John Deere 314G

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Hello everyone, I have been a member for years but seldom active. I am a Bobcat fan, but recently purchased a 314G at a good price. So I thought I would try and contribute my findings as a new owner and new to John Deere skid steers as a whole. More to come.
Best wishes!
D

 

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So I purchased a 2019 JD 314G with 553 hrs. I did my best to research this model before purchase, but there were just no reviews and mostly negative comments about it. I think this model was released in 2016 as a more affordable base model, specifically aimed at rental companies.

I was a long time Bobcat owner and use a T870 quite often at work, so I was looking for full size machine for my personal use and in my price range that had not been used up. Bobcats were pretty much extinct in my area. Then right down the road this John Deere shows up for sale. Well maintained, clean and not a cedar machine, as I am in Texas Hill Country, and cedar clearing is a constant
So after negotiation and a test run it's mine. The owner had several machines and preferred the cabbed versions, so a great deal was struck to get rid of the 314. More to come.
D.

 

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The 314G series is a vertical lift 6300lb machine powered by a 4TN Yanmar turbo at approx 50hp. It is a single speed, standard flow machine with hand and foot controls. It does have a DPF system on it, but does not use DEF as its under 75hp. The machine I have came with keyless start. The engine cooling fan runs off a belt and blows out through the rear door vent. The hydraulic cooler hinges and swings away from the radiator for easy cleaning of both. Fuel,hydraulic, engine oil and coolant levels are easy to check and easy to add to if needed.
Fuel filters and oil filtersl are right at back door so easy to change, hydraulic filter access requires raising cab to change. Air filter is also easy to access. Raising the cab is by far the easiest of any machine I have used, remove the two hold down bolts and it practically raises itself and locks open. The boom can be locked in the overhead position by moving a lever behind the operators right shoulder that puts a 2" pin under boom arm when in the raised position for service ect. My machine came with a 66" bucket, 10x16.5 tires are standard.
Inside cab room is plenty for my size, I am 6'4" but only about 175 lbs, I adjusted the steer tillers to my liking and the seat has plenty of adjustment for short or tall. Lighting is very good should you need it, 2 head lamps and one rear work light are standard.
Next up will be my observations on build quality, the good and the bad, issues I have had and fixes so far in my short few months of ownership.
D.

 

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So after 6 months of ownership, I would like to comment on the build quality and some issues I have had as well as areas that could be improved.
The Good.
Small frame, relatively light operating weight, can tow with 1/2 ton if needed.
Engine runs excellent, smooth with plenty of power for my needs. Very easy to perform maintenance and to service.
Compact frame makes for ease of use in tighter spaces, vertical lift and 10' reach are very useful. 1900lb working limit with suitcase weight kit. I have moved 2000lbs without any trouble. I have not noticed need to regen yet, but I am sure it's coming. Seat is comfortable and has plenty of adjustment. Lap bar is easy to use/smooth operation. Easy cab lift and easy boom lock for overhead service.
With cab and boom locked in up position there is lots of room to perform any task in the belly or engine/pump area. This machine has a electric fuel lift pump for easy priming when changing fuel filters. Keyless start for security. Footwell cleanouts like Bobcat, fuel tank drain that's easy to get to, chaincase level/drain plugs are easy access. Its a Yanmar engine.
Thats all I can think of at the moment
D.

 

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Now the not so good things, it's nice to have a good dealer to help out with advice parts ect. I do not
Diesel particulate filter
Price of anything JD parts wise
Unlike a Bobcat, the rear door could allow debris to enter and damage cooling system.
Tires are rough on hard pack, they are Hulk block style tread, of course that's easy to cure but they have worn well.
Lots and lots of side to side slop in pins. Boom arms, quick tach, all the cylinders and even the verticle lift stablizer bars.
I spent hours shimming the slop out of things and I am not done yet. I buy 1.5" washers and slide between arms or cylinders. Never seen a machine with so much slop. And this machine was maintained. I have a book, hand written with every wash, grease and service. It has almost a quarter inch of side to side movement in some places. The John Deere style steer controls are not to my liking at all, uncomfortable for my hands and awkward to use when using an attachment because of the wrist action involved. Also when raising and lowering cab they hang up passing through framework, this has damaged seat and rubber on steer controls. A very poor design as I see it. The structural part of the quick tach and booms seems robust, I have read about structural filures but have not seen any first hand. Drive motors are extremely noisy, whines a lot during turns, I read about that being common on this machine as well. Not sure if a cure exists for that or not, but on occasion when moving and using multiple bucket movements at same time loader will shudder or vibrate. Not sure why, I read that Kubota had a similar issue during their initial release.
John Deere keyless entry I do not like but that's a personal preference.
i had 2 issues with this machine so far.
Low voltage to ecm code and
Water in fuel code.
Clean grounds on engine block and ground on frame. Clean battery cables.
Install new battery as it had original.
No codes again
Change both fuel filters and it said water in fuel the next day. So I drain tank completely install new filters with fresh fuel again. Same thing.
Replace sensor in bottom of water separator.
So far everything works fine, no codes.
Sorry for all the space I took up but I had no help with this machine and hope that some of this info might help someone else.
All in all I am happy with machine, I will work out the kinks I can and live with the rest.
Best wishes.
D.