My dilemma is that I bought a LX565 with a engine that had already been dismantled by the previous owner. After assessing the engine I've determined its not viable to repair. I'm in Australia and over here its almost impossible to find a N844 engine but I should be able to fit a Perkins diesel with only some slight adaption. However, it's going to cost at least $4000 for a used Perkins or over $6000 for a new Perkins. So far its cost me $3000 for the machine. Used skid steers seem to be a lot more expensive in Australia compared to elsewhere and generally your looking at $10000 upwards for anything that even works. My concern is that if I invest the extra money into the machine, how safe is it to assume the hydraulics/drives etc will not pack up on me? I only want to use the machine on my property so will only use it maybe 40 hours/year but when I powered up the control panel the hour meter showed 400 hours so I'm assuming it has been around the clock once and is really 10400 hours. As far as I know, the hydraulics were ok before the engine was taken out. How long would you expect the hydraulic pumps/drive motors to last on this type of machine? When they do give trouble, do they pack up suddenly or do they just gradually "wear out"?
