I would like to hear about your experiences with Bobcat's hydraulic X-change bucket coupler. I have one and I will share my experiences too but I would like to hear from others without me putting my spin on the direction the thread goes just yet.
Having some trouble with some seals mate? The hitch when working ok works well, when after some work from my experience you will have trouble with seals etc... Hope you dont dig under foot paths etc?
http://images.ironsearch.com/dealers/602/46/11840/machines/1386023-110307204052.jpg?FULL=T&h=980&w=1590 If your refering to the hitch with the two hooks and the two hydraulic pins that lock into the boss's on the bucket etc...then yea...had a number of problems....The problem with this design is that when the 'cradle' area of the hitch wears or that particular section on the bucket wears...then the little hydraulic pins take all the brunt of the machine. The pins are only really there to lock the bucket in place. They really shouldn't have a real lot of up and down movement exerted on them. Then they start jamming in or out of the hitch itself. The other most obvious flaw is the fact that you can't turn the bucket around. Another flaw is here in Australia it's not really a common hitch...so if you have different operators on the machine on a regular basis then they have no idea how the hitch works as opposed to the conventional hitch. So they end up jamming, banging, incorretly fitting buckets etc only for them to break something or come off unexpectedly. Thinking of forking out a few grand on a new hitch and different buckets just to get rid of the stupid thing.
The link you gave looks like the coupler mate (the part that would be on the bucket/attachment that the X-change would connect to). The X-change has pins that engage the hooks (in the photo) and the hydraulic pins drive into place in the bushings that are attached to the ears (where the pin is resting in your photo). Mine has not worn out enough to do what you have described. I have heard of this coupler having the issues that you describe if it is attahced to a breaker. I am having trouble with the seals on the pistion.
Well the unit I have has been rebuilt four times in 2,000 hours. The last rebuild was only about two weeks ago and the coupler will not function already. The unit is not currently displaying an external leak but I think it is leaking past the pistons on the inside. This is creating a hydraulic lock, IMO. I really like being able to swap buckets with out exiting the cab. We change buckets a lot, when operating the mini, so having the hydraulic coupler makes a difference to me. It's sitting on the bench now. We put the manual coupler back on. It surely works every time but is a PITA. I would almost prefer the regular two pin direct mount. BTW it has gone through times (since it was rebuilt this last time) when it has had an external leak, and then it just stops. It's not even wet nor does it have any dirt clinging to it when it stops leaking (after it's washed of course). It seems to leak as the machine sits-maybe as the pressure drops and not while it's operated or running. Odd.