742b any good

[h-m]

hello, i just jumped down to our local dealer here to scope out a 742B with 1200 hrs on it and looks to be in good condition, cold up here and it was outside on there lot and we went out and cranked it for a few minutes and it took off no problem. question though, there was a nasty growling gear meshing (or something) from the sticks when the motor would catch and run, and it bogged the motor down i tried it with centering the sticks with my knees and warming the motor up, but as soon as i would let up on the sticks, the right one would seem like it catches and drop forward and -- growl -- or something like that and bog the motor down, anyone know what might be the issue? it is on a lot and i haven't taken it but if it isn't anythng too major to repair, i can maybe get a pretty good deal on it. how is that mitsubushi gas engine? good unit or problems? guess they put a new timeing belt on just a little while ago. thoughts please and other things to look for.... thank you guys very much, i really appreciate your help. micheal

 

[h-m]

the dealers skidsteer guy was just looking at it now, and said it was cause i had the park brake set when i was starting it. it has slight creep which i assume can be adjusted out..... right??? so i guess that means the park brake was holding, and it tried to creep and sounded like it was dogging it down. how about that mitsubushi motor,,, 1,200 hours ok yet? it looked good and started cold, without a lot of trouble.... what do you guys think of the mitsubushi motor? thansk much all. micheal

 

[Mikefromcny]

the dealers skidsteer guy was just looking at it now, and said it was cause i had the park brake set when i was starting it. it has slight creep which i assume can be adjusted out..... right??? so i guess that means the park brake was holding, and it tried to creep and sounded like it was dogging it down. how about that mitsubushi motor,,, 1,200 hours ok yet? it looked good and started cold, without a lot of trouble.... what do you guys think of the mitsubushi motor? thansk much all. micheal

I had a 743 with the kubota diesel, was an awesome machine. The creep thing is normal, mine did it. If you had the parking brake on and it was idling eventually the levers would move and the machine would stall itself. 1200 hours is very low on a machine that old. Make sure the hour meter is working, if not it could have much more. The hourmeter only runs when the engine is running and theyre wired in series with a pressure switch, sometimes the switch dies and the meter stops working. In theory 1500 hours is the life of a commercial gas engine. I've heard the mitsu engines share the same internals and a dodge omni/plymouth horizon econobox car. I personally dont like mitsubishi anything. I've never seen anything theyve made with an outrageous amount of hours on it. Seen lots of kubotas, yanmars, deutz, cummins etc. Hope this helps.

 

[Jimbob]

I had a 743 with the kubota diesel, was an awesome machine. The creep thing is normal, mine did it. If you had the parking brake on and it was idling eventually the levers would move and the machine would stall itself. 1200 hours is very low on a machine that old. Make sure the hour meter is working, if not it could have much more. The hourmeter only runs when the engine is running and theyre wired in series with a pressure switch, sometimes the switch dies and the meter stops working. In theory 1500 hours is the life of a commercial gas engine. I've heard the mitsu engines share the same internals and a dodge omni/plymouth horizon econobox car. I personally dont like mitsubishi anything. I've never seen anything theyve made with an outrageous amount of hours on it. Seen lots of kubotas, yanmars, deutz, cummins etc. Hope this helps.

The creep in the steering for that series of machine should be considered "normal",it didn't matter how many times you adjusted the steering because soon after it would be back again.It really is a very minor issue for such a great reliable machine.Personally i wouldn't touch a gas powered skid,if you can find a 743 with the kubota that would be a much better option as far as longevity and fuel economy is concerned.I put 10,000 hours on mine and never touched the engine,not even a set of glowplugs...Bulletproof!!

 

[mahans7]

The creep in the steering for that series of machine should be considered "normal",it didn't matter how many times you adjusted the steering because soon after it would be back again.It really is a very minor issue for such a great reliable machine.Personally i wouldn't touch a gas powered skid,if you can find a 743 with the kubota that would be a much better option as far as longevity and fuel economy is concerned.I put 10,000 hours on mine and never touched the engine,not even a set of glowplugs...Bulletproof!!

Early 80s omni/horizon mitsubishi engines had problems with burning oil with low mileage. I had a friend who bought one new omni in 1980 and within a year it was smoking from burning oil. Beware.

