Well, the skidsteer bug bit me and I'm afraid it may have lasting consequences. I overpaid without a doubt but too late now 
... The Wisconsin starts and runs smooth and moves to higher RPM smoothly. The old girl will move in slow speed only. Does move forward and backward, struggles a bit in turning. Interestingly it struggles now in turning, but didn't seem to have that issue a few days ago when I bought it... the arms and bucket motion and function seem reasonably good. I've enjoyed conducting a bit of demo on a small structure in my backyard. No lack of power in the bucket and arms so it seems. I understand these may have limited break out power. I haven't had the opportunity to really load up the bucket with gravel etc, but with some dirt/compost from the back yard, the bucket and arms worked well.
I can see a leak in one of the bucket rams and possibly one in the arm rams. There is quiet a dark buildup on the bottom left side (side where the hydraulic fluid fill and check are) and I'm not sure if that's due to the variable speed throwing grease around or what.. the rear wheel on the same side is dark on the rim. I don't have my shop situated to tear into things yet, but want to prepare for what is likely.
I understand these units are tough even though they are aged. That said, I don't want to abuse it or cause things that are possibly in seriously poor repair to result in a system or component failure. Any suggestions on "do not operate if..." or what to look for even when symptoms are not obvious? I don't want to ruin this unit. I'd greatly appreciate it.
Also, I tried to run this on our paved country road and it would not turn... It flat out refused, even with RPMs increased.. the tires are very worn and lack the typical lug type tread, I wondered if that may be a contributing factor (maybe hoped) . I have a manual that came with it but there's a lot of general knowledge on this forum that I'm sure is not in that manual especially since the manual was not likely written with 50 year old machines in mind.
Thanks in advance for your patience with what are surely to be several newbie questions.
... The Wisconsin starts and runs smooth and moves to higher RPM smoothly. The old girl will move in slow speed only. Does move forward and backward, struggles a bit in turning. Interestingly it struggles now in turning, but didn't seem to have that issue a few days ago when I bought it... the arms and bucket motion and function seem reasonably good. I've enjoyed conducting a bit of demo on a small structure in my backyard. No lack of power in the bucket and arms so it seems. I understand these may have limited break out power. I haven't had the opportunity to really load up the bucket with gravel etc, but with some dirt/compost from the back yard, the bucket and arms worked well.I can see a leak in one of the bucket rams and possibly one in the arm rams. There is quiet a dark buildup on the bottom left side (side where the hydraulic fluid fill and check are) and I'm not sure if that's due to the variable speed throwing grease around or what.. the rear wheel on the same side is dark on the rim. I don't have my shop situated to tear into things yet, but want to prepare for what is likely.
I understand these units are tough even though they are aged. That said, I don't want to abuse it or cause things that are possibly in seriously poor repair to result in a system or component failure. Any suggestions on "do not operate if..." or what to look for even when symptoms are not obvious? I don't want to ruin this unit. I'd greatly appreciate it.
Also, I tried to run this on our paved country road and it would not turn... It flat out refused, even with RPMs increased.. the tires are very worn and lack the typical lug type tread, I wondered if that may be a contributing factor (maybe hoped) . I have a manual that came with it but there's a lot of general knowledge on this forum that I'm sure is not in that manual especially since the manual was not likely written with 50 year old machines in mind.
Thanks in advance for your patience with what are surely to be several newbie questions.
