Thinking about buying a bobcat - what to look out for?

[DigitalFusion]

I am sure this gets asked a lot, but my searches were fruitless. I am thinking about buying an older used Bobcat, and want to know what to look out for? There is one in particular I am pretty interested in, a 1980 731. However, the hours are “unknown” as the hour meter was changed before the current owner purchased it. Seems a lil fishy. Other than that it appears to be in good shape, altho I have yet to go see it in person. Is there a good checklist of sorts to go through when buying these older used machines? Is there any good site to find the specs on these older machines?

 

[mllud]

This Thread has a lot of good input. ....... Re: looking to buy first SS need opinions

 

[DigitalFusion]

This Thread has a lot of good input. ....... Re: looking to buy first SS need opinions

thanks for the link.. I am going to look at one on saturday. Its the one I was talking about above.
1980 Bobcat 731, 60” dirt bucket, cutting blade on the bucket isnt the sharpest, Tires are about 30-40%, unknown hours. The guy claims (like every seller) that it runs excellent and always fires right up, even in the cold of winter. He says he bought it this spring and now wants to go with something bigger.

Upon some research, I found he first had it for sale for 5000, then he dropped it down to 4000 a week later, and a week after that he dropped to 3900. I would like to walk away from the deal for 3500. What do you guys/gals think? Is it worth buying a machine with an unknown amount of hours and basically shot tires for this price? There is no “blue book” for these machines (is there?) so I really dont know what is a good deal and what isnt. I havent been in the market for a machine for very long, and in the month or so that I have, I havent seen anything in the sub 8000.00 price range, save a few of teh 500 series machines whihc I am not interested in.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

thanks for the link.. I am going to look at one on saturday. Its the one I was talking about above.
1980 Bobcat 731, 60” dirt bucket, cutting blade on the bucket isnt the sharpest, Tires are about 30-40%, unknown hours. The guy claims (like every seller) that it runs excellent and always fires right up, even in the cold of winter. He says he bought it this spring and now wants to go with something bigger.

Upon some research, I found he first had it for sale for 5000, then he dropped it down to 4000 a week later, and a week after that he dropped to 3900. I would like to walk away from the deal for 3500. What do you guys/gals think? Is it worth buying a machine with an unknown amount of hours and basically shot tires for this price? There is no “blue book” for these machines (is there?) so I really dont know what is a good deal and what isnt. I havent been in the market for a machine for very long, and in the month or so that I have, I havent seen anything in the sub 8000.00 price range, save a few of teh 500 series machines whihc I am not interested in.

Is this gas or diesel?
Feel the block to be sure its stone cold before your start. If he warmed it up because your coming over thats a clue. Tell him you want it cold
See how loose the bucket and tilt cylider pins are. After you test drive it and warm it up lift he bucket into the air and let it sit for 15 minute and see if it slowly drop. look for leaks underneath, fuel, antifreez and mainly engine and hydraulic oil.
Does it drive straight at full speed, forward and reverse and does it stop when you let go of the handles
Does it have aux hydaulics and do you need them (for resale it help make the machine versatile) does the bucket unhook from the QA easy, does it fit tight, is it welded on or the lock handles frozen?
Does the engine have blow by (remove oil filler and see how much air comes out while running at a idle or look for the crankase vent hose. The blowby should hopefully be minimal and even not a puff, puff of air that would indicate one cylinder with excessive air leaking past the piston rings. He seems farely motivated to sell, if it is in good shape it not a unresonalbe price
Ken

 

[perry]

thanks for the link.. I am going to look at one on saturday. Its the one I was talking about above.
1980 Bobcat 731, 60” dirt bucket, cutting blade on the bucket isnt the sharpest, Tires are about 30-40%, unknown hours. The guy claims (like every seller) that it runs excellent and always fires right up, even in the cold of winter. He says he bought it this spring and now wants to go with something bigger.

Upon some research, I found he first had it for sale for 5000, then he dropped it down to 4000 a week later, and a week after that he dropped to 3900. I would like to walk away from the deal for 3500. What do you guys/gals think? Is it worth buying a machine with an unknown amount of hours and basically shot tires for this price? There is no “blue book” for these machines (is there?) so I really dont know what is a good deal and what isnt. I havent been in the market for a machine for very long, and in the month or so that I have, I havent seen anything in the sub 8000.00 price range, save a few of teh 500 series machines whihc I am not interested in.