 

[h-m]

I had a 743 with the kubota diesel, was an awesome machine. The creep thing is normal, mine did it. If you had the parking brake on and it was idling eventually the levers would move and the machine would stall itself. 1200 hours is very low on a machine that old. Make sure the hour meter is working, if not it could have much more. The hourmeter only runs when the engine is running and theyre wired in series with a pressure switch, sometimes the switch dies and the meter stops working. In theory 1500 hours is the life of a commercial gas engine. I've heard the mitsu engines share the same internals and a dodge omni/plymouth horizon econobox car. I personally dont like mitsubishi anything. I've never seen anything theyve made with an outrageous amount of hours on it. Seen lots of kubotas, yanmars, deutz, cummins etc. Hope this helps.

thank you for the input on the Mits engine. the hours are right, i guess the original meter died at 1,200 hours and he replaced it right away with a used one that had 1,300 on it which is what it shows now, and he is sure it is correct at just about 1,200 hours on it. just put the timing belt on it, i guess that would be a good thing probably. it was on a farm used for around the farm stuff. local guy. thanks very much for the input on the levers. i appreciate it, thanks very much. micheal

 

[reaperman]

thank you for the input on the Mits engine. the hours are right, i guess the original meter died at 1,200 hours and he replaced it right away with a used one that had 1,300 on it which is what it shows now, and he is sure it is correct at just about 1,200 hours on it. just put the timing belt on it, i guess that would be a good thing probably. it was on a farm used for around the farm stuff. local guy. thanks very much for the input on the levers. i appreciate it, thanks very much. micheal

IF the handles wobble without the brake on, the u-joint may need a good greasing or is about to break. My old 642 handles wobbled for a while and I didnt put 2&2 together and the u-joint broke apart. The entire engine has to be pulled to replace it. And it is a bear to grease and impossible to see making neglecting it very easy.

 

[h-m]

the dealers skidsteer guy was just looking at it now, and said it was cause i had the park brake set when i was starting it. it has slight creep which i assume can be adjusted out..... right??? so i guess that means the park brake was holding, and it tried to creep and sounded like it was dogging it down. how about that mitsubushi motor,,, 1,200 hours ok yet? it looked good and started cold, without a lot of trouble.... what do you guys think of the mitsubushi motor? thansk much all. micheal

thank you guys all for the replys. i am going to go investigate it this afternoon. i will watch the engine very carefully to see what it looks and sounds and acts like. thansk very much. micheal

 

[HarryN]

thank you guys all for the replys. i am going to go investigate it this afternoon. i will watch the engine very carefully to see what it looks and sounds and acts like. thansk very much. micheal

I know this sounds disappointing, but from the comments so far, I'd pass on this one. There will be another one out there for you soon I'm sure.

 

[SkidRoe]

thank you guys all for the replys. i am going to go investigate it this afternoon. i will watch the engine very carefully to see what it looks and sounds and acts like. thansk very much. micheal

Before we throw the baby out with the bath water, there are a few things to consider:
1. The automotive version of these engines were in a higher state of tune, higher revving and producing quite a bit more horsepower.
2. I can't see the Mitsu engine being any worse than the Ford engine that the non-B series had.
3. In all of the posts that I have read over the years, very few seem to deal with problems with the Mitsu engines. It would be good to hear from some B series owners before rendering judgement.
Granted, a 742B will never be as desireable as a 743, if it is in good shape, well maintained, and is going for the right money, I would say it's worth a look.
FWIW

 

[reaperman]

Before we throw the baby out with the bath water, there are a few things to consider:
1. The automotive version of these engines were in a higher state of tune, higher revving and producing quite a bit more horsepower.
2. I can't see the Mitsu engine being any worse than the Ford engine that the non-B series had.
3. In all of the posts that I have read over the years, very few seem to deal with problems with the Mitsu engines. It would be good to hear from some B series owners before rendering judgement.
Granted, a 742B will never be as desireable as a 743, if it is in good shape, well maintained, and is going for the right money, I would say it's worth a look.
FWIW

I should add, I work with a farmer who has a 642b with possibly the same engine as the 742b and the current hours on that machine is over 5500. They bought the machine new years ago and have taken very good care of it and the hours reflect.

 

[Mikefromcny]

I should add, I work with a farmer who has a 642b with possibly the same engine as the 742b and the current hours on that machine is over 5500. They bought the machine new years ago and have taken very good care of it and the hours reflect.

