Bobcat 732 labor hours for control valve assemby R&R?

[732_Guy]

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[732_Guy]

I finally found a shop to R&R the control valve assembly for about $1100 us dollars. The mechanic was nice but said it was a huge pain getting it out and the people he sent it to for overhaul screwed it up the first time they tried. So he had to put the stupid thing in there one time then pull it a second time for that reason. He was pretty tired of my machine but then. The worse part is the repair job was unsuccessful anyway. The problem was it would do a lot of random stuff on the boom control, going backwards not going etc. After that thousand dollar repair it was better but still not like it was before the control valves went out. I sold the machine for $6500 and yes I did advise the buyer what he was getting.

 

[Tazza]

I finally found a shop to R&R the control valve assembly for about $1100 us dollars. The mechanic was nice but said it was a huge pain getting it out and the people he sent it to for overhaul screwed it up the first time they tried. So he had to put the stupid thing in there one time then pull it a second time for that reason. He was pretty tired of my machine but then. The worse part is the repair job was unsuccessful anyway. The problem was it would do a lot of random stuff on the boom control, going backwards not going etc. After that thousand dollar repair it was better but still not like it was before the control valves went out. I sold the machine for $6500 and yes I did advise the buyer what he was getting.

Glad the issue is no longer your problem, still a pain that it was a failure.
The 732 control valves were not too complicated, they were a pain in the butt to remove, but they were made up of 3 or so segments bolted together, spart way of doing it so the valves were scalable, but parts availability is pretty much non existant.

 

[732_Guy]

I decided some time ago to sell off this machine. I sold it for $6,000 and took a minor loss on it. The spool valve assembly is the Achilles heel of 80/90s Bobcats. The valve is under a ton of stuff and if I had know about it I would not have bought it, because it is too hard getting it out and apparently it is also a bit tricky to rebuild right once you do. My shop took it out twice, said he sent it out to a hydraulic shop twice, they effed it up the first time. The mechanic was complaining about how he is losing money on this repair and how hard it is to get out. When I took the machine back and paid the bill, $1200, the boom would "still" get stuck in some positions. I would recommend people stay away from old Bobcats like this one and let them die a graceful death. I am not angry about mine since I learned a ton from it, but I would NOT do it again. No way. Too much trouble. Just my experience.

 

[Rezmotorcycle]

did you ever consider an auxiliary valve body located in an easier location? I did had a spool valve that leaked , and I bought a 26 gpm auxiliary and mounted it in a easy to reach location. I Had to replumb the hydraulic abviously

 

[732_Guy]

No but maybe that's an idea for someone who wants try it. As for my machine, I thought for sure the shop I took it to would figure it out and was really surprised when they failed on a simple component which really is not that complex. I suspect the issue was how fussy it is getting it in and out, not that they failed to try. Once the hydraulic shop they farmed out the rebuild to had goofed it up not only once but twice, I think they were scared I would abandon the machine and indeed it was a large bill ($1200 US, just labor). I think they said whoa, let's get this thing out of our shop and hope he pays. Obviously they had not the best ethics but I do think they tried. I've seen worse ethics among these shops as well. Unwillingness to work on old Bobcats was why I ended up there to begin with. Two local Bobcat dealers would not touch it. One even charged me $150 just to look at it and say nope, we can't work on it, too old. Another lied and said they are booked up when they were not.