Hi. I have been looking at purchasing a skid steer and came accross this site where knowledge seems to be never ending. I have set my sights on a 1845C Case, 1998 model with just over 5000 hrs on it. Looks to be in decent shape from what I have seen so far but there are still a few things im not sure about and would like some advice on them. First is the chain case oil. I had a look under the machine and there was a small leak on one axle. The oil was gear oil from the look and smell. I read that there should be engine oil in the chain cases or is gear oil acceptable to use also, or was the leak the reason for the thicker oil. I also noticed a spare drive shaft from the engine to the hydro pumps wired to a steel line behind the engine. Do these drives give that much trouble that a spare one comes with it lol. As for hydraulic oil it says use 10w30 engine oil. Does it make a differance if the oil is diesel or gas oil. We run all DMO 10w30 in our engines and it would be nice if I didnt need another oil around the shop. Lastly, has anyone had problems with running over the tire tracks on these machines. A friend of mine said they put alot of extra stress on the drive chains because they dont allow the tires to skid independently and it stretches the drive chains prematurly. Thanks for any advice anyone can give me on what to look for with these units.
I'm not sure what the manual says but I thought it called for gear oil in the chain cases, but I also have a couple customers that run motor oil in there. The hydraulics do use engine oil but they recommend an additive to reduce foaming. (avail at dealer). I've personally never seen problems with the pump drive. Over the tire tracks do make it easier to break drive chains, however, I know several guys that have said it takes alot of hard digging and repeatedly stalling it to do it. I do repair work for a concrete company that has one with over 10k hours on it and they've never put a chain in it. Its an owner/operator machine though and he's very good. Overall the 1845 is a darn good machine, they may not have A/C or joystick controls, but they are the most dependable skid loader I've ever been around.
I kinda based my decision to go with an 1845C from the posative coments everyone has regarding their reliability. Like 02Dmax said though "owner operator" makes a world of differance regardless of brand but some just stand up better. I like the idea of simple straight forward mechanical linkages and none of the computerized controlls that go along with the new machines. I spend alot of time on my old Hough loader without so much as a canopy to protect me from the elements of snow plowing and loading dirt and manure in the summer so even a basic ROPS will be a welcome change. Im really hoping things work in my favour and I can get my hands on it. I might be jumping the gun a bit but I already started looking into forks, grapple buckets and a tree mover for it LOL.
Ya, If you like your Hough, this thing will be right up your alley. Simple and dependable.
I went back to see the guy about the 1845 yesterday with the intention of brining it home with me, but as they say all good things come to an end. He fired it up to bring it out of the shop and got about 50 feet and it stopped moving and almost stalled out. We started it up again and it ran fine untill he moved a short distance again. Got it back in the shop and started looking things over and found the hyd filter was bulged out like a baloon. I looked in the tanl with a light and the oil looks to be almost like jello. After some more investigating we discovered that after a friend had used the loader and blew a hose he added oil which ended up being some type of mineral oil he uses in his big shop press. Now the question is just how much damage has been done and if im still going buy it or not. If I do purchase it, the manual says 10/30 engine oil with HTO addative. Would I be safe to run caseih hy-tran fluid in the system? The entire system will need flushing and checking now but if hy-tran is suitable for hydros in combines and tractors would it not be safe in a skidsteer?
O Dang! :OMG
Hytran works fine but you'll have to get all of whatever that other dude dumped in there, out of there before you do anything. Sounds like a mess, those 1845's are pretty forgiving but if it quit moving its a good bet the "Jello" fluid was just to thick and it was cavitating the pump. It'll take alot of disassembling and flushing to get that **** out of there. Might try draining it and flushing the tank and any hose/tube you can get to with solvent, refill with cheap motor oil and run it, then do it again.
Sorry to here about the machine. If they get it running to your satisfaction and you buy it I would recommend windows. I cut mine out of lexan bolted it to the sides and used velcro for the rear for an emergency exit and warm weather ventelation. I run 10W30 in the chain cases and 15W40 in the engine but have used 10W30 CC/CD or better API rating in both. Of the two chains that have broke neither broke when I had my steel tracks on. I think it was caused by running them to loose.
When I left the guys place the other day I brought the hyd filter with me and cut it open today. I really didnt like what I saw. There was alot of brass filings, some the size of a pencil led and a quarter inch long but mostly smaller fine particles. There was also some rubber, a few small peices of wire that im assuming were from a new hose that wasnt cleaned befor installing it and some fine gravle stones. Im starting to think this may not be the machine to bring home. I havnt heard back yet as to what he is willing to sell the machine for now, he said he would think about it and see if maybe he would get it going again and run it for a few days to see how it worked. I would just as soon he dropped his price and left well enough alone and let me rip it apart and see what damage has been done but his price would have to be alot lower now. At the very least I would like to be there when he cleans it up and see just what else is in there floating around.
Ya, I know its tough when you have your heart set on something but you may want to just walk away from this one. Hydraulic problems can haunt a machine for the rest of its life.
I would let that one go. There are a lot of them around especially around the 5K hour mark, no need to pull the trigger on that one. If I was the owner I would make the guy who screwed it up, buy it or fix it.
Love the website KSSS