I am going to be purchasing an old skid steer to use around the farm, basically maintaining a driveway, spreading rock, etc. I found a guy that has a bobcat 731 and a case 1740, he says both are 30 hp diesel and appear to be in about the same overall condition. He has case priced at 4850.00 and the bobcat at 4750.00 I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts as to whick one might be the better machine, or one that might have advantages over the other one. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Scott
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Well, i can only give you information of the 731 as i have one.
I bought mine about 3 years ago, i have done so much work with it over the years, it has never let me down.
The good and the bad.
The good: You can still get parts for these easily from Bobcat, Engine starting is a breeze, Uses very little fuel, Easy to maintain, the hydrostatics are basically bullet proof.
The only bad thing i can say is it has an air cooled deutz engine, it is quite loud and vibrates a bit.
With that said, the engine is VERY reliable, its just noisy.
As for the fact it has a 30 hp engine, the 30 hp is more than enough. I have never stalled mine, just run it at almost max throttle and you will be fine.
A few tips if you get the 731, for cold starting push the throttle forward about 1/4, go to the engine bay and push the button on the injector pump (this is for excess fuel). You will hear a click, jump in and turn the key. It will start very quickly and blow a bit of smoke. You only need this when its cold outside, when its warm it will start right up.
There is also a *hidden* bronze filter on these machines and if you get it, let me know and i will explain where it is located. Chances are it has never been replaced. When it gets blocked the machine squeels when you try and turn and causes a lack of drive power.
Personally i would go the bobcat, just because of the service support that is provided. If you ever have a problem you simply talk to the service section of bobcat and they will give you information without a second thought. They are happy for you to do your own repairs and they will tell you what you need to do.
From what i was told about case, they hold all their information very close to home. They don't want you to do any repairs your self. I don't know if this is true, its just what someone told me that owned a case machine.
Good luck on your purchase, either way you will be thrilled with owning a skid steer, they save alot of work!
I bought mine about 3 years ago, i have done so much work with it over the years, it has never let me down.
The good and the bad.
The good: You can still get parts for these easily from Bobcat, Engine starting is a breeze, Uses very little fuel, Easy to maintain, the hydrostatics are basically bullet proof.
The only bad thing i can say is it has an air cooled deutz engine, it is quite loud and vibrates a bit.
With that said, the engine is VERY reliable, its just noisy.
As for the fact it has a 30 hp engine, the 30 hp is more than enough. I have never stalled mine, just run it at almost max throttle and you will be fine.
A few tips if you get the 731, for cold starting push the throttle forward about 1/4, go to the engine bay and push the button on the injector pump (this is for excess fuel). You will hear a click, jump in and turn the key. It will start very quickly and blow a bit of smoke. You only need this when its cold outside, when its warm it will start right up.
There is also a *hidden* bronze filter on these machines and if you get it, let me know and i will explain where it is located. Chances are it has never been replaced. When it gets blocked the machine squeels when you try and turn and causes a lack of drive power.
Personally i would go the bobcat, just because of the service support that is provided. If you ever have a problem you simply talk to the service section of bobcat and they will give you information without a second thought. They are happy for you to do your own repairs and they will tell you what you need to do.
From what i was told about case, they hold all their information very close to home. They don't want you to do any repairs your self. I don't know if this is true, its just what someone told me that owned a case machine.
Good luck on your purchase, either way you will be thrilled with owning a skid steer, they save alot of work!
Thanks for the info. Good Customer support means a lot. ScottWell, i can only give you information of the 731 as i have one.
I bought mine about 3 years ago, i have done so much work with it over the years, it has never let me down.
The good and the bad.
The good: You can still get parts for these easily from Bobcat, Engine starting is a breeze, Uses very little fuel, Easy to maintain, the hydrostatics are basically bullet proof.
The only bad thing i can say is it has an air cooled deutz engine, it is quite loud and vibrates a bit.
With that said, the engine is VERY reliable, its just noisy.
As for the fact it has a 30 hp engine, the 30 hp is more than enough. I have never stalled mine, just run it at almost max throttle and you will be fine.
A few tips if you get the 731, for cold starting push the throttle forward about 1/4, go to the engine bay and push the button on the injector pump (this is for excess fuel). You will hear a click, jump in and turn the key. It will start very quickly and blow a bit of smoke. You only need this when its cold outside, when its warm it will start right up.
