New JD672G Grader

[ovrszd]

The Township I work for traded Graders. We had a 2011 JD770G machine with 2,500hrs. Had purchased it new. Ordered a new JD672G on 14 June 2019. It delivered on 14 August 2019. I was in the middle of a road elevation project. This first pic was taken 5 minutes after unloading it. Forgot to get one before I made a pass pushing dirt.



Options are 14'x27"x1" moldboard with 8" cutting edge. Slip Clutch gearbox on table. Front Scarifier. Rear Hitch. 17.5x25 Bridgestone tires. Deluxe Lights (18 LEDs). 1 Auxiliary hydraulic function control on right side. Powered Cab Air Precleaner. Standard fabric air seat. Non opening windows, exterior mirrors, FM w/Aux radio.

 

[ovrszd]

Very little change in the chassis. Basic size and weight is close to the older machine. A little heavier on the front axle because of adding AWD. Same engine at 255HP.

Most noticeable changes are at the engine compartment. These are caused by adding the Tier IV equipment. Our previous machine used a DPF but no DEF.

These machines make normal service ease a priority. They are very well organized in regards to filter and fill point locations.

First pic is location of engine air filter.

 

[ovrszd]

This pic is with all the left side panels open. The center opening provides access to the engine oil and transmission dipsticks. Switched light for night work. The rearward panel accesses coolers for all the oil filled boxes including the rear axle assembly. The diesel fuel fill is just below that with the green cap. DEF is below that with the blue cap.

I'm a bit concerned about the DEF fill location. During snow pushing this area will be covered with ice and snow. It'll require a dead blow hammer to remove the crust so the panel can be opened....

 

[ovrszd]

On the right side of the machine you can access the dual alternators at the front opening, filter bank in the middle, engine and AC radiators at the rear.

I had ran the machine 3 hrs and got out to pee. I noticed oil leakage on the side of the frame. Opened the panel and found that the axle filter head hoses were finger tight. How they didn't leak more than a little is beyond me. Quick tightening and everything was good. JD marks all tighteners with paint at the factory. These two had no paint marks. Were just hand tight.

As you can see, filter maintenance is very easy. Everything is visible and simple to remove/replace. I like that about Deere.

 

[ovrszd]

The G model cab is very user friendly. Lots of storage space. Ergonomically organized. Great visibility. My only petty complaint is the location of the 12V power receptacles. They are low and behind the lunch cooler rack. Very easy to bump them with the cooler and impossible to access them with it there.




Biggest change is the trans shifter. Our previous machine used a gate shifter. Lever completely forward in park. Come out of park and push lever outward to gain access to reverse gate. Pull rearward on lever, click, click, click thru gears to 8th. Go back to gate and pull lever toward you and gain access to forward gate. Pull rearward on lever, click, click, click thru gears to 8th.

This shifter only has one gate. Full forward is neutral. Click lever toward you and you are selecting forward. Pull rearward, click, click, click to 8th. Click lever away from you and you are selecting reverse. So, if in forward 4th and you want to reverse, simply click the lever away from you and you've got reverse 4th. This is going to be a hard habit to break..... But I think it'll be better once I get used to it.

Also in this pic you can see the 6wd selectors, cruise control, heat/AC controls. The 6wd controls are very easy to understand and get used to. Big change for me. First AWD grader I've ran.

 

[ovrszd]

Another change is the dash computer screen. Still gives you all the needed info, just completely reorganized. As in all new machines, you are flooded with machine information and data.

The first pic is the screen when you first activate power. The second is what remains on when operating the machine. As for user friendliness I don't see any improvements or losses. Just different. That's how Techno Guys have job security, always changing.








This switch panel is on the right side B pillar at eye level. Pretty self explanatory. Notice some of the center keys have numbers on them. They are used as a keypad to make selections on the various menus on the main screen.

 

[ovrszd]

Here's my rack setup. I've used this for 15 years or so. It fits me mentally. I really like the one hand lift setup with the articulation handy. My thumb is always resting on that lever. Can run those three functions without lifting my hand.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm more than a little excited about the LED lights. I push more snow at night than daytime. I messed with the lights last night and got them sorta adjusted. I'll take some pics first chance I get. It's a huge leap from Halogen. 18 lights total. Completely lights everything around the machine. Blade visibility is as good as daytime.

 

[ovrszd]

Being my first 6WD machine, I was a bit disappointed to realize I can't rotate the tires. The front wheels are different than the rears. Backspace is different. Best I can do is rotate the four rears amongst themselves and the two fronts side to side.

