463 Bobcat Skidsteer.

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Eric

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 19, 2005
Messages
169
Well I'm finally getting to my first review after I suggested we add the review section to the forum.
About 5 months ago I rented a 463 bobcat from my local bobcat dealer. It was pretty new with only 175 hours on it. I ran this machine for about 5 days removing a small hillside from behind a house. The reason for the hillside removal was for a swimming pool. In order to squeeze the pool I had to cut the hillside for a retaining wall. I removed about 190 cu. yards of rocky compacted dirt. It wasn't easy but I got it done. It was hot and the machine handled pretty well for the conditions. I was pushing it to its limits. After I would dump a scoop of dirt in the front yard I would fly to the back yard full speed railing the burms in the front lawn like I was Ricky Carmichael on crf 450 in motocross at Glen Hellen. The guy I was working for at the time thought I was gonna nail the house or the wall on my reentry to the back yard. I was getting really confident on this little machine until on the fourth day I learned a lesson. At the end of the fourth day I was headed to the back yard to park the machine for the night. As I was approaching the parking area at a medium pace I hit a 8 inch rock (I did not see) with my left front tire. The ground was uneven leaning the machine slightly to the right. This collision with the rock slowly tipped the bobcat all the way over on its right side. I quickly shut the machine down and assessed the situation. What a mess. I had to borrow a bottle jack from the home owner and concrete wall blocks to tilt the machine back up. It took about 30 minutes. So I let the machine sit overnight before attempting to start it. I heard that if you flip a bobcat over, don't try to restart it right away because if oil fills up the top of the engine it will blow the head or bend a rod. The next morning I attempt to start it with no luck. After about an hour trying to figure out why it wont start I called the dealer. The tech said If the right handle gets locked into the auxiliary hyd. on position it wont start and thats what it was. When I fell on the right side in the machine my right leg locked hit the lever. If you lift the cab there a pin to lock it in neutral. This was the first time I had ever flipped a bobcat and the last I hope.
Overall I would say this was a good little machine for what it is. It sure beats manual labor! If you are not very skilled on a bobcat I say you will have a hard time on this machine. Like all bobcats when compared to other larger heavy equipment (wheel loaders, backhoes, etc.) you must be a master manipulator to use every horsepower you have to get the job done. I'm not talking about moving a pile of sand, I mean digging in really hard dirt or concrete demo. You know what I mean?! My point is that when you step step down from a 863 to 463 all those skills really matter to get the job done on this little machine. Here are some photos of the job. Here is a link to all the photos in the forums gallery.
http://www.bobcatforum.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=52&gallerypage=0&path=463%20Bobcat%20Action!
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Great photos. The bucket loads on the 463 seem pretty impressive... how is the 863 holding up for you?
 
Great photos. The bucket loads on the 463 seem pretty impressive... how is the 863 holding up for you?
I realy needed to add a spill guard on that machine I was loading it up so much. As for the 863 I dont run that machine anymore since I became a partner in my father in laws business. In the year I ran that 863 I put about 1,000 hours (from 2,000 to 3,000 hours) on it with no major problems. I now run a 963 and 763 Bobcats.
 
I realy needed to add a spill guard on that machine I was loading it up so much. As for the 863 I dont run that machine anymore since I became a partner in my father in laws business. In the year I ran that 863 I put about 1,000 hours (from 2,000 to 3,000 hours) on it with no major problems. I now run a 963 and 763 Bobcats.
A 963, eh? That's pretty impressive... what are your thoughts on that machine?
 
A 963, eh? That's pretty impressive... what are your thoughts on that machine?
Big machine for a tough job, Mechanics nightmare. They have also stopped producing this machine. The closest thing that you can get to it is a T300, S300, or A300.
 
Big machine for a tough job, Mechanics nightmare. They have also stopped producing this machine. The closest thing that you can get to it is a T300, S300, or A300.
Hmm... interesting. What makes the '63 more difficult to work on than, say, an 873?

Either way, I don't consider the S300 ballsy enough to be a true replacement for the 963. But then again, the market isn't necessarily there. I don't know how the Gehls are selling.
 
Hmm... interesting. What makes the '63 more difficult to work on than, say, an 873?

Either way, I don't consider the S300 ballsy enough to be a true replacement for the 963. But then again, the market isn't necessarily there. I don't know how the Gehls are selling.
The 963 is a great machine. I cant compare it to a T300, A300, or a S300 because I have not ran any of them yet. I'm not sure what we will do when the 963 reaches 5,000 hours (2 or 3 years of life left) and its do for a trade in. The power and control of this machine is awesome.
 
