komatsu PC 40 digger

   / komatsu PC 40 digger #1  

tucker99

New member
Joined
Feb 27, 2004
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14
Hello all, new chum here. I am considering buying PC 40 digger and it has a rumble when it slews. The owner assures me it is an old sound and seems to think if carefully greased and maintained it will not be a problem. I would like to find a repair manual for this machine. Anyone got a clue?
Russ.
 
   / komatsu PC 40 digger #2  
Tucker,
Welcome to the site! What year and how many hours are on the little bugger? If the machine makes a "rumble" when it slews I would stay away, it could very well be that the slew ring and bearing are bad and would require seperating the top frame from the lower track frame to repair, big bucks and alot of work. It also suggests that it may not have been well maintained or over worked. If you can get the serial# off of it, Komatsu can get you the books for it, even if it is a grey market machine. A buddy of mine just purchased a PC50UU(which is a grey market machine) and the guys at the Komatsu dealer got him the parts and service manual and said it was no problem to get parts. Sorry if what I said was discouraging, but keep lookin', there are tons of PC40's out there.
 
   / komatsu PC 40 digger
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Tags! Thanks for response. I take heed. I want to pull gorse with it. Gorse is a brush weed and grows up to 10' and has branches about 2" tru. mowing doesn't kill it and the tap root has to be cut below ground or the whole thing needs to be pulled I want to make a clamp thingy using the bucket roll to clamp against a fixed board and grab the shrub and jerk the whole thing out of the ground. Any ideas?
Tucker
 
   / komatsu PC 40 digger #4  
Tucker,
Congrats on the purchase. I have 2 excavators myself and they are both equipped with hydraulic thumbs, which would allow you to do exactally what you want, it works in conjunction with the bucket to create a pinching effect. If your machine is not equipped with auxilliary plumbing (an extra hydraulic circut, usually operated by a pedal) you could purchase a rigid mount thumb. It still gets the job done, but instead of using a hydraulic cylendar it stays in a fixed position but still allows you to grab stuff. There are some for sale on Ebay, just search for "excavator" then go thru the listings and you'll see em', they are pretty reasonably priced too. Happy hunting, and digging for that matter!
 
   / komatsu PC 40 digger
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Tags, many thanks for your info on the "thumb" device and source. I checked out the PC 40 slew gears and the service man said I can inspect the ball bearings by removing a plate on the frame and also said that if ithey are just scarrd slightly they will make a noise but still be ok if kept well greased and could last for yrs with easy use. He indicated that if there is too much looseness, ie rocking in the frame then I might have problems. It doesn't have any rocking that I can detect by lifting machine with blade so I think I am going to give it a go
Regards, Russ
 
 
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