First Oops with Bobcat 331 - hydraulic leak

[DarinRay]

Well Ed at least now you know that it's not just a simple hose blown or a fitting loose. This hole in the side of the motor.. does it look like it's suppose to be there? As for the mud the guard is there to keep big rocks out from bashing your motor and hoses not really to keep mud out of there. WEll maybe to a minimum. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif My last Cat E110B was the same way.. I wouldn't think the previous owner packed it in there on purpose but I did periodically clean mine out just to keep track of any oil leaks or ???? I wonder if that is a weep hole like a water pump on a vehicle.. You know when you see a dribble there are seals bad. Well in this case a big leak. I would do as suggested earlier by Dozernut---get yourself some parts, service, repair manuals if you plan on keeping this for any length of time or if you just like learning about things. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Good luck and keep us posted.

Darin

 

[Steven]

Looks like there was no preventative maintanence done by first owner. you'll have to pick up were he left off. good luck and hope it's a minor fix for ya. ask the bobcat guy what should be done and how often to keep it in good shape.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Ed that hole if it loks like its suppased to be there it may be a weep hole. Weep holes are desinged to go between 2 sets of seals incase an inner seal goes out it will leak like that. your repair may just be a seal to replace hopefully its a part there not very fond of. Just be glad its not a Cat v8 just replaced one for the powercompany that had a bad block was 8500. Ill check with a friend to see if he has any manuals he works for Bobcat. Take care Taylor Lambert

 

[Anonymous Poster]

How often do you clean under your cat?

 

[EdDekker]

<font color="blue">How often do you clean under your cat? </font>

Well I have added 2.7 hours to the meter since I owned it. So I guess the answer to your question is a bit more than once every three hours of operation /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif .

 

[EdDekker]

The service manager of Bobcat of New Hampshire called today. My traction motor is fixed.

The hole the hydraulic fliud was leaking from was an assembly hole plugged with a steel ball. My motor lost the ball. The fix was to tap the hole and plug it with a screw.


This is far better than what the serviceman they sent out had said. He looked at the leak and asked if I wanted express freight on a new motor or would ground shipping be ok. (He told me express shipping would only add a few hundred dollars to the cost.) He than called the service manager and told him to order a new motor.


There are a few other things which they are taking care of before returning the Bobcat next week. There were some cracks in the alternator belt and the tracks were on backwards. (I have no idea why the previous owner ran the tracks backward.)

 

[Dozernut]

You will find that tracked machines tend to pack the dirt around the undercarriage. What you found under the cover was no surprise. If you don't have a power washer I would recommend that you get one. Make it part of your service routine to power wash the undercarriage and pull the covers over the drive motors and clean there. This will greatly extend the life of the track components.
It sounds like you have good service manager. He could have been less than straight forward and cost you some big bucks. Nice looking machine, I am envious. When you get it back let us know how it does and keep the pictures coming.

 

[EdDekker]

What size (Pressure and flow rate) pressure washer would you recommend?

 

[Dozernut]

That question could start another whole thread! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have a 2500 psi pressure washer powered by a 5.5 Honda motor and is a Porter Cable brand. I bought it at Sam's wholesale club. So far it has been a real good pressure washer. I had a Sears brand, but it was very hard starting (Tecumseh motor) and I would not recomend them!

I would stay away from an electric pressure washer, because the dirt really gets packed in the undercarriage. It will take you a while to get it cleaned out and the electric, while a good unit, might not stand up to the sustained use. Any good pressure washer around 2000 psi will do the job. Without looking at the owners manual, I believe my washer needs 4-5 gallons of water a minute to operate at at 2500 psi. We are on a water co-op and it supplies the washer just fine.

One more piece of wisdom, wear old clothes! You will come out of a washing session looking like a mud wrestling contestant. You can talk the kids into washing the undercarriage once, but never a second time! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Hoeman00]

Also if u get a CAT pump on your power washer it will pump water from a static source (hose in a barrel or stream).
When out in BFE and no water it comes in handy if something goes wrong.

 

[EdDekker]

My 331 is fixed and back home. I used it last week to dig a nice big hole to bury a pile of stumps. It is amazing how easy it is to dig a hole with the 331. The rocks and boulders come out nice and easy. (There is a reason New Hampshire is the Granite State.)

While working on it the Service Techs at Bobcat of New Hampshire noticed that the tracks were on backwards. I am told by the service manager that the tracks on a Bobcat are directional, when on backwards they are easy to break. I told him to go ahead and turn them around. (After reading the description of removing and replacing tracks on Lawnsite.com I am not ready to try this myself.)

With the tracks off they discovered that one of the idler rollers bearings was completely frozen and the idler could not turn at all.

It ended up costing me $1217, ($602 for parts and $615 for labor) $140 for Pick up and delivery, $140 for the evaluation service call, $451 for a new Idler assembly, $65 for 9 gallons of hydraulic fluid ... .

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Wow! Amazing how the total sum comes to be. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif At least things are back and running for you. Doesn't it feel so great to have your machine back and running. It does for me when it happens here. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Blake
WA