I just found one of those too good to be true deals I think... someone I know has an SK 150 Mark III sitting that needs some work done. I need to find out some more details yet but it sounds like it may need a new hydraulic pump... the price cannot be beat if that's truly all that is wrong with it. Anyone know how much a pump costs? What are some other things a guy should look for? I know it hasn't been used in a little while. I know it needs a couple windows which I can handle. Any pointers of extra things a guy should watch for? If I purchase it, it definitely won't have a hard life, more just general use around the farm. If all holds true, I may be able to buy it for $3k or less, basically scrap iron price. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Just a guess, but if it's like most hoes, a new pump is somewhere north of 10k.
And a -3 is a very aged machine, unless it's been well maintained and repaired I would expect to find a number of issues with that machine. That doesn't mean it's not capable of being a machine that can to the occasional "odd job", just saying you should check it over well. Even if the price is good it could expand into a money pit.
Good day I suggest you follow "willie59" advise make a thorough inspection and be aware what you are buying into, a free inspection protocol is available from the excatech.org we site. Kind regards Uffex
Lots of the old III series still out working everyday and I would Buy one of those over the IV any day as the IV had Cummins engines and when CHN had their fingers into Kobelco and screwed up a LOT of things!
What is wrong with the pump? Is it just weak or did it come apart? Is it still in the machine? If it's just weak you should be able to get it started, then operate it and see what else is wrong. Buying it for $3K is cheap, but if you spend somewhere around 10K to put a pump in it just to find numerous other things wrong it's suddenly not such a great deal anymore. If the pump came apart then you have metal all through the system and will fight it until you find someone else that wants a deal that sounds to good to be true.
That's my concern as well. If the pump shelled and there's metal in the system then I'm done looking already. I haven't had the chance to check into what he will all tell me is wrong with it yet. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up with him.