Old M610 Opinions

[shoprat]

Hi All, I have an opportunity to pick up older M610 with a 4 cylinder Wisconsin. No hour meter and honestly not the prettiest machine. I'm very capable with repairing things, but am wondering how much I could potentailly end up dumping into it to get it to what I would call "usable". It has leaks in the usually places, tilt cylinders, axles, and the clutches are oily which is part of why it doesn't operate well. The guy wants $1800 for it. It has newer rubber and I don't see any weld repairs. I guess my question is will a $1000 go a long way at going through the driveline on one of these machines? To me it would be worth it if I could have a good running little yard machine for about $3000. Any help would be apreciated. Dale

 

[Tazza]

I honestly wouldn't pay that much, you can get a newer hydrostatic machine for not a lot more than that. It has more torque and more control than a 610 ever would. With hydrostatic drive, you can move slowly and still have mamimum torque, the 610 uses clutches, so power is wasted at slower speeds. There are fewer moving parts that need adjustment, keep the oil clean and the hydrostatics should last 10,000+ hours.
Parts are not easily available for the 610, what are available are priced as such. Your $1,000 in repairs could get there really fast! All parts for 743s are still available, most are even available after market.
I'd seriously consider a 743, look around and see what they are going for.

 

[sledesigns]

I honestly wouldn't pay that much, you can get a newer hydrostatic machine for not a lot more than that. It has more torque and more control than a 610 ever would. With hydrostatic drive, you can move slowly and still have mamimum torque, the 610 uses clutches, so power is wasted at slower speeds. There are fewer moving parts that need adjustment, keep the oil clean and the hydrostatics should last 10,000+ hours.
Parts are not easily available for the 610, what are available are priced as such. Your $1,000 in repairs could get there really fast! All parts for 743s are still available, most are even available after market.
I'd seriously consider a 743, look around and see what they are going for.

I was in the $3k skidsteer market and picked up a M600. It was well cared for and everything worked. That is a plus. Any dealer only parts will be expensive. If you have a bit of fab experience it will save some dough. It'll still work fine with leaky hydraulics, can be fixed later. The variable speed pulleys work, or you could be spending your $1000 bill right there & doing some looking for parts. The M500, M600, M610's are the easiest skid steers to work on and figure out. Hydrostats are smoother but you can finesse a mechanical machine to do everything but balance an egg. The clutch packs are used like motorcycles, slide them when you want to creep.
I read up on adjusting the clutches but never had to so can't say 100% but believe they should be oily as they're inside the dual hydraulic fluid / chain case reservoirs. $1800 is plenty if all is not well. $2k should fetch a working one, maybe loose and things to spiff up in the future. $3k area should be turn key, do maintenance and have fun. $4500 should be pretty well restored, run it 40hr weeks reliably. Over that $ mark you're into hydrostats. The original M series are Great to learn on (& use).
Sticking with a Bobcat brand, parts are at least available, can't beat that. Good Luck -Scott

 

[hilljacknm]

I was in the $3k skidsteer market and picked up a M600. It was well cared for and everything worked. That is a plus. Any dealer only parts will be expensive. If you have a bit of fab experience it will save some dough. It'll still work fine with leaky hydraulics, can be fixed later. The variable speed pulleys work, or you could be spending your $1000 bill right there & doing some looking for parts. The M500, M600, M610's are the easiest skid steers to work on and figure out. Hydrostats are smoother but you can finesse a mechanical machine to do everything but balance an egg. The clutch packs are used like motorcycles, slide them when you want to creep.
I read up on adjusting the clutches but never had to so can't say 100% but believe they should be oily as they're inside the dual hydraulic fluid / chain case reservoirs. $1800 is plenty if all is not well. $2k should fetch a working one, maybe loose and things to spiff up in the future. $3k area should be turn key, do maintenance and have fun. $4500 should be pretty well restored, run it 40hr weeks reliably. Over that $ mark you're into hydrostats. The original M series are Great to learn on (& use).
Sticking with a Bobcat brand, parts are at least available, can't beat that. Good Luck -Scott

Picked up a 610 last year. It needed some work, but has been a real good machine since. Payed a good bit more than $1800 for it. Not much around here for less than $5000 . If you are mechanically inclined you should be able to fix it up . Manuals are available and are a big help. Engines are $$$$ for these things. As was mentioned, clutches are supposed to be wet. They may just need to be adjusted. The sticks should move 3 - 4 inches front/back from neutral. More than that, give 'em a tweak. I'm using mine for moving a lot of sand/dirt. Yep, its slower and not as strong as the newer machines, but I'm not in a hurry.

 

[shoprat]

Picked up a 610 last year. It needed some work, but has been a real good machine since. Payed a good bit more than $1800 for it. Not much around here for less than $5000 . If you are mechanically inclined you should be able to fix it up . Manuals are available and are a big help. Engines are $$$$ for these things. As was mentioned, clutches are supposed to be wet. They may just need to be adjusted. The sticks should move 3 - 4 inches front/back from neutral. More than that, give 'em a tweak. I'm using mine for moving a lot of sand/dirt. Yep, its slower and not as strong as the newer machines, but I'm not in a hurry.

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I pulled the trigger on it today. I'm going to give it a try and see if I can get this into a decent runner for minimal money. If not I don't think I will loose out much since it has new rubber. It runs kind of poorly but I'm hoping a good carb cleaning and ignition work over will take care of it. Once I figured out to push the left lever forward it moved along and steered pretty well, just not running good enough to get a feel for how much power it really has. Ordered a manual today also. I'm sure I'll be posting a few questions in the next coming weeks. Dale