

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Jan 20, 2006
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3,853
Not much experience on the 270, Helped a friend purchase a 00 250 for $12500 a year ago.
Cab and heat 2200 hrs, avg cond, poor tires. Some complain about not being able to see your rear tires when the boom is down, poor side visability until the boom is up some.
The 250 has a 3 cylinder engine that has a bit more vibration then it should, but this may not aply to the 270.
Jd make one of the most stable machines with more weight on the front tires when bucket is empty. Makes it easier to climb hills, as they can be much steeper b4 you have to turn around and back up it. They are also among the heavier machines for a given class.
Buddy has had no mechanical issues with his, they seem to be well built and typically 10 to 15% less then a comparable Bobcat. I paid @ 13k for my 00 773 with 1600 hrs a year 2 years back.
Ken
 
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hawg wild

Member
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
16
Not much experience on the 270, Helped a friend purchase a 00 250 for $12500 a year ago.
Cab and heat 2200 hrs, avg cond, poor tires. Some complain about not being able to see your rear tires when the boom is down, poor side visability until the boom is up some.
The 250 has a 3 cylinder engine that has a bit more vibration then it should, but this may not aply to the 270.
Jd make one of the most stable machines with more weight on the front tires when bucket is empty. Makes it easier to climb hills, as they can be much steeper b4 you have to turn around and back up it. They are also among the heavier machines for a given class.
Buddy has had no mechanical issues with his, they seem to be well built and typically 10 to 15% less then a comparable Bobcat. I paid @ 13k for my 00 773 with 1600 hrs a year 2 years back.
Ken
thanks for the info. all advice and opinions are appreciated. i am a rookie at this stuff. it is awfully handy to have something such as this forum to go to and ask advice from an unbiased third party. sure helps a guy like me learn a little about something before jumping in over my head.
 

Tigerotor77W

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Joined
Apr 29, 2004
Messages
268
thanks for the info. all advice and opinions are appreciated. i am a rookie at this stuff. it is awfully handy to have something such as this forum to go to and ask advice from an unbiased third party. sure helps a guy like me learn a little about something before jumping in over my head.
Seems like a decent price, but you may want to look into boom side-to-side sway. NH/Deere designs tend to lose some of their rigidity when the hours rack up.

Have you demo'ed the machine yet?
 
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hawg wild

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Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
16
Seems like a decent price, but you may want to look into boom side-to-side sway. NH/Deere designs tend to lose some of their rigidity when the hours rack up.

Have you demo'ed the machine yet?
I haven't put my hands on this machine yet, just saw it advertised in a local paper. I have been doing some shopping around, and I really like the specs on this machine (ratings, capacities, hp etc) but i am a little unsure of the brand and the quality of these machines. i know deere makes some good tractors (although you pay a lot for that green paint) but how are they on skidsteers. a plus for me and a deere machine is that i would have several options for local dealers. if i went with another brand machine i would have to drive an hour or 2 to find the closest dealer for just about any other brand. what do i need to look for when checking boom side to side sway? how much is tolerable and how do you check it?
 

skidsteer.ca

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Jan 20, 2006
Messages
3,853
I haven't put my hands on this machine yet, just saw it advertised in a local paper. I have been doing some shopping around, and I really like the specs on this machine (ratings, capacities, hp etc) but i am a little unsure of the brand and the quality of these machines. i know deere makes some good tractors (although you pay a lot for that green paint) but how are they on skidsteers. a plus for me and a deere machine is that i would have several options for local dealers. if i went with another brand machine i would have to drive an hour or 2 to find the closest dealer for just about any other brand. what do i need to look for when checking boom side to side sway? how much is tolerable and how do you check it?
Side play is a judgement call. My 773 has more sideplay too then my 753 had with twice the hours on the 753. Any loader with a straight lift path will have more movement then a radius lift path machine. The more pins and arms the boom is made up of the more it will move side to side, and the more places it can wear and develope slop.
You just have to pick up a bucket of dirt and drive over a bump to see how much they shake. Also be sure to put the bucket down (lift front tires) and move all the cylinders back and forth to see how much each pin moves. The tighter the better.
Usually the bucket dump cylinders are the worst at the bucket end. That pin rotates alot and get a fresh sprinkling of gravel regularly. Also if the machine has not just had a bath, see how much grease is around the pin areas, grease looks terrible, but lots is what you want to see.
Bring your grease gun and see if any of the grease zerks will not take grease, if they are plug they were not greased as often as they should be
Regards
Ken
 