There is also a *hidden* bronze filter on these machines and if you get it, let me know and i will explain where it is located. Chances are it has never been replaced. When it gets blocked the machine squeels when you try and turn and causes a lack of drive power.
Personally i would go the bobcat, just because of the service support that is provided. If you ever have a problem you simply talk to the service section of bobcat and they will give you information without a second thought. They are happy for you to do your own repairs and they will tell you what you need to do.
From what i was told about case, they hold all their information very close to home. They don't want you to do any repairs your self. I don't know if this is true, its just what someone told me that owned a case machine.
Good luck on your purchase, either way you will be thrilled with owning a skid steer, they save alot of work!
Hi, I hope you get this it is posted later. I have a 731 that is making a belt squeal and has no power on full throttle and stalls. This all happened after the fuel got ran much lower than i normally let it. Where is this filter? I want to check mine as I can not figure what the problem is at this point. I have replaced the inline and canister filters but no difference so far. I have bled everything and it is as it was before takes full throttle to start squeals like mad and has no power plus smokes black too. Maybe it is this filter. I have the manuals if you want to reference a page ? Thanks, Brian Elk GroveWell, i can only give you information of the 731 as i have one.
I bought mine about 3 years ago, i have done so much work with it over the years, it has never let me down.
The good and the bad.
The good: You can still get parts for these easily from Bobcat, Engine starting is a breeze, Uses very little fuel, Easy to maintain, the hydrostatics are basically bullet proof.
The only bad thing i can say is it has an air cooled deutz engine, it is quite loud and vibrates a bit.
With that said, the engine is VERY reliable, its just noisy.
As for the fact it has a 30 hp engine, the 30 hp is more than enough. I have never stalled mine, just run it at almost max throttle and you will be fine.
A few tips if you get the 731, for cold starting push the throttle forward about 1/4, go to the engine bay and push the button on the injector pump (this is for excess fuel). You will hear a click, jump in and turn the key. It will start very quickly and blow a bit of smoke. You only need this when its cold outside, when its warm it will start right up.
There is also a *hidden* bronze filter on these machines and if you get it, let me know and i will explain where it is located. Chances are it has never been replaced. When it gets blocked the machine squeels when you try and turn and causes a lack of drive power.
Personally i would go the bobcat, just because of the service support that is provided. If you ever have a problem you simply talk to the service section of bobcat and they will give you information without a second thought. They are happy for you to do your own repairs and they will tell you what you need to do.
From what i was told about case, they hold all their information very close to home. They don't want you to do any repairs your self. I don't know if this is true, its just what someone told me that owned a case machine.
Good luck on your purchase, either way you will be thrilled with owning a skid steer, they save alot of work!
Ok, is the noise JUST engine or are you referring to the drive?Hi, I hope you get this it is posted later. I have a 731 that is making a belt squeal and has no power on full throttle and stalls. This all happened after the fuel got ran much lower than i normally let it. Where is this filter? I want to check mine as I can not figure what the problem is at this point. I have replaced the inline and canister filters but no difference so far. I have bled everything and it is as it was before takes full throttle to start squeals like mad and has no power plus smokes black too. Maybe it is this filter. I have the manuals if you want to reference a page ? Thanks, Brian Elk Grove
Did you check the air filter too? this can cause excessive smoke.
Black smoke = over fueling. These engines have an excess fuel button on the injector pump. This is gold for starting the engine when its cold outside. Does the button pop up once the engine has started? Give it a bit of throttle, push the button and it should click an stay down until the engine starts.
As for the squeal from the hydrostatics, remove the seat. See the square block on the hydraulic pump with the big nut on it? the left hand side there are 3 hoses going into it. You will have to remove the front hose to gain access to the center one. Remove the hose and then remove the fitting that screws into the block. Behind here is a bronze filter and spring, give it a good clean with diesel or kero to clean it out and blow down with compressed air. You could always buy a new filter, but i found cleaning worked well.
Replace the filter, spring and O ring, re-attach the hoses and hopefully that will cure the squeal and lack of power, if not you may need a new filter.
Once you re-primed the engine it should be back to how it was, it may have a small amount of air in the system but that would purge pretty fast, the engine would just stall.
See how you go, let me know if it doesn't work out. The 731 is a fine machine, its noisy but it will last and last.
