Hey everyone, looking at purchasing my first excavator this week. I have ran many excavators but no Kobelco's. There is a SK70 for sale near me that has 5500 hrs on it, steel tracks, and a mechanical thumb. 1. Just wondering what to look for that's specific to these machines. 2. I want to convert the thumb to hydraulic. Did these come with auxiliaries to be able to do this? 3. Are parts still pretty accessible for these? I think its a 2001. Any help would be appreciated
Good day 1/ Attached is an inspection protocol to take you through the steps of inspection, if you download the form and fill it out we can advise you of any points that require caution. 2/ Check for the following extra lines running along boom & arm > Option third pedal on the cabin floor > take a photo of the main control valve, we may be able to see if it has an option spool. 3/ Best check it out with your nearest dealer, they will no doubt need the serial number. Kind regards Uffex
Thanks UFFEX. I appreciate the form. Little update.... Seller said it came in yesterday but there are some issues.... 1. It doesn't spin. 2. Only 1 track moves It starts, runs, and all boom and bucket functions work. Is there a solenoid and valve bank that could possibly be faulty? Would I be better off chasing down an electrical or hydraulic culprit at this point?
Good day 1/ Some clarifications please "spin" is that slew - swing or are we talking tracks. 2/ Requires some troubleshooting most probable if combined with slew would point to a pump circuit defect (Hydraulic) however that is a guess. Kind regards Uffex
Don’t even think about it. Find something that operates correctly, patients is your friend. Sounds like a nightmare. At least the dealer was upfront about it, could be electrical, could be hydraulic issue, or could be both! I had a Kobelco 70 years ago and it was a great machine, mine was plumbed from the factory. Is the 70 you are looking at teal green by any chance?
If I buy one more piece of used equipment, i'll never do another job, it will just be constant musical chairs trying to fix things.
Tags-Yes it was green and then painted Yellow.... Seems like someone trying to cover the fact it was gray market maybe. Looked at it yesterday finally and it had way more problems than it was worth. Thanks for the input here. I found a Komatsu PC 50 MR in my area for sale for decent price but the low HP on these make me nervous. They barely have 40hp where a bobcat and a few other brands of similar size have in the mid 40's. Anyone can comment on the breakout of the little Komatsu's?
The early SK70’s that were imported by Kobelco were actually that green color and not plumbed with auxiliaries. I had one that I purchased brand new and it was yellow and had auxiliary hydraulics, but if you looked real hard at sections of the machine or scratched the bucket linkage or the stick you could see green underneath. Was a great machine and I never had any issues throughout the 4000 or so hours I owned it. A 50 