Getting a 35D shortly.Anybody here own one?
Hi tuney I had the Hitachi ZX35u-3 (2012) model here in Australia (same machine) , overall I was very pleased with the machine from NEW to start with. The air-con cab was a nice feature, the air itself was not as good as it should have been for Australia's 35 deg celsius and above summer temps. It was nice with the long arm, which unfortunately attracts the extra counterweight but you cant have one without the other. Unfortunately at a mere 850hrs the swing/slew bearing started showing signs of wear and it was out of warranty and the "good old" hitachi dealer didn't want to know about it, they measured the wear and wouldn't you know it, they said "it's within tolerance". Replacement bearing was $3,990-00 AUD and $5,000.00 to fit it in Hitachi's workshop, as you can see they really look after their customers. I now have a new Bobcat E35 Long Arm , it's just brilliant, same weight class with an extra 5 odd hp, it absolutely out-digs the Hitachi and Takeuchi I had before that, air-con is so cold in our recent hot spell 39-deg just before Christmas. Anyway all the best with your new/used JD, I was probably just unlucky.
Thanks diga.Unfortunately I can't try out the rig because of distance until they deliver it to my shop.Hard to believe they can't make that bearing last correctly(tightly) to at least 5K hours.Mine will have 3 months left on the warranty from Deere so I will be watching closely on play and will make some serious noise if the dealer doesn't play nice.Actually,the minute I get it delivered, if I see sloppiness,I might even opt out as I certainly don't want headaches with a machine of that price tag and the salesman telling me it runs like new with only 1 K hours.
Hi tuney,I hope I havent put you off, that was not my intentions at all. I just felt very "let down" by Hitachi and they were given plenty of time to make an offer to rectify this problem. I then found out they were "monitoring" I quote, a few other minis (ZX-35 & ZX50) with the same complaint, and also found out from their workshop foreman they had replaced (two) swing bearings under warranty with similar hours but under 12mts old, mine was closer to 2yrs old but still in immaculate condition and only myself as the operator, I blamed myself initially thinking it was not lubed enough but that was not the case I can assure you. As I said I have had (three) 3.5t machines and unfortunately they all run the Yanmar 3tnv88 engine (28hp), pretty thirsty "little devils" as their working pretty hard! On a big day I could nearly run them till the fuel light came on, now with the new E35 Bobcat (33hp Kubota motor) I am doing the same jobs (sewer & stormwater drains and foundations) and using at 20-30% less fuel, yes it has a 53 lit tank in the Bobcat and all others in this class have a 40lt tanks, I now do at least (TWO) full days before I re-fuel and the extra digging power and speed is fantastic, it's very close to KX-121 Kubota in those departments and we all know what a Kx-121 digs like ! I hope this insight gives some other ideas and options.
No Diga,everything is cool.Sucks being pushed into a corner with getting the 2014 tax breaks but it's my own stupidity for being the Pres.of the N American Procrastinaor's Club.I will most likely buy this manana ,the dealer is bending over to sweeten this deal,including delivering it to my shop,a 10 hr.round trip.
I'm a backhoe guy,limited seat time on excavators.What's the best way to inspect the turntable bearing besides obvious jerking ,smoothness,or noise?
Hi tuney, Yeah I was on hoe's for 20 odd years myself, I have only had the excavators for the last 7 yrs. When you get your JD I would put the bucket flat on the ground with stick/dipper half way in an just lift the nose of the tracks off the ground with someone preferably watching the relationship between swing bearing and retainer (fixed part), do this several times. Mine was just visible to the naked eye doing that, I just laid under the machine between the tracks and got someone to do that and I could see it straight away. It was more apparent when a magnetic base dial gauge was attached underneath in the same area. I could also just feel it and also detect a light knocking noise when skimming with the batter bucket, lightly feathering the sticks. Mine had .75mm of movement and they claim it can have up to 1mm of movement therefore it was "within specs" ! Unfortunately there is no way to visibly check the condition of the slew/swing bearing in diggers without pulling the whole turret off and that's a "major" job.
You weren't crashing into way too many kangaroos were you diga?lol. Thx,I will check that out.Is that bearing covered under the 5 yr.warranty?Probably not would be my guess,I remember hearing about 3 months remaining on power train and emissions,maybe something else.Guess I'll find out in a few hours at the dealers.
Forgot I had this thread going,sorry,but yeah bought the rig,so far EXTREMELY happy with it,only was able to use it for 1 nice water line repair so far due to this frigid weather we've been having in NY lately.My only minor complaint is that it's a bit tight in the cab so I better watch my girlish figure[205] some.lol Good news is that heater gets you toasty el pronto.Hydraulics are smooth,quick,and powerful,thumb is WAY too fast IMHO though,really have to be careful there.No noticeable play in the turntable diga,all smooth there.Dealer went even beyond the contracted terms,besides a new thumb cylinder,they gave me a complete new Deere thumb assembly and a new 18'' bucket plus a new battery.I need to work it ASAP not only for financial purposes of course but also because the Deere 5 yr. warranty runs out at the end of March.Looking for a used 12'',24''toothed and 36''-48'' non toothed ditch/grading bucket for Deere's quick connect wedge system[looks like 2 U's on the mounting] if anyone knows any sourcing preferably in the private sector.
Hi tuney, glad to hear all is good with the new/used digger, it's always a bit of a worry when buying something used, but in saying that usually any minor problems have been sorted. Sounds like you just need to find yourself some buckets and you will be up and running. I have 8",12",14",18",(24" with pin on blade) & 48" mud/batter buckets and a ripper. The weather here in Brisbane,Aust has been crap, it's been raining on and off for weeks and last week we just had a massive cyclone come down the coast and dump huge amounts of rain on already saturated ground, my new Bobcat E35 is just sitting around at the moment. From what I see on the tele you guys are having terrible weather as well.
Looks like you have an attachment diga for everyday of the week,wow.My 18'' will do for now,no pressure needed yet to get anything pricey right now in Winter,hiding the nuts mode if you catch my drift.Seems strange hearing about cyclones with -20* and almost record snowfalls by me.