JCB,CASE DIGGER - WHICH TO BUY

kincaid

Hi, I’m on the lookout for a Jcb 3CX, Case , MF, or similar digger (my budget is about €5000) and someone suggested that I should go for a 1990 -1991 grey cab jcb as they were a great machine.
Anyone any advice

thanks

mostatom

Hi, Yes the 1988 to 1991 grey cab (project 7) 3cx is a great machine IMO. But i think you will need a bit more than €5000 to get a good one. Try to get one with a couple of buckets if possible.

kincaid

oh,,,should get an right good 88/89 then around that sort of money,
do these all come with turbo engine?

mostatom

There are turbo and non turbo versions.

stop thelights

kincaid wrote: »

oh,,,should get an right good 88/89 then around that sort of money,
do these all come with turbo engine?

Right I have owned a 90 jcb 3cx for a 5 or 6 years before the engine started giving trouble so we sent her over seas. They come both turbo and non. If you plan on doing alot of road then you should get a turbo one. Only travelling on the road on flat or short distances u'll get away with out it.
Underneath theres a drive going into the back axle make sure the seal isn't leaking oil and catch the drive and give it a good shake. should not be loose. check for specs of oil thrown onto the inside of the wheels.
Jack up all4 wheels off ground make sure shes works in all gears and theres no funny noises. Drive her into a heap of garvel or something similar to see how shes push.
Another thing too is the backactor. The king post will be worn lets face its over 20 years old. Excessive wear could mean a bill of 1000yoyo's.
I've only owned a jcb so cant comment on the mf. U'd want to be spending closer to 10,000 to find a decent machine but not over.:cool:

kincaid

ok thanks for that, i notice that most of the export market just want the jcb from 1992 on
anyway
what about the case or MF etc, would it be possible to get a good one of these at around my budget

mostatom

Sound advice from stopthelights, as for MF & case, i would stay away from the case, never heard any reports about the MF.
Engine, hydraulic pressure/pump, transmission and kingpost are the main things to watch out for in a JCB.
The black cab 3cx was also a good machine and would be closer to your budget, very good black cabs are making up to €7000, but you should get a decent one around the €6000 mark.
Happy hunting

kincaid

hi, dont see any of these black cab jcbs for sale, what year do they come out in and are they as good as the grey cabs

mostatom

They were sold between early 1985 and mid 1988, they were basically the same as the grey cab except they had a perkins 4.236 instead of the 1000.4. I think the turbo version was sold from 1986. They had the same back axle as the early grey cab which was changed to the 5 stud version in later grey cabs. Also, make sure you go for the sitemaster version with the 4 in 1 bucket and extra dig.

kincaid

ok but guy in England selling a 1986 non turbo but has white cab, looking 4850 stg

mostatom

White cab was sold from 1982 to late 84/early 1985.