Check when richie brothers will have an auction in your area, or close. I went to the Atlanta auction and they had 65 skid steers, there were some low hours and really clean machines that sold a lot cheaper than I thought they would. If I needed one, I would have bought the 763 with about 1800 hrs. it went for $6500.

 

[Bobpuddy]

thanks for the link.. I am going to look at one on saturday. Its the one I was talking about above.
1980 Bobcat 731, 60” dirt bucket, cutting blade on the bucket isnt the sharpest, Tires are about 30-40%, unknown hours. The guy claims (like every seller) that it runs excellent and always fires right up, even in the cold of winter. He says he bought it this spring and now wants to go with something bigger.

Upon some research, I found he first had it for sale for 5000, then he dropped it down to 4000 a week later, and a week after that he dropped to 3900. I would like to walk away from the deal for 3500. What do you guys/gals think? Is it worth buying a machine with an unknown amount of hours and basically shot tires for this price? There is no “blue book” for these machines (is there?) so I really dont know what is a good deal and what isnt. I havent been in the market for a machine for very long, and in the month or so that I have, I havent seen anything in the sub 8000.00 price range, save a few of teh 500 series machines whihc I am not interested in.

These are a few things I have learned to watch out for. I always look under the skidsteer for leaks and at the inside of the rims for oil. Indicates a leaking axle seal which I understand is a real pain to fix. Also apply the brake and see if it holds by trying to drive forward. If it is a creeper or when it becomes one, atleast it would stay put when running with the brake on. Look for small cracks around the front crossmember of the lift arms too.

 

[DigitalFusion]

These are a few things I have learned to watch out for. I always look under the skidsteer for leaks and at the inside of the rims for oil. Indicates a leaking axle seal which I understand is a real pain to fix. Also apply the brake and see if it holds by trying to drive forward. If it is a creeper or when it becomes one, atleast it would stay put when running with the brake on. Look for small cracks around the front crossmember of the lift arms too.

its a detuze diesel engine.
Those are all great suggestions. How much are those pins if they are worn, and how hard are they to replace for a mechanically inclinded person? I m not sure if it has auxillary hydraulics or not. I know they are very nice to have when you need them, and it would definately help when it comes time to sell, but it is not a complete deal breaker for me. I am buying this for snow plowing my driveway (perhaps a few of the neighbors for a small fee), and dirtwork. A plow, a leveler/grade bar, and some forks are all I can really foresee needed or using at this point... Great, now by saying that outloud I have ginxed myself havent I !?!
From what I have been able to find, these older 731's are air cooled two cylinder diesels, that while vibrate a lot, are actually very dependable, long lasting engines. The air cooling kinda bums me out as I would like to add cab heat if I am going to be doing any considerable amount of plowing, but I guess I can either bundle up more, or look into other options for heat? How is the temp read for the guage on these air cooled engine, or is there just not a guage?

 

[Tazza]

its a detuze diesel engine.
Those are all great suggestions. How much are those pins if they are worn, and how hard are they to replace for a mechanically inclinded person? I m not sure if it has auxillary hydraulics or not. I know they are very nice to have when you need them, and it would definately help when it comes time to sell, but it is not a complete deal breaker for me. I am buying this for snow plowing my driveway (perhaps a few of the neighbors for a small fee), and dirtwork. A plow, a leveler/grade bar, and some forks are all I can really foresee needed or using at this point... Great, now by saying that outloud I have ginxed myself havent I !?!
From what I have been able to find, these older 731's are air cooled two cylinder diesels, that while vibrate a lot, are actually very dependable, long lasting engines. The air cooling kinda bums me out as I would like to add cab heat if I am going to be doing any considerable amount of plowing, but I guess I can either bundle up more, or look into other options for heat? How is the temp read for the guage on these air cooled engine, or is there just not a guage?

