My '06 435 (+/-2300 hrs) has developed a problem between the lever and the function of the dipper and, (today I discovered) the boom. There is about a seconds delay between the movement of the lever and the movement of the dipper (or boom). Even if I move the lever to the stops. Once underway it seems to work OK until I change direction or center the lever. It is affecting only the crowd and boom circuits. Bucket curl and swing are not affected. I am running Cat controls. It feels as though I am waiting for fluid but I am not getting any nasty noises like those associated with oil starvation. As I am typing this I am beggining to suspect the pattern changer. This only affects the boom and dipper controls. The Bobcat dealer is stumped and can't get the machine in for about a week (I don't want to take it there anyway). Has anyone else had this problem? What should I be looking for? Thanks, in advance, for your help.
Problem solved! As I was writting the post last night, it occured to me that the problem may be with the pattern changer (since only the crowd & then the boom also were affected). I checked the selector this morning and the lever was between selections. I pulled it into the correct position and everything is working fine now. The selector is in the cab (behind your right heel) and I must have accidentally kicked it the other day. I like the convenience of having it in the cab, and not needing any tools to change it, but I would like to see a design that would better prevent incidental changes to the selector. Maybe this thread will help others in the future.