rebuilding drive motor

EddieWalker · Jan 20, 2009

Not knowing what type of drive motor that you have, it's pretty safe to guess that it's not a do it yourself type of project. While the drive motors are not as critical as the hydraulic pumps, they do have some extreme tolerances and clearances. I would talk to your parts guy at the dealer and get a price for a replacement. It will probably be a rebuilt unit. Then in your best buddy way, ask where they get them rebuilt. I don't know about your area, but here, the mechanics farm out stuff like that. I've been told where they get it done my my parts guys and have saved allot of money useing the same businesses to rebuild stuff that they do.

One thing that I was told when I had my hydraulic pump rebuilt, was that they would not gurantee the work on it unless they rebuilt the drive motor at the same time. Since they carry the same fluid back and forth, if one is bad, they are both bad. Rebuilding one just means that the other will ruin the new one again.

I spent $3,000 to have my pump and drive motor rebuilt on my dozer. I took them out and brough them to the rebuild shop, then installed them myself. If you do this, be sure to get the manuals on how to break in the motor. For me, it was important to run it without any load on it. That meant putting it in the air so the tracks didn't touch the ground and spinning them forwards and backwards for a period of time. I forget how long, but it wasn't very long. Maybe five minutes if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure.

Good luck,
Eddie

SnowRidge · Jan 20, 2009

Get the full part number off the bad motor and start surfing for a new one. You may be able to find it for less than what the local guy wants. Then again, maybe not. You won't know until you try. If it is off of something common, like a Bobcat, it should be readily available.

Parts should be available locally and also from some on line sources. If you want to try your hand at rebuilding it, you will need the service manual. Almost all of the hydraulic motor manufacturers have them on line. That is the place to start.

mwb · Jan 20, 2009

Wayne County Hose said:
In most cases, by the time you do the machine work and buy the parts, you are up over half the cost of new which is in most cases about the time you should consider just buying new.

I agree with this; if you consider the cost of staffing a mechanic to service this, plus the operating cost of a shop you should have to expect to pay $50 - $100 per hour for labour. I does not take long to run up a high labour cost and there is no way to avoid it unless you do it yourself. With your own lathe, mill, gas to pick up parts, etc.

I don't know how long it would take to rebuild that motor but I would think it would ruin one man-day, remember that this is a one-off, not an assembly line.

I would bite the bullet and buy a new one for $1000.

skidsteer.ca · Jan 20, 2009

Try loader parts source dot com

Ken

Wayne County Hose · Jan 20, 2009

You can also try Wenger's in Myerstown Pa. They might have a used one. They have a real good website. Wenger's of Myerstown - Farm Equipment, Agriculture Equipment, Tractor Parts, Construction Equipment, Construction Parts

dfkrug · Jan 20, 2009

pgold said:
I took a drive motor off my skidsteer and took it to a hydraulics shop to get it fixed. The motor worked, but it was slow when the oil would heat up (thin out). I assume that is because the oil would slip through the grooves on the scored walls.

If you have scored walls inside your hyd motor, that is probably due to
dirty fluid, which would also affect your other motors and the main pump.
Are they about to fail, too?

As for repairing the motor, maybe it can be done at a machine shop with
a boring tool, but it won't be at Motion Industries, I will bet. That is a
chain that I have not had good experiences with.

SnowRidge · Jan 20, 2009

Someone should have asked this question before. Didn't the repair shop call you up and tell you it was scored and would be uneconomical to repair?

J_J · Jan 20, 2009

Eddie, You said this

One thing that I was told when I had my hydraulic pump rebuilt, was that they would not guarantee the work on it unless they rebuilt the drive motor at the same time. Since they carry the same fluid back and forth, if one is bad, they are both bad. Rebuilding one just means that the other will ruin the new one again.

Now that in itself would just pi** me off that they would not guarantee their work, especially if they actually tested the pump after a rebuild, or new, and maybe with you watching. And then want to rebuild the hydraulic motors associated with that pump. That would mean 4 hydraulic motors on my machine. No way. Sure I understand cross contamination, but if the fluid is going to tank from the hydraulic motors, and the pump is drawing from the tank through a filter, it should be ok. You could also have in-line high pressure filters installed.

Anyway, after asking for a 4 ft hydraulic hose with standard pipe thread, and being charged $60.00. I learned a valuable lesson, and that was to ask for information first, and make your own logical decisions. I should have asked for options. I guess they sold me the best they had, assuming that was what I wanted. I also learned to do it your self if you have the knowledge and ability.

Relating this to something else, I have had the E4OD transmission in my F-250 rebuilt several times, and it is down again. My thought on this is that they are not worth a dam, or they are not putting the complete kit in, or both. I watched someone rebuild a transmission once, and he used just about all the parts in the kit. That in itself is no guarantee that it would work good, but I think I had more faith after seeing the work done.

When the guys in my area test my pumps, motors and valves, they let me watch, as they run through the test. I am impressed with their knowledge, and they answer all questions. If I had funds for a small hydraulic test rig, I would have one in a heartbeat.

Wayne County Hose · Jan 20, 2009

I don't blame shops for not guaranteeing their work unless other criteria are met. I deal with shops that won't guarantee a pump rebuild without a fluid sample passing their tests. I personally know a guy responsible for going out to the customer's machine after the new / rebuilt pump is installed and takes a fluid sample. If it doesn't pass, no warranty. Flushing out your hydraulic system after repairs like this is more important than the repair itself.