 

[ovrszd]

The front axle ground clearance is very good considering everything hanging on it. I don't notice any loss of turning radius, wheel lean or anything else. The hydraulics seem to be a bit exposed but can't see any way to improve that.

Have used the 6WD a limited amount. First thing I noticed is it takes a bit more rpm when doing delicate work. I'm used to feeling the rear wheels slipping and adjust the blade accordingly to get maximum work. With 6WD engaged this slippage is gone. First time I got in this position I stalled the machine.

 

[ovrszd]

The engine has a block heater. The plugin for the heater is located outside the engine compartment. It's under the black square covered box just to the right of the red pin in this pic. Again, I expect that to be covered with frozen ice/snow when it's most needed. But when it was located inside the engine compartment the same problem existed. Had to dead blow hammer the crust off to get the panel open.

 

[20/80]

Nice machine, interested on your thoughts on the 6wd when you use it, I would think it would be good in the snow and also for doing some ditching, lifting both sides of the mouldboard with just 1 lever I think is a great option, we have a few Deere's in our fleet but I never spent any amount of time running them, led lights are really nice running at night time, we have a led light bar on the m I run in the winter mounted up on the cab, it has 165000 lumens and really cuts through the falling snow in a storm for great visibility.

 

[mowingman]

Looks like a very nice and well thought out machine. Congratulations. Snow will be here sooner than you think.

 

[ovrszd]

Nice machine, interested on your thoughts on the 6wd when you use it, I would think it would be good in the snow and also for doing some ditching, lifting both sides of the mouldboard with just 1 lever I think is a great option, we have a few Deere's in our fleet but I never spent any amount of time running them, led lights are really nice running at night time, we have a led light bar on the m I run in the winter mounted up on the cab, it has 165000 lumens and really cuts through the falling snow in a storm for great visibility.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm curious to use 6wd also. As you said, it should make ditching a lot easier. Also working on steep banks. Not sure how beneficial it'll be pushing snow. About the only time I have a traction issue in snow is with the plow on and trying to back out of a drift. I'm always conservative when going downhill ramming into a drift. I've never been stuck but have had to rowboat myself back out a few times.

 

[ovrszd]

Looks like a very nice and well thought out machine. Congratulations. Snow will be here sooner than you think.

Thanks. We are less than 60 days from first frost here. Normally don't have any snow to push until December. But that's not far away either. Been very busy this Summer. It has flew by.

 

[20/80]

Yes.. cold weather will be upon us soon, December is when we get snow also but sometimes in November, my 140h is in the shop for some long overdue mouldboard maintenance before fall grade, been fairly busy here also this summer, ditches have stayed wet this year compared to the last 3 summers, a bit harder to ditch, summer has flew by.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm spoiled with low hour machines. A year ago I replaced the bronze blade slide bushings on our machine. They are adjustable but that was gone.

Sorry I don't know the technical terms. The bushings where the blade lift cylinders fasten to the grader were worn with slack. Also the turntable bushingd had a bit of slack. I noticed all of that. I also realized that bit of slack hindered the ma hine's ability to blade smooth. I immediately noticed the difference with a new machine. The slightest slack is noticeable.

 

[20/80]

Yeah, my machines mouldboard quadrons are wore bad, the two large pieces on each end that the mould board slides through and holds the shims, my mouldboard slide guide for the shims is wore bad also not sure how they will fix that, my lift cylinder sleeve bushings on the yoke are gone, they are fibreglass and a major pain to replace, and a few other easy fix bushings, starting leave some finger prints in the road when spreading from all the slack movement sometimes, I was after them accouple of years ago to address these issues when it would have been a easier fix, when you rob Peter you will pay Paul every time, working with a tight machine does make a difference for sure.

 

[Fatgraderman]

Hope you enjoy the new Tonka toy. How crammed that engine compartment is concerns me somewhat. It’s okay if you don’t have any trouble with it. Even a hydraulic hose can be an adventure at best, this looks like it could be a nightmare.

 

[shaggs]

Yeah, my machines mouldboard quadrons are wore bad, the two large pieces on each end that the mould board slides through and holds the shims, my mouldboard slide guide for the shims is wore bad also not sure how they will fix that, my lift cylinder sleeve bushings on the yoke are gone, they are fibreglass and a major pain to replace, and a few other easy fix bushings, starting leave some finger prints in the road when spreading from all the slack movement sometimes, I was after them accouple of years ago to address these issues when it would have been a easier fix, when you rob Peter you will pay Paul every time, working with a tight machine does make a difference for sure.

hi 20/80 i run a 2017 12m we got our machine shop make our slide wear inserts out of self lubing poly . its as tough as and lasting two to three times longer and the rails are mirror shiney cheers