873 bobcat whining when going forward and reverse

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Rick Smith

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Apr 12, 2025
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I am new to the bobcat world. My 873 is a 2001 and has several hours on it. I have owned it for three weeks and it started whining when I drive it. It is also making it lose power. What could be wrong with it?
 
is is loosing power at motor, or in hydraulic?
is the hydraulic fluid low?
are you running enough throttle to build correct amount of pressure to move things,
skid steers are pretty much designed to run full throttle, not low rpms and lugging to do things
you need higher rpms to build pressure to function all things, all the more so when under any load!
are there any LEAKS , leaks will cause loss of power as well


also, try and pin down where exactly the nose is coming from left side, right side, front or back
, try having a helper help you do this to, it makes it easier!
 
It is making the engine lose power and run rough. I have not seen any leaks, the chain case is full. If I let it sit for a half hour it runs okay for about an hour and goes back to growling. It does not matter which way I steer it. I have been running at least half throttle. Is there a filter for the final drive motors?
 
OK< thanks for more info, , the more info you give us, the better we can try to help you

first off the chain case, is oil for your drive chains(there is one case one each side)
this has nothing to do with your hydraulic system(unless they share the same fluid(not sure on your exact model< but most have separate fluids for chain case, and then a separate system for hydraulics)
you should have a hydraulic tank in your engine bay area that shows how much fluid is in it, , if LOW< it can/will cause issues!
thus why I asked if its full or not

next , if your hydraulic fluid is OLD< lots of hours on it, can sort of wear out and not be as good as it should be, , again could cause issues!

NOW< if your saying things run GOOD< for an hr or so, and then things start to go bad, make this noise
it could be, a motor issue, like low compression, as a motor gets hotter, it can lower compression, and if its already low, , it can then not be able to make enough compression to make proper power! , to power things(run hydraulics's
thus stalling or wanting to stall motor, and making hydraulics's not function properly, which can cause sounds like growling or squealing! as the pumps cannot make enough pressure to power things, when there isn;t enough RPMS going to make hydraulic pressures needed!
SO< I think what you again need to do first here is confirm that the hydraulic tank is FULL , at correct level, and pending on how many hours are on machine, and fluids, , it might be a good idea to replace fluids and filters, to also confirm none are dirty and or blocked!

there should be fuel ,motor oil and hydraulic filters,

I am also going to suggest to you to get yourself a service manual , this will tell you all about your machine , where everything is, and how to fix everything on it, there worth having
there are these days both hard copy physical paper copies of them, and they can be found online in PDF files., pending your age and like or dislike of modern things, , you get to pick what one to get,

used ones can sometimes be found on ebay, and like places that sell new and used items


if your not that well at repairing things, or have much experience with machines like this, you might also, want to ask around to your friends and family, and see if anyone there is, and can help you find your issue

as we online are not there to see, or hear things in person, so were all kinda guessing, which can help for sure, but nothing beats having someone there with machine that has some know how! to help you!
 
OK since I was typing when your last post, if your tank is full, at correct level

this sounds more to me like its an engine issue and I am guessing low compression
I'd suggest doing a compression test
,
I'd also be checking your motor oil and radiator for signs of coolant in motor oil and or oil in coolant!
 
It is an air cooled engine. It seems like the higher I run the RPMs the sooner it starts acting up. I will run the compression test and see if it has enough compression. It is using oil, about half a gallon per day. I do have a service manual and know where the hydraulic oil site glass is. It is full and looks good. The person I bought it from said he had replaced the hydraulic filter recently.
 
ok, is it burning oil, or loosing it some other way/
as if its burning thru a half gallon a day, you have serious engine issues, and that is most likely your problem!
higher RPMS mean faster heat builds, thus, why its loosing power as it gets hotter,
a gain a sign of low compression,, and with you loosing a half a gallon of oil a day, which is like 30% of the oil in your motor)
is again a major problem!
 
Last edited:
Well we figured it out. Someone who owned it before has put an inline fuel filter between the primer bulb and the filter head. I replaced it today and the machine runs very good. It must have been plugged up. It is leaking engine oil somewhere on the front of the engine, I have seen oil drip from the belly pan I will have to raise the cab to find the leak. Is there a common place I should look? Thank you for trying to help.
 
The 873 is not air cooled. It is oil cooled, engine crankcase oil. It also has a turbo. Bad turbos can eat lots of oil. The turbo is On the inboard side of the engine.
 
I know it does not have a radiator. It is not loosing very much oil. I was not checking it on very level ground. oops Now it is over full on oil. Not much though. The turbo is just fine. I am sure we have the problem resolved. I will know for sure when I grind the asphalt in my driveway this weekend.
 
Unless someone has replaced the stock engine with a full air cooled engine, your 873 should have a radiator above the engine. It will look a bit more like an overgrown oil cooler than a traditional radiator but it will have one, if not someone has removed it. The engine in this machine uses engine oil as coolant and the oil still needs to be cooled by airflow over a heat exchanger of some kind so that it can transfer heat away from the internals of the engine. There is a cooling fan located behind your cab that pulls air down through the cooler from above then blows it out the two louvered vents behind the cab, one on either side.
 
I am fully aware of the oil cooler. ( I'd also be checking your motor oil and radiator for signs of coolant in motor oil and or oil in coolant!) I was trying to express to the poster that there is no coolant for the oil to get into, the coolant is the oil!!!
 
I am fully aware of the oil cooler. ( I'd also be checking your motor oil and radiator for signs of coolant in motor oil and or oil in coolant!) I was trying to express to the poster that there is no coolant for the oil to get into, the coolant is the oil!!!
Ok gotcha, sorry I thought you were saying there was no cooler at all…
As for oil leaks, hopefully like you say hou have it solved but in case it rears its ugly head again, these engines were prone to head gasket problems. Most of the time they would leak into one or more of the cylinders and billow smoke but sometimes they would also leak externally…
 
It is possible the head gasket may be leaking a little. It is smoking, but not bad. The smoke smells more like fuel, like maybe the previous owner turned up the fuel pump. I know some truck drivers that sent their fuel pumps to the shop and had them turned up, spooled up I think is what they called it. By the way, I said I was new to the Bobcat world, but I worked in a shop removing and installing transmissions, brakes and rear ends in trucks in my younger days.
 
It is possible the head gasket may be leaking a little. It is smoking, but not bad. The smoke smells more like fuel, like maybe the previous owner turned up the fuel pump. I know some truck drivers that sent their fuel pumps to the shop and had them turned up, spooled up I think is what they called it. By the way, I said I was new to the Bobcat world, but I worked in a shop removing and installing transmissions, brakes and rear ends in trucks in my younger days.
What color is the smoke?
 
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