Quick Questions about 743

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743newbie

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Nov 24, 2006
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I am new to this forum and skidsteers in general. I bought a used 743 with about 2200 hrs on it a couple of weeks ago and have a few questions. I plan on using this for some projects around the house. 1) The lift arms and bucket seem strong but I hear some noise and chatter from the drive units, how much noise is normal? 2) I plan on changing all the fluids, is this a good idea? 3) Is ebay a good place to buy the service manual? Thanks for all the help.
 

skidsteer.ca

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Jan 20, 2006
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The drives are usually quite quiet under light loads,ie dring across a level driveway, but can groan or moan loudly under a heavy push, ie filling the bucket with gravel. The motor should stall or you should run out of traction, the machine shoud not just sit there doing nothing.

I not sure exactly what you mean by chatter, but i think if one of the wheel drive chains was slipping over the teeth on the sprockets you would know something was definitly wrong.
Hydraulic and chain case oil should be changed every 1000 hr. Don't forget you hyd filter(s)
You can drain your hyd tank into the chain case if you like to re cycle your oil.
Also don't be to surprised if your chain oil has some water contamination from a poor gasket on the covers over the chain case. (milky color)
maxxwedge and others have manuals on ebay but some of the dealers will sell them to you for less then some on ebay want for them. Also parts prices are set by the dealers and can vary from store to store
Tazza will likely give you a few pointer on some hidden strainers/filters. I don't recall the details as I don't have this particular model
I'm sure you will enjoy it, some feel this is the best boccat ever made
Ken
 

goodtech

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Nov 22, 2005
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The drives are usually quite quiet under light loads,ie dring across a level driveway, but can groan or moan loudly under a heavy push, ie filling the bucket with gravel. The motor should stall or you should run out of traction, the machine shoud not just sit there doing nothing.

I not sure exactly what you mean by chatter, but i think if one of the wheel drive chains was slipping over the teeth on the sprockets you would know something was definitly wrong.
Hydraulic and chain case oil should be changed every 1000 hr. Don't forget you hyd filter(s)
You can drain your hyd tank into the chain case if you like to re cycle your oil.
Also don't be to surprised if your chain oil has some water contamination from a poor gasket on the covers over the chain case. (milky color)
maxxwedge and others have manuals on ebay but some of the dealers will sell them to you for less then some on ebay want for them. Also parts prices are set by the dealers and can vary from store to store
Tazza will likely give you a few pointer on some hidden strainers/filters. I don't recall the details as I don't have this particular model
I'm sure you will enjoy it, some feel this is the best boccat ever made
Ken
They way that you are making it sound is that you are low on hydraulic oil. Make sure that you use a bobcat hyd oil or 10-30 engine oil, not hydraulic oil. The hydrostats in those machines are pretty much bullet proof, been around bobcats now for over 10 years and still have not scene one take a dump, unless someone tore into thinking there was something wrong. I would change all your filters and don't forget the case drain filters. when taking those apart they will tell you alot. if you have alot of brass or metal shaving in them, you can see it.
 

Tazza

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They way that you are making it sound is that you are low on hydraulic oil. Make sure that you use a bobcat hyd oil or 10-30 engine oil, not hydraulic oil. The hydrostats in those machines are pretty much bullet proof, been around bobcats now for over 10 years and still have not scene one take a dump, unless someone tore into thinking there was something wrong. I would change all your filters and don't forget the case drain filters. when taking those apart they will tell you alot. if you have alot of brass or metal shaving in them, you can see it.
For me e-bay was MUCH cheaper than my local dealer. It never hurts to give them a call and check up.
Depending on the vintage of your machine, there may be a hidden filter. Is there a square block on the top of the hydraulic pump? or is there just a big fat tube that runs to a block on the left (when looking from the bucket in).
Noise is normal from the hydrostats. Try increasing your revs, mine groans a bit with low RPM but if i run it close to full throttle it runs smooth and no noise unless i get stuck in to a pile of dirt.
If i were you, i would change all fluids as ken said and clean the chain case out. You get water in there all the time.
If you need any tips or advise just yell, i'm in the process of working on my 3rd 743, the previous owner seems to have run it on hydraulic oil and not 10W30!!! it seems ok still, but the hydrostatics under load feel different.
 
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743newbie

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Nov 24, 2006
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For me e-bay was MUCH cheaper than my local dealer. It never hurts to give them a call and check up.
Depending on the vintage of your machine, there may be a hidden filter. Is there a square block on the top of the hydraulic pump? or is there just a big fat tube that runs to a block on the left (when looking from the bucket in).
Noise is normal from the hydrostats. Try increasing your revs, mine groans a bit with low RPM but if i run it close to full throttle it runs smooth and no noise unless i get stuck in to a pile of dirt.
If i were you, i would change all fluids as ken said and clean the chain case out. You get water in there all the time.
If you need any tips or advise just yell, i'm in the process of working on my 3rd 743, the previous owner seems to have run it on hydraulic oil and not 10W30!!! it seems ok still, but the hydrostatics under load feel different.
Thanks for all the info. I am going to change all the fluid next week and I will check for the hidden filters. After reading the posts I think the "noise" I am hearing is normal. I only hear it when I am loading the bucket or playing in the deep dirt. If not I am sure I will be back asking for more advise.
Tazza, I was looking at some of your pics of your 743, she looks great. I would like to a paint job on mine some time. When you took yours apart, what was the weight of the heaviest assembly (what type lifting capabilty do you need)?
Thanks again for the help.
 

Tazza

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Thanks for all the info. I am going to change all the fluid next week and I will check for the hidden filters. After reading the posts I think the "noise" I am hearing is normal. I only hear it when I am loading the bucket or playing in the deep dirt. If not I am sure I will be back asking for more advise.
Tazza, I was looking at some of your pics of your 743, she looks great. I would like to a paint job on mine some time. When you took yours apart, what was the weight of the heaviest assembly (what type lifting capabilty do you need)?
Thanks again for the help.
Well, as you saw i pulled mine totally to bits.
The heaviest part was the chain case. With the axles and gear cases with motors attached were quite heavy. I was lifting the whole complete chain case with a 300lb air hoist, but that was really pushing its limits. I really do recommend say a 1 tonne hoist should be used, but i did get away with a 300lb air hoist and a 1 tonne chain hoist.
All the parts can be moved by 1 person, but a few mates sure makes the job a lot easier! I did 99% of the work my self using my air hoist.
Remember, if your machine has a square block on the top of the hydraulic pump it has a hidden filter, if it has no square block it just has the filter in the engine bay, no others.
Good luck!!!
 
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