How many hours do you have?

[remendab]

I have a 743 mid 80's I believe with 9355 hours on it now. It still runs great, it has it's problems but it still gets the job done, sun or snow. Who can beat that number of hours - Who runs a skid stee with the most hours on it? Friendly competition, I;d like to know how long I can expect this kubota to keep on ticking. Regards, Brant

 

[Tazza]

The problem with the older style machines is the hour meter can keep ticking along if you don't turn the key off. They use the pull cable shut off s if you forget it can keep ticking away. They do have a charge pressure switch that turns it off, but some owners when things don't work right wire the hour meter up directally so when the key is on, the hour meter is too. I have done this myself due to wiring issues.
As a general rule, a Kubota will do 5-6,000 hours before it will want a tidy up. If it still starts and runs well, don't worry about it. If its for personal use, even a high hour engine will do its job. It may be a pig to start in the cold, but when its running and doesn't pour out smoke it will serve you well. I had a machine with about 6,500 hours. It had burnt out glow plugs because of lower compression, but when it started (after installing new plugs) it worked all day. Fired right up when warm, no massive amounts of smoke when under load.
Hours are only ever a guide. Thats why when people sell them they say X hours showing. This does not mean they are genuine hours though. Even newer machines you can't be 100% sure they are genuine hours. If you blow up a computer and replace it with one from a lower hour machine it will show the lower number but has done more.
What issues does your machine have?

 

[skidsteer.ca]

The problem with the older style machines is the hour meter can keep ticking along if you don't turn the key off. They use the pull cable shut off s if you forget it can keep ticking away. They do have a charge pressure switch that turns it off, but some owners when things don't work right wire the hour meter up directally so when the key is on, the hour meter is too. I have done this myself due to wiring issues.
As a general rule, a Kubota will do 5-6,000 hours before it will want a tidy up. If it still starts and runs well, don't worry about it. If its for personal use, even a high hour engine will do its job. It may be a pig to start in the cold, but when its running and doesn't pour out smoke it will serve you well. I had a machine with about 6,500 hours. It had burnt out glow plugs because of lower compression, but when it started (after installing new plugs) it worked all day. Fired right up when warm, no massive amounts of smoke when under load.
Hours are only ever a guide. Thats why when people sell them they say X hours showing. This does not mean they are genuine hours though. Even newer machines you can't be 100% sure they are genuine hours. If you blow up a computer and replace it with one from a lower hour machine it will show the lower number but has done more.
What issues does your machine have?

"What issues does your machine have?"
Yeah, give us something to fix! LOL
Ken

 

[Tazza]

"What issues does your machine have?"
Yeah, give us something to fix! LOL
Ken

hehe and i thought i was being subtle

 

[sledesigns]

hehe and i thought i was being subtle

"Older machines with hour meters ticking along" I wish, those are new machines to me. My ol' M600....(the 743's can call him "Daddy") was pre-hour meter. I think there was a sun-dial option. And contrary to popular belief, the current term "roll cage" wasn't an OSHA safety idea for Roll Over Protection or ROPS. It was originally developed, on the M600's, and called a D-SOUP. The dinosaurs, being cold blooded would often times sit on warm skid steers to help raise their body temperatures. If an operator couldn't get away quickly enough, well, those were the first claims filed with early workers comp. So they chiseled out the first stages of something resembling a cab called "D-SOUP" aka "Dinosaur-Set-On-U-Protection" Through the ages the D-SOUP has evolved into a roll cage and now what we commonly refer to as the cab. So, the next time you flick on the cab A/C, remember the ones running the early Bobcats that were sat on by dinosaurs to give you this luxury.
And, my other machine only has a couple thousand hours on it. Zero in the last 6 months, so I better get back to priming the wheels. -Scott

 

[Tazza]

"Older machines with hour meters ticking along" I wish, those are new machines to me. My ol' M600....(the 743's can call him "Daddy") was pre-hour meter. I think there was a sun-dial option. And contrary to popular belief, the current term "roll cage" wasn't an OSHA safety idea for Roll Over Protection or ROPS. It was originally developed, on the M600's, and called a D-SOUP. The dinosaurs, being cold blooded would often times sit on warm skid steers to help raise their body temperatures. If an operator couldn't get away quickly enough, well, those were the first claims filed with early workers comp. So they chiseled out the first stages of something resembling a cab called "D-SOUP" aka "Dinosaur-Set-On-U-Protection" Through the ages the D-SOUP has evolved into a roll cage and now what we commonly refer to as the cab. So, the next time you flick on the cab A/C, remember the ones running the early Bobcats that were sat on by dinosaurs to give you this luxury.
And, my other machine only has a couple thousand hours on it. Zero in the last 6 months, so I better get back to priming the wheels. -Scott

HEHE i like d-soup