I owned one, it was an EXCELLENT machine.
There are good and bad points though.
The bad: being air cooled it is louder than a liquid cooled one. Its also direct injection which makes it loud. Its a Deutz which do rattle a bit.
The good: Being air cooled, no need to worry about a radiator. Its a snap to start, simply press the excess fuel button and it will fire rite up as its direct injection starting is easier. Has pleanty of power, simple to work on, the pumps and motors will last forever!
Its essentially the same as the popular 743 series but with an air cooled Deutz engine that has all of 2hp less power. Runs the same drive motors and vickers pumps. Mine has about 400 odd hours on the clock and was still working so i assume it had clicked over the 10,000 hour mark. It just had the engine changed out too so i think it could be possible it had done that many hours.
If it starts well and you can get a good deal i'd snap it up.
Before starting give it some throttle, go in the back, on the right side of the injector pump there is a button, press it and it should click and drop down. Crank it and see how fast it starts. It will puff a heap of smoke but thats normal. Mine in the middle of winter would start almost instatly. It will however start if you just crank, but it will flatten the battery.
OOH, no engine temp gauge.

 

[skidsteer.ca]

I owned one, it was an EXCELLENT machine.
There are good and bad points though.
The bad: being air cooled it is louder than a liquid cooled one. Its also direct injection which makes it loud. Its a Deutz which do rattle a bit.
The good: Being air cooled, no need to worry about a radiator. Its a snap to start, simply press the excess fuel button and it will fire rite up as its direct injection starting is easier. Has pleanty of power, simple to work on, the pumps and motors will last forever!
Its essentially the same as the popular 743 series but with an air cooled Deutz engine that has all of 2hp less power. Runs the same drive motors and vickers pumps. Mine has about 400 odd hours on the clock and was still working so i assume it had clicked over the 10,000 hour mark. It just had the engine changed out too so i think it could be possible it had done that many hours.
If it starts well and you can get a good deal i'd snap it up.
Before starting give it some throttle, go in the back, on the right side of the injector pump there is a button, press it and it should click and drop down. Crank it and see how fast it starts. It will puff a heap of smoke but thats normal. Mine in the middle of winter would start almost instatly. It will however start if you just crank, but it will flatten the battery.
OOH, no engine temp gauge.

The 863 873 pulled heat from the engine oil to supply the heater core not sure if thats possible on this motor but it might be. Pins are not bad for price. Its loose pin holes that cause the trouble that is time consuming to fix.
If the day comes the moror is done it could likely be repowered with a liquid cooled kubota or something else. Of course it all costs.
Ken

 

[DigitalFusion]

The 863 873 pulled heat from the engine oil to supply the heater core not sure if thats possible on this motor but it might be. Pins are not bad for price. Its loose pin holes that cause the trouble that is time consuming to fix.
If the day comes the moror is done it could likely be repowered with a liquid cooled kubota or something else. Of course it all costs.
Ken

where would the crankcase breather be located?

 

[sterlclan]

where would the crankcase breather be located?

it should exit under the belly pan look for excess oil there as tazza said the pumps are relatively easy to fix and 3500 is a fair price if it runs and goes half decent .......Jeff

 

[Tazza]

it should exit under the belly pan look for excess oil there as tazza said the pumps are relatively easy to fix and 3500 is a fair price if it runs and goes half decent .......Jeff

Look on the side of the block, there will be a tube that is the breather.

 

[DigitalFusion]

Look on the side of the block, there will be a tube that is the breather.

well, I ended up picking it up yesterday for 3500 bucks. Everything was nice and tight with no slop. There is a tiny weap of fluid from on seal on the right side lift arm. The engine was cold (it was in the 20's) when I got there but fired up nicely. He did say that about 30 mins before we came, he pulled it out of the shed and drove around to the driveway then shut it down. It has a slight forward creep while running.
We got it home several hours later and couldnt get it started. It was very cold (in the teens), dark and windy and we just wanted to get in and warm up, as well as not completely drain the battery. So now there is my new-to-me bobcat sitting on my buddies trailer in the yard. I forgot about your mention of the excess fuel button Tazza.. I will go out and try that now.