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hawg wild

Member
Joined
May 8, 2006
Messages
16
Side play is a judgement call. My 773 has more sideplay too then my 753 had with twice the hours on the 753. Any loader with a straight lift path will have more movement then a radius lift path machine. The more pins and arms the boom is made up of the more it will move side to side, and the more places it can wear and develope slop.
You just have to pick up a bucket of dirt and drive over a bump to see how much they shake. Also be sure to put the bucket down (lift front tires) and move all the cylinders back and forth to see how much each pin moves. The tighter the better.
Usually the bucket dump cylinders are the worst at the bucket end. That pin rotates alot and get a fresh sprinkling of gravel regularly. Also if the machine has not just had a bath, see how much grease is around the pin areas, grease looks terrible, but lots is what you want to see.
Bring your grease gun and see if any of the grease zerks will not take grease, if they are plug they were not greased as often as they should be
Regards
Ken
THANKS, I SURE DO APPRECIATE THE INFO. IT REALLY HELPS ME TO LOOK FOR THINGS THAT I WOULDN'T NORMALLY HAVE LOOKED AT.
 
Joined
May 30, 2006
Messages
9
THANKS, I SURE DO APPRECIATE THE INFO. IT REALLY HELPS ME TO LOOK FOR THINGS THAT I WOULDN'T NORMALLY HAVE LOOKED AT.
I sat in one with the cab a/c last year at our annual county tractor show. I got the gravey job this year on the saw mill crew. I got to just load logs on to the mill. The sucker picked up just about any log we had. The a/c was nice and cold. (was 98 degrees out side) but I had a really hard time seeing behind me (lots of people walking around behind me) and seeing out of the corners of the cab. The cab really hampers your vision. I do like how the cab door folds up into the roof.
 

JLUsed

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Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
3
I sat in one with the cab a/c last year at our annual county tractor show. I got the gravey job this year on the saw mill crew. I got to just load logs on to the mill. The sucker picked up just about any log we had. The a/c was nice and cold. (was 98 degrees out side) but I had a really hard time seeing behind me (lots of people walking around behind me) and seeing out of the corners of the cab. The cab really hampers your vision. I do like how the cab door folds up into the roof.
I'm totally new to the skid steer world, but have found a wealth of information on this site. In any case, I'm looking at a 2003 Deere 250 with around 1500 hours. Looks pretty good in pictures, and they're asking $11,500. This seems like a good deal to me. Are there any specific problem areas I should look at? Thanks
 

frank123

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Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
59
I'm totally new to the skid steer world, but have found a wealth of information on this site. In any case, I'm looking at a 2003 Deere 250 with around 1500 hours. Looks pretty good in pictures, and they're asking $11,500. This seems like a good deal to me. Are there any specific problem areas I should look at? Thanks
Even if it's a plain jane, that's a pretty good price. That's about average hours for that year. If you can get the serial # off of it I can use a contact to pull the history on it, owners, warranty claims, option codes, etc to give you a little more insight to the machine.

Frank
 

JLUsed

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Nov 28, 2006
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Even if it's a plain jane, that's a pretty good price. That's about average hours for that year. If you can get the serial # off of it I can use a contact to pull the history on it, owners, warranty claims, option codes, etc to give you a little more insight to the machine.

