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QUESTION:That was sure true of the 80's Case versions that I worked on. Case seemed
to make everything that way. I had a theory that their lead design engineer
had something against mechanics, so he made sure everything was as difficult
to service as possible. But I digress...
Every skid-steer rig I've seen was hydraulic drive, with hydraulic
motors driving the back wheels, and chains to link the wheels together on
each side. You should be able to look where the engine was, and tell what
it was hooked up to. Even if the pump went with the engine (which is
probable ; they would be much easier to remove from the rig that way) there
will be several hoses flopping around dripping fluid. If the pump is gone,
I'd pass on it; new hydrostatic pumps are expensive.
The next question would be what you want to resurrect it for. It won't be
much fun as an off-road vehicle. They are way too top-heavy and skittish,
and they have very little ground clearance. You could high-center one on a
speed bump. Their wheelbase is so short and they are so torquey that you
can tip one over on it's back just by throwing the controls forward suddenly
on level ground. They don't tolerate much of a grade. They can be fun on a
fairly level and hard surface if you just want to squirrel around...and you
take the time to get good at it. But that beast will bounce and bang you
around in ways a quad wouldn't come close to. Bring your kidney belt, and
make sure the seat belt's in good shape.
ANSWER: Depends on the model, the common rental ones only lift about 1000 lbs, so
you need to check the specs. You might want to check something like a small
loader, I have an Allmand 325 that has a fork lift attachment although I
just take off the bucket and use cargo straps to lift or pull stuff in the
shop. A common rental would be a Terramite T9. You can drive a bobcat on
the dirt without tearing the ground up as long as you are REALLY careful to
make wide turns and keep all four wheels turning. Another option is a big
rough terrain fork lift, got mine at Sunbelt Rental for $800 / week when I
built my shop, I think it would lift 6000 lbs with the boom retracted.
I own an M610 Bobcat (Clark/Melroe) that was made about 1970. I have
owned it 10 years and put about 300 hours on it. It is a terrific
hobby machine but is about as safe as a 50 year old farm tractor,
there is no way you'd find one on a job site in today's
lawyered-world.
When I bought it, it looked like it it had rolled end-over-end down a
hill and was ready for the scrap yard, but it worked great. 10 years
later it looks the same and still works great. Last week it moved
60,000 lbs of rock in an afternoon. I have put a total of about 100
hours into repairs and maintenance.
The motor is the later Wisconsin VH4D air-cooled V4, 30 HP, 100 cu
inch, and yes it has the tapered shaft.
This M610 will lift 2000 lbs up tight against the boom, or 1000 lbs
centered on the forks with a fork attachment. It is tip-limited.
Mine has extra weight plates on the back that make it "twitchy"
without an attachment.
There is no way anyone could own one of these and pay someone to work
on it. You could buy a new machine before you'd get anywhere. Yes
it's a pain to work with, there is stuff you have to hang upside down
to reach but you don't have to mess with it often. Bobcat (now part
of IR) still sells most of the parts. Anything big is expensive but
the seal kits and other small stuff is reasonable.
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