I was in the need for a skid steer for a specific job. I had been thinking about buying one because I had been renting them about about twice a month. I got in a hurry and bought a low hour older unit that seemed to be fine and now I'm finding problems. I have a couple leaks that I think I can deal with on my own, but tonight when I was servicing the machine, I pulled the cab up and found this old, jerry rigged repair. (see pic) I do not have a service manual yet and was going to see if anybody here could tell me what part this is that is broken in the pic. There appears to be a coat hanger that is holding this metal shaft from falling down into what I assume is the hydraulic resevoir. There was a rag wrapped around the top to stop leaks I guess. Can anybody here tell me what this part is? In the picture, the front of the machine is to the right.
That's the parking brake, and yes, there are now parts missing and I have no idea what all is going on that made the former owner toss the parking brake solenoid and rig up something like that. Just damn.
Ok, great. Just knowing what it is helps. I’m guessing the loose wiring connector next to it is what activated the solenoid....when it existed.
You would be correct, that loose connector is what would have connected to the parking brake solenoid.
Here’s my working theory: the solenoid went bad and the prior owner removed it and used the coat hanger to Keep that metal shaft from moving down and holding the parking brake on. All I need to do is replace the solenoid and reconnect the harness and should be back to work with this part. Does that seem legit?
Yes, that's entirely possible, no way of confirming until you install a new solenoid, but then you may find other reasons for the disconnect, such as a wacked out BICS control system. Again, no way of knowing until you install a new one.