 

[DigitalFusion]

well, I ended up picking it up yesterday for 3500 bucks. Everything was nice and tight with no slop. There is a tiny weap of fluid from on seal on the right side lift arm. The engine was cold (it was in the 20's) when I got there but fired up nicely. He did say that about 30 mins before we came, he pulled it out of the shed and drove around to the driveway then shut it down. It has a slight forward creep while running.
We got it home several hours later and couldnt get it started. It was very cold (in the teens), dark and windy and we just wanted to get in and warm up, as well as not completely drain the battery. So now there is my new-to-me bobcat sitting on my buddies trailer in the yard. I forgot about your mention of the excess fuel button Tazza.. I will go out and try that now.

well, I think I found that lever you were talking about. It doesnt “click” tho, You can push it down, but it just pops right back into place.

 

[Tazza]

well, I think I found that lever you were talking about. It doesnt “click” tho, You can push it down, but it just pops right back into place.

Did you give it a little throttle? If you don't, it will not click and drop down.
Give it say 1/4 to 1/2 throttle than press the button and see how that goes.

 

[DigitalFusion]

Did you give it a little throttle? If you don't, it will not click and drop down.
Give it say 1/4 to 1/2 throttle than press the button and see how that goes.

I did give it throttle. I dont see any button anywhere, just that lever. Also, the right side drive lever is kinda loose, which I think is the cause of the creeping? It seems to creep to the right more.

 

[Tazza]

I did give it throttle. I dont see any button anywhere, just that lever. Also, the right side drive lever is kinda loose, which I think is the cause of the creeping? It seems to creep to the right more.

The lever flopping around could just be the bushings, they are rubber bonded to steel and they do wear out. You can adjust the creeping with a few bolts.
http://users.tpg.com.au/tazza_/Steering Adjustment.jpg

As for the lever, you aren't talking about the throttle arm? or does it have a coil attached to it? as some have an option to press a button to engage the excess fuel button.
I don't have a picture sorry, its easier to explain with an image.

 

[DigitalFusion]

The lever flopping around could just be the bushings, they are rubber bonded to steel and they do wear out. You can adjust the creeping with a few bolts.
http://users.tpg.com.au/tazza_/Steering%20Adjustment.jpg

As for the lever, you aren't talking about the throttle arm? or does it have a coil attached to it? as some have an option to press a button to engage the excess fuel button.
I don't have a picture sorry, its easier to explain with an image.

thanks for posting that adjustment proceedure. I did order a service manual from the dealer today, it should be here Wednesday. In the mean time I would like to tinker with my new toy. How do I get to that stuff? Is it under the seat plate?
As you are facing the engine in the rear of the machine, on the right hand side there is the fuel pump. Directly behind the pump, not really visable, is a silver lever which will press down towards the ground, but just pop right back up regardless of throttle position. Its damned near impossible for me to get my head in there so see anything, or take a decent pic. Did al 731's have this button? I would assume they wouldnt only make some with the button and others without.
on a semi-related note, I tried taking the screen out of the top of the fuel pump, but fuel started spewing everywhere. Is there an extra step I need to take on these machines? On my buddies 99 863 we could just take the screw out and clean the screen, with only a small amount of fuel spilling out. On mine is was pouring out all over so I stuck the screw back in and tighted it back down without takign the screen completely out.

 

[DigitalFusion]

thanks for posting that adjustment proceedure. I did order a service manual from the dealer today, it should be here Wednesday. In the mean time I would like to tinker with my new toy. How do I get to that stuff? Is it under the seat plate?
As you are facing the engine in the rear of the machine, on the right hand side there is the fuel pump. Directly behind the pump, not really visable, is a silver lever which will press down towards the ground, but just pop right back up regardless of throttle position. Its damned near impossible for me to get my head in there so see anything, or take a decent pic. Did al 731's have this button? I would assume they wouldnt only make some with the button and others without.
on a semi-related note, I tried taking the screen out of the top of the fuel pump, but fuel started spewing everywhere. Is there an extra step I need to take on these machines? On my buddies 99 863 we could just take the screw out and clean the screen, with only a small amount of fuel spilling out. On mine is was pouring out all over so I stuck the screw back in and tighted it back down without takign the screen completely out.

I see that step #11 is to put the seat plate back, so that answers that question..
Fuse holder for hte lights is missing that little circle cover/plug that holds the fuse in. Is that going to be a dealer only-item or is there a better source for them?