I'm not saying by any means dont buy it, Thats my opinion of mitsys though. Hopefully its just for use around the house, gas machines, especially 4 cylinders, love gas. The big plus is parts are basically dirt cheap for the motor if you ever have to overhaul it. I seem to remember a guy on here getting everything through advance auto parts. I dont know what your dealer wants for it, or what skids bring in your area. Decent 743s bring $6k here. I would think 6k would be reasonable for the 742b if the hours are truly that low. Let us know what you decide, pics are always welcomed here!

 

[Zorack]

I'm not saying by any means dont buy it, Thats my opinion of mitsys though. Hopefully its just for use around the house, gas machines, especially 4 cylinders, love gas. The big plus is parts are basically dirt cheap for the motor if you ever have to overhaul it. I seem to remember a guy on here getting everything through advance auto parts. I dont know what your dealer wants for it, or what skids bring in your area. Decent 743s bring $6k here. I would think 6k would be reasonable for the 742b if the hours are truly that low. Let us know what you decide, pics are always welcomed here!

+1 for pics if you can...

 

[h-m]

+1 for pics if you can...

thanks very much for all the replies you guys, i went on Friday and drove it. it operates great and everything seems to be tight and seems good. it has creep but i guess that seems to be normal for these. it is very clean and seems to be well kept. dealer had it started at $9500, i offered $7200 it has 1,100 hours on it. motor starts good and sounds good, no smoke white or blue, sounds strong. no odd noises, started fine outside in 5 deg weather without being plugged in or ethered, tires are actually in pretty good shape also. i think i am going to give it a try. gotta be more reliable than my omc was. i will get some pictures up as soon as i can. I thank you all for your help! will let you know what i come up with. i tried searching for problems with this mits motor and didn't find much at all, other than maybe not lasting quite as long as a diesel, but looks to hopefully have a good bit of life left in it. I called our bobcat dealer in town and he raved about the mits motor in these units. said they are very good motor for this skidsteer and they are a pretty large bobcat dealer in our area and work on and sell quite a few units a year, so i kinda' trust them. it does look like parts if i have to rebuild this motor seems to be less than half what a kubota would be. thanks all. Micheal

 

[mrdeere1959]

thanks very much for all the replies you guys, i went on Friday and drove it. it operates great and everything seems to be tight and seems good. it has creep but i guess that seems to be normal for these. it is very clean and seems to be well kept. dealer had it started at $9500, i offered $7200 it has 1,100 hours on it. motor starts good and sounds good, no smoke white or blue, sounds strong. no odd noises, started fine outside in 5 deg weather without being plugged in or ethered, tires are actually in pretty good shape also. i think i am going to give it a try. gotta be more reliable than my omc was. i will get some pictures up as soon as i can. I thank you all for your help! will let you know what i come up with. i tried searching for problems with this mits motor and didn't find much at all, other than maybe not lasting quite as long as a diesel, but looks to hopefully have a good bit of life left in it. I called our bobcat dealer in town and he raved about the mits motor in these units. said they are very good motor for this skidsteer and they are a pretty large bobcat dealer in our area and work on and sell quite a few units a year, so i kinda' trust them. it does look like parts if i have to rebuild this motor seems to be less than half what a kubota would be. thanks all. Micheal

The creep is not normal, it needs to be adjusted. Get a service manual it not to hard. May need a few parts. It is well worth doing. easier to start and it will sit in one place with out taking off.

 

[h-m]

The creep is not normal, it needs to be adjusted. Get a service manual it not to hard. May need a few parts. It is well worth doing. easier to start and it will sit in one place with out taking off.

i am going to hopefully finalize deal tomorrow and get it home this week yet. i have already been looking at any parts that might be needed to take the creap out.. looks like might be some bushings on the levers that might be worn and such. i will see. thank you very much. i agree too that this might be something that needs to be checked into. thanks much, we will see. micheal

 

[HarryN]

i am going to hopefully finalize deal tomorrow and get it home this week yet. i have already been looking at any parts that might be needed to take the creap out.. looks like might be some bushings on the levers that might be worn and such. i will see. thank you very much. i agree too that this might be something that needs to be checked into. thanks much, we will see. micheal

If you are buying this from a "Dealer", why don't you get them to fix the creeping issue? Just one more problem solved before you get it home.

 

[mahans7]

If you are buying this from a "Dealer", why don't you get them to fix the creeping issue? Just one more problem solved before you get it home.

Or if they don't fix it have them reduce the price further.

 

[HarryN]

Or if they don't fix it have them reduce the price further.

Don't forget to post us some pictures when you get it home.....