The 963 is a great machine. I cant compare it to a T300, A300, or a S300 because I have not ran any of them yet. I'm not sure what we will do when the 963 reaches 5,000 hours (2 or 3 years of life left) and its do for a trade in. The power and control of this machine is awesome.
Have you stalled the engine on a 963 before?
 
Have you stalled the engine on a 963 before?
Once or twice, but thats because I wasnt running it at full throttle and I was dozing a large pile of dirt with the massive smooth bucket. I ride my Bobcats power band like a 2 stroke dirt bike. Keep the rpms high and dont let it bog down to much.
 
I've rented atleast 4 bobcats all my life, but I got tired of renting, so now I want to buy this bobcat 463 that has every single thing I want, but when I heard your story about how you tipped your bobcat 463 that you rented, it akind of got me thinking would if, or how many times would i tip my 463 that I might buy, which I might use to move mulch, dirt, soil, pallets, rip up average sized lawns, move stone and rocks, snowplow, and build small additions to my house/ small retaining walls, so I'm worried it might tip, which I REALLY don't want to happen, so I'm wondering is this the right sized bobcat for me or should I look at some 553's, s100's or 753's? any help or ideas will be accepted, thanks.
 
I've rented atleast 4 bobcats all my life, but I got tired of renting, so now I want to buy this bobcat 463 that has every single thing I want, but when I heard your story about how you tipped your bobcat 463 that you rented, it akind of got me thinking would if, or how many times would i tip my 463 that I might buy, which I might use to move mulch, dirt, soil, pallets, rip up average sized lawns, move stone and rocks, snowplow, and build small additions to my house/ small retaining walls, so I'm worried it might tip, which I REALLY don't want to happen, so I'm wondering is this the right sized bobcat for me or should I look at some 553's, s100's or 753's? any help or ideas will be accepted, thanks.
I have never flipped a 7 series sized machine. Tipping forward is a different story, but that was just due to a load that was too large. They would be a little more prone to side ways tipping as they are only about 1m wide vs about 1.5 on a larger machine. Any machine can tip, it depends on how careful you are and know what grade you are working on and not push it.
Generally side on while working on a hill is fine, depending on grade. Never lift the arms higher than needed as the higher you go, the more the centre of gravity moves down hill and you risk toppling over.
You will get a feeling for it pretty fast.
Pick your machine size for the work you want to do. I love my 7 series sized machines. They can lift around 1 tonne, maybe a tad more if you push it. Good power and access. I'd never go for a smaller machine for the work i do around the yard.
 
I have never flipped a 7 series sized machine. Tipping forward is a different story, but that was just due to a load that was too large. They would be a little more prone to side ways tipping as they are only about 1m wide vs about 1.5 on a larger machine. Any machine can tip, it depends on how careful you are and know what grade you are working on and not push it.
Generally side on while working on a hill is fine, depending on grade. Never lift the arms higher than needed as the higher you go, the more the centre of gravity moves down hill and you risk toppling over.
You will get a feeling for it pretty fast.
Pick your machine size for the work you want to do. I love my 7 series sized machines. They can lift around 1 tonne, maybe a tad more if you push it. Good power and access. I'd never go for a smaller machine for the work i do around the yard.
Yeah, but I can't have a bobcat thats more than 4 feet wide because the path way at the side of my house is only aobut 4 feet wide which is the only way to get into my back yard, I am also looking at this Bobcat s100 with 35hp, 4cylinders and 1000 pound lift capasity, Is this bobcat the right one or size for me? thanks.
 
Yeah, but I can't have a bobcat thats more than 4 feet wide because the path way at the side of my house is only aobut 4 feet wide which is the only way to get into my back yard, I am also looking at this Bobcat s100 with 35hp, 4cylinders and 1000 pound lift capasity, Is this bobcat the right one or size for me? thanks.
If its the largest you can get around back, it will have to do. I still think the price is a bit too high....
 
Old thread, but I'd advise anyone with one of these smaller machines (450, 453, 463, s70) to get the wider profile tires; brings the tires outside of the frame about 2" which GREATLY stabilizes the machine.
 
Really old thread 😆 On my 463 (wide tires) I half filled the tires with fluid like they do with farm tractors.

It's not a lot of weight but with it all down at ground level it really stabilizes the machine.

I can get the back end off the ground obviously but I've never felt like I was going to tip sideways. I suspect it helps with traction in the snow too.

Highly recommended on theses small machines.
 
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