1991 843 ran out of oil

[grumpy66]

Greetings, this is my first post to the forum. I'm asking this for my neighbor. He has a 1991 843 Bobcat skid steer, it has the Kubota 3 cyl diesel. The last time he used it, it ran dry of oil, blew a couple puffs of black smoke and stopped. The engine will roll over but it's straining to do so. He says that the oil fill line goes directly yo the base pan and over time the fitting worked loose. It is used around a saw mill, the belly pan became plugged with sawdust and it absorbed the oil leaking out. He has called several places, they all say it will be about 8 grand to repair, some say he needs a complete rebuild, some say just bearings. At the end of the day he can't afford a repair bill like that. He's 71, was using a wood splitter attachment at the time. Does anyone have any idea what he's looking at for possible damage and cost to repair? Is it worth repairing? Any help would be most appreciated.

 

[OldMachinist]

The 843 came with either a Perkins or Isuzu diesel engine and a complete rebuild would be expensive. Before anyone could quote what repairs would cost some testing and tear down would have to be done.

 

[grumpy66]

The 843 came with either a Perkins or Isuzu diesel engine and a complete rebuild would be expensive. Before anyone could quote what repairs would cost some testing and tear down would have to be done.

Thanks for the info on the engines, I'm going by what I've been told. Looks like if he wants it diagnosed properly it will need to go to a shop. I think he was really hoping it could be done in his garage.

 

[Tazza]

Thanks for the info on the engines, I'm going by what I've been told. Looks like if he wants it diagnosed properly it will need to go to a shop. I think he was really hoping it could be done in his garage.

It can be done in his garage, but as stated, the engine needs pulling down to see what locked up.
Pull the engine and remove the oil pan, remove the caps on the con rods and see if a bearing picked up.
I guess this is one of the reasons ideally, you are meant to check the engine oil level every time you go to use the machine. Hopefully he can get out of it cheaper than 8k

 

[donald73d]

It can be done in his garage, but as stated, the engine needs pulling down to see what locked up.
Pull the engine and remove the oil pan, remove the caps on the con rods and see if a bearing picked up.
I guess this is one of the reasons ideally, you are meant to check the engine oil level every time you go to use the machine. Hopefully he can get out of it cheaper than 8k

The 843 did come with a Kubota engine also. Did the engine warning light come on for low oil pressure?

 

[grumpy66]

The 843 did come with a Kubota engine also. Did the engine warning light come on for low oil pressure?

Thanks fr the reply's, one of his neighbors, a retired mechanic is going to have a look at the engine. That should keep him out of his wife's way for awhile!

 

[Tazza]

Thanks fr the reply's, one of his neighbors, a retired mechanic is going to have a look at the engine. That should keep him out of his wife's way for awhile!

If it indeed is a Kubota, depending on the size, you may find a cheap runner on ebay. They sell used V2203 engines for around the 2k mark.

 

[donald73d]

If it indeed is a Kubota, depending on the size, you may find a cheap runner on ebay. They sell used V2203 engines for around the 2k mark.

Could he put in any of the 3 engines the 843 came with?