Frank
Great! I'll get the serial # asap. Thanks for your help. Also, what year did they start making the Series 2? I think it was 2004, and it's my understanding that the Series 2s are much more reliable. That makes me worry a little about this 03 I'm looking at.
 

frank123

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Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
59
Great! I'll get the serial # asap. Thanks for your help. Also, what year did they start making the Series 2? I think it was 2004, and it's my understanding that the Series 2s are much more reliable. That makes me worry a little about this 03 I'm looking at.
The series 2 started for model year 2003, so if your info is correct on your model year, it should fall into that category. Even if it was a series 1, most of the little ongoing issues that they had should have been taken care of by now through the recalls and warranty claims. Most of the problems surfaced within the first couple of years from what I have seen.

Frank
 

jklingel

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Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
220
The series 2 started for model year 2003, so if your info is correct on your model year, it should fall into that category. Even if it was a series 1, most of the little ongoing issues that they had should have been taken care of by now through the recalls and warranty claims. Most of the problems surfaced within the first couple of years from what I have seen.

Frank
That is a pretty big machine, and I bet you will love it. I have a used 240 w/ 1500 hrs on it, and it does a nice job still. I would check prices on places like machinerytrader, machinerylocator, ebay, etc, (I hope I got those names right, but they are at least close) but I think you'll find that is a fair price if it is in good shape. I just looked at a million different loaders before buying a 332. Good luck.
 

Lavorn

Active member
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
40
I haven't put my hands on this machine yet, just saw it advertised in a local paper. I have been doing some shopping around, and I really like the specs on this machine (ratings, capacities, hp etc) but i am a little unsure of the brand and the quality of these machines. i know deere makes some good tractors (although you pay a lot for that green paint) but how are they on skidsteers. a plus for me and a deere machine is that i would have several options for local dealers. if i went with another brand machine i would have to drive an hour or 2 to find the closest dealer for just about any other brand. what do i need to look for when checking boom side to side sway? how much is tolerable and how do you check it?
I have a 270 and love it!!! It has power to spare and wonderful balance. I have it on a farm in Hawaii and it is very hilly so balance is important. I also have a Volvo in Utah of similar size but it is not as well balanced. The JD hand operators are a bit tricky to get used to and do make your wrists sore if you work it for a long time. I suggest you put a cheap fuel filter in the fuel line to keep from having to replace the more expensive ones that are stock as often. I am hearing that the one weak point with the JD is the park brake/seat belt brake solenoid as they do go out. I am having this very problem with mine right now and need help as no one on Kauai knows anything about fixing the JD skidsteer as I have the only one on the island. Not good for repairs!!! Any ideas on how to get the boom up when the park brake won't release? How do I wire around the park brakes for a temp fix or to replace the solenoid?
 

Lavorn

Active member
Joined
Nov 4, 2011
Messages
40
I have a 270 and love it!!! It has power to spare and wonderful balance. I have it on a farm in Hawaii and it is very hilly so balance is important. I also have a Volvo in Utah of similar size but it is not as well balanced. The JD hand operators are a bit tricky to get used to and do make your wrists sore if you work it for a long time. I suggest you put a cheap fuel filter in the fuel line to keep from having to replace the more expensive ones that are stock as often. I am hearing that the one weak point with the JD is the park brake/seat belt brake solenoid as they do go out. I am having this very problem with mine right now and need help as no one on Kauai knows anything about fixing the JD skidsteer as I have the only one on the island. Not good for repairs!!! Any ideas on how to get the boom up when the park brake won't release? How do I wire around the park brakes for a temp fix or to replace the solenoid?
My 270 JD has the parking brakes locked and they won't unlock. I do find power to the solenoid that is right by the Hydro filter so that is not the problem. I wired around the seat belt as that has been aroblem due to high humidity/oxidation etc but that does not help this time. Las time I just let it sit for a few days and it began working again but stopped in the middle of a job? Probably a bad solenoid but I can't get to it to test it without raising the boom and I can't raise the boom without unlocking the Park brake? Surely the is a bypass somewhere but I don't see in in my shop manual. Can a hone help me???
 
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