John Deere 318D 20 hour review

[ejb17]

So we finally sold our Komatsu SK820-5n skid, which by the way was a great machine with good specs, and bought a JD 318D with 205 hours on it. It was purchased new by a small town near us to snowblow sidewalks and the occasional summer pothole repair. The extra 10 or so HP over the Komatsu is very handy and the JD is speced with the EH performance package and high flow aux at 28 gpm.

Likes: Enclosed cab with heat and upgraded seat(no A/C-darn it)
High flow
EH controls are smooth
Creep mode with fairly unlimited settings
Rear tilting cab and removable floor pan make cleaning and servicing a dream
All Aux hydraulic and electrical connections on same side
Hood and removable side covers make the back easy to get to
Good front and rear visability

We have found some loose coolant hose clamps that were leaking and a hydraulic cap o-ring on the rh drive motor was loose and blown out so I think the factory QC is a little suspect but it was used.

A couple of minor dislikes are the float activation seems a little rough and the 2 speed under motion shifts are very jerky.

We also have the right arm that guides the boom bottom pin howling even after we took it out to clean it and purge new grease through it. It will drive you right out of the cab. Can anyone advise us because it was a pain to get out and back in. It will actually rotate the pin if you take out the bolt that keeps it from spinning.

Also can anyone with a D series JD send a pic of the radio speakers as we think we will be getting the radio kit it is so quiet.

 

[hmearth]

Hi ejb17
The speakers go inside head lining above rear window there are mounting brackets
There and the radio JD uses gets so hot on a summers day you know it there so I'd use over the counter radio

 

[AndrewC]

PM me your email, Ill send you an install guide for the radio. As for the squeal on that pin check that it is that joint as I have seen lots of guys miss the harder to see ones and think that its that pin. The pin will turn normally that's why there is a bolt stopping it. What pin is it that is making noise

 

[ejb17]

It is pin 24 on the right guide arm. It is pretty long as it goes through the frame, then the arm and then the outside support on the frame. It did quiet down after we had it out and cleaned out all the old grease but it is getting real noisy again. Our only initial thought is that the boom may be welded together a bit out of spec putting more pressure on the right side.

 

[hmearth]

When I took delivery of my Deere I spent a day with the Hitachi dealer trying to get grease into the top pins the shereck was so loud and it did settle down

 

[Cammscapes]

Hey ejb and hmearth, bit of a thread dig but im curious if you guys have still got your Deeres and how theyre performing?
Dont see many around here (eastern vic, Australia) but theres a couple of very low hr 318D's for sale for a decent price and im wondering if theres a reason for that? They seem like solid machines on paper
Cheers
Chris.

 

[ejb17]

Yes we still have ours. We have 500 hrs on it and it has been great. Have not touched it except for routine maintenance and washes. We don't do a ton of dirt work with it as we do stump grinding, post holes, and minor log recovery with it. We also have had the Loegering VTS track system on it from when we purchased it thinking we would use the tires in the winter but we have not switched them back at all. Runs good and the pilot controls have good response, although they are the only ones I have run other than bigger wheel loaders.

 

[Cammscapes]

Thats great to hear. Did you get that noisy pin sorted out? How do you find the VTS system? They seem like a great idea and could be very handy for our landscaping business
I'd love to spend some time in one but both machines are over 8 hrs away so i doubt thats possible sadly.