Just bought my first machine a 1992 Clark 732, running on propane. Starts/Drives/Dumps. Well at least it did until this morning when I went to load it on a friend's trailer. I think it didnt' like the cold. The control sticks were not responding properly, had to push the left stick forward to and the right stick back a little to keep it steady. He ended up putting it on the trailer for me. I know the steering bushing on the left stick is worn out, but I'm hoping it's issues this morning were just due to cold fluid(it was 24 last night and 50 when being loaded) and not something else like I was trying to run it with low fluid or even worse water in the fluid and it was partially frozen. It's on it's way to the dealer for an inspection, cleaning and flow test. About $250 for that plus $45 each way for delivery(I don't have a trailer yet) I know it has a few leaks here and there. I'm wanting the dealer to do an inspection on it so I can get it to where I'm comfortable with it staying in place(steering busing) and idling properly(previous owner replaced the governor/throttle spring with one that is too stiff) I have a budget of $2000-$2500 for repairs to where I'm still comfortable with my investment and can make most of it back when I go to sell it later on in 2021. It sounds generous when I say it, but I know it can get eaten up quickly. Anyhow, just wanted to introduce myself and see if my repairs budget is totally out of whack for a machine that runs/drives/dumps.
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Looking forward to hearing what the dealer says, on older machines, you will need to choose what to get fixed, you will have wear everywhere and to fix it all will add up to a silly amount.
If you are capable of spinning a wrench, you can do a lot of it your self and not everything needs to come from the dealer.
If you are capable of spinning a wrench, you can do a lot of it your self and not everything needs to come from the dealer.
thx and same here. I'm pretty good with a wrench, but just getting it in for an overall "hey here's what you need" is a good start for me. Damn thing wouldn't start to get it off the trailer. I won't even describe how we did it but we did it. I think the points were wet. Started fine a week ago before the cold and rain set in. Left side drive motor is WAY out of adjustment.
Not a silly way to do it, the dealer will list all the things tht need attention.
Steering adjustments are fairly easy, so that is not a big deal, sorting the motor out is. SOme people have changed the distributor to one that doesn't have points. Hopefully they are just dirty for a simple job to get it running again.
Things I know for sure it needs: 1: steering bushing on the right stick 2: throttle spring on the governor 3: AUX hoses hooked up and run to the front of the machine Also, shouldn't there be a sight glass on the hydro fluid tank so you can see the level? mine seems to be missing that.
Is the "1992" in your title a typo? I thought the 732 was out of production by then.
not a typo - but that is what I was told. Is there a way to decode the serial number to tell? Mine is 5000M13193.
The early versions didn't have a sight glass, my old 731 (deutz diesel) had two valves on the side of the reserve tank. The lower one is your lower limit, the top one is the fill point.
My udnertanding was to fill till oil comes oil of the top one.
yep mine has those. Of course the bottom one is the only one that has a valve on it. And it scares me that I opened it the other day and nothing came out....means I was LOW!
The dealer should be able to tell you when your machine was made from the serial number- I think the 732 was introduced in 1978 and lasted to 1981 or so.
If you open it and nothing comes out, top it off a bit. Mine started to spin on me, i managed to fix them by soldering the wingnut part to the valve stem. You may be able to modify it to work the same.
oh yeah the seller was WAY off - dealer just confirmed that's a 1980 model machine. It's older than me!!!
I didn't pick up on that, the 73x was made up till about 1980, so it must have been one of the last they made, the 74x series was from the 80s i believe.
guy at the dealer told me the 732 was made from 78-82. again, I'm just going by what they say. no word so far from them - if I don't hear by friday I'll call.
Talked to the dealer service dept on Thursday - no update. They haven't even gotten it in yet. Said they're waiting on one of their techs who is more familiar with that model to get freed up. (not sure I believe that but ok) next 2 weeks being short holiday weeks I don't have much faith I'll hear from them before the new year but fingers crossed.
Well I finally got the machine back from the dealer. They basically refused to work on it. They didn't say it directly, but when they kept repeating "It's not worth the money" and "we may not be able to get parts" I read between the lines. I've got it home now and in the garage and up on jack stands with the wheels off. First order of business is getting this steering worked out to where it won't creep on startup/idle and also getting it back to center. There are some bushings that need replacing. Second order of business is replacing the axle seals and bearings. I'm going to open the chain case this weekend and see how it all looks in there, I think there is water inside. I have a maintenance manual coming this weekend I bought from someone so that should help things. I've also got a ton of scrap metal laying around, so I am designing a lift for the seat plate. I'm sick and tired of having to lift that off to get to things because this model doesn't have the flip up cab.
My advice- avoid that dealer in the future if at all possible. If they didn't want to work on it, they should have said so up front.
I second the advise of essentially telling your dealer to get stuffed. If they can't get parts, no one can. They are made up mostly generic parts, so parts are still available.
How far are you hoping to go on this machine? just opening the chain case is one thing, if you plan on doing the bearings and seals, you may want to consider dropping the chanicase and working with it out of the machine, you can lift it up by the end to make it easier.
If you plan on going that way, look up my profile and email me so i can give more details, i don't get on the forum as often as i'd like
I'm going to open the chain case tonight and take a peek. I'm guessing it is full of crud like every other crease of this machine. Probably water too. If it's bad I'll drop the chain case and do the axle seals, bearings, races and chains that way. If I drop the chain case does it require supporting the pumps with a hoist or something? I'm assuming they are just sitting on top of the chain case with no external support. If that's the case I have a 2 ton portable lift I can use to support it. I'll definetly look you up also!I second the advise of essentially telling your dealer to get stuffed. If they can't get parts, no one can. They are made up mostly generic parts, so parts are still available.
How far are you hoping to go on this machine? just opening the chain case is one thing, if you plan on doing the bearings and seals, you may want to consider dropping the chanicase and working with it out of the machine, you can lift it up by the end to make it easier.
If you plan on going that way, look up my profile and email me so i can give more details, i don't get on the forum as often as i'd like