How can I tell if my engine is new?

[Mike53566]

I recently bought a 1998 bobcat 751F. The ad said it had 3500 hours. The seller was an older Mexican guy who didn’t speak very good English. He said he bought it less than a year ago for snow removal, but it didn’t work for him. He said it had over 3500 hours. The hour meter said 357.2. The kubota v1903E engine looks new. It’s not repainted. How could I tell if the engine and hour meter were replaced. Does the engine have a serial number that would relate to a year? Was the 1903 available in 1998 or was it just the 1702 then? Any input is appreciated.

 

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i would take the serial number of the machine to bobcat and they should be able to tell you everything about the machine when it came out of the factory. im pretty sure the 751 had Peugeot engine.