JD 870?

W

wildcard

Member
Howdy all! Im the happy new owner of a new to me mid 90s 870. I had a Ford 1700 when I was a teenager and loved running it. been planing on getting a new one for many year now. Speced out and got approved for the money twice ofer the last few years but backed out as Im gone from home so much. Now Im home and my place needs a lot of work and I have time to run it on the side for some extra change.
Came with a backhoe and loader. Bought a used tiller and have a mower lined up. Ordered the Gannon Earthcavator ( as it's the BEST box scraper out there) as I had one before and it made most of my money and did most of my work.

Here is the question, anything special I need to look for or watch out for with this tractor?
Think green!
 
Welcome!

All I know on that one is, I think it was built by Yanmar. And I have an elderly Yanmar.

I think your tractor is about 20 years more evolved!

Where are you? And, pictures are greatly encouraged. Especially for a gorgeous rig like that! Show us what ya got!
 
The only thing I can think of is to clamp your clutch pedal down if it's going to sit for long periods.
 
870's are great tractors. Yes they are built by Yanmar for John Deere. bczoom's suggestion to clamp the clutch pedal down is a good idea. Any clutch that sits for extended periods can stick and it seems that these tractors may bee more prone to it than some others. Also be sure to keep pedal free travel adjusted. The clutches on these tractors are pricey, so be sure to care for it properly.
 
I had a Mitsubushi that had to be broken in to two replace the clutch because I didn't keep the clutch pedal down. I learned the expensive way. :hide:
 
wildcard said:
Howdy all! Im the happy new owner of a new to me mid 90s 870. I had a Ford 1700 when I was a teenager and loved running it. been planing on getting a new one for many year now. Speced out and got approved for the money twice ofer the last few years but backed out as Im gone from home so much. Now Im home and my place needs a lot of work and I have time to run it on the side for some extra change.
Came with a backhoe and loader. Bought a used tiller and have a mower lined up. Ordered the Gannon Earthcavator ( as it's the BEST box scraper out there) as I had one before and it made most of my money and did most of my work.

Here is the question, anything special I need to look for or watch out for with this tractor?
Think green!
Click to expand...

Hi wildcard;
If this 870 is in as good a shape as my 770, you got yourself a fine tractor. I did upgrade recently to a Kubota L35, but only because I needed more muscle. The yanmar engines seem to be solid workers, with few complaints.
I may not own mine much longer, was given a deposit yesterday, I'll be sorry to say goodby to it.
 
I think that 870 is an excellent tractor.

I have a 770 that I bought new in '95. It's a great little tractor. Last of the simple machines. The engine starts instantly just turning the key on all but the coldest days. Reliable as gravity. It just works. Keep the oil and fuel clean, grease where it needs it, and it will last a very long time.

I've never had a clutch problem and never tied my clutch pedal down either.

Fitch
 
I have a '96 770. Let's see... 18 years old. The only things I've done to it besides oils and filters was to put new tires on. Tires were good but the calcium ate the rims around the valve stems. Now have new rims/rubber with rimguard as the ballast.

Talk about bulletproof. Damn thing can't be stopped.

I DO clamp my clutch pedal down. The tractor sometimes sits for months. Had a time once where it felt like the clutch was toast. Was able to jamb into gear to free things but I highly recommend locking that pedal down. A lot easier/cheaper than breaking the tractor in half to get down to the clutch.
 
I bought an 870 a couple of years ago and it has been indispensable around my place. It lights off at -10*, runs perfect, has never burned or leaked a DROP of anything, sips fuel, and works like a mule. I ran a 72" tiller, that the dealer said would NOT work, with ease for 7 straight hours tearing up the back yard...lifted things with the loader that made me pucker, and drove through snow that I should have been buried in. I keep telling myself to get a newer one, but this is more than I could ever ask for. Why change a good thing? It's been absolutely BULLETPROOF. I've never clamped my clutch but probably should...never had an issue with it. Congrats on the purchase, it's been the best money I've spent on equipment in a LONG time. BTW - if you're not using that backhoe, mine is in need of one. :)
 
My JD 970 had that clutch problem also. I got it freed up but now use a block of wood in hot humid weather when sitting for a while. Now I have a fuse blowing problem. The 3 amp fuse has blown twice but I don't know why. It won't crank when this fuse is blown. Any suggestions???
 
Welcome to the forum. Which fuse is blowing? Does that fuse control a switch and if so, have you checked that wire and switch to see if it's grounding out causing the fuse to blow?
 
It is the upper left corner of fuse box. I would like to have a good wire diagram, schamatic and pictoral to trace it better. It happened intermittent so it may be hard to find. Tractor has about 1250 hours and I have owned it since 2017. I put a 5 amp in cuz it was hard to fin d a 3 amp. It ran fine about 10 min. before 2nd fuse blew. Tractor dies at that point and won" turn over. No click noise until fuse is replaced, since that it has worked ok.
 
I'm running out the door so can't help much right now. Here's an image of the wiring diagram for another 870 owner that had an issue (what's in the red box). Look at the rest of the schematic to see if it helps.
1663439870401-png.14103
 
OK, I'm back on my computer.
The fuse in the top left corner should be for all your safety switches (tranny in neutral, PTO off and the seat).
It "could" be one of those switches but my guess is you have a wire whose insulation has worn off and it makes contact with something on the frame or ground which is causing a short.
Do you have an ohm meter/multimeter? I'd check for a short between the connector on that fuse and the frame. If you do have a short, inspect the wires to all of those safety switches. I'd also pull that fuse block and inspect the wire underneath it.
 
Yes, I have a ohm meter. I was looking for any bare wires also. Where is the neutral switch located and how does it work? same with the pto switch?? I don't see any wires around the shifter??
 
Rick F said:
Yes, I have a ohm meter. I was looking for any bare wires also. Where is the neutral switch located and how does it work? same with the pto switch?? I don't see any wires around the shifter??
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Never had to dig for it before. I'm going to guess here but:
The PTO switch may be in the back of the tranny, near your hyd fluid fill area.
The neutral switch may be close to/behind your clutch pedal as it goes back to the tranny.
There's a time delay control module that all these wires connect to. You may be able to track the wires from that module.
This module may be near your fuse box. I found this pic on the net but can't tell exactly where it is on the tractor.
Myself, I'd start at the fuse box and test it there first (including pulling the box and checking the wire(s) behind it.

jd870_neutralstartrelay-jpg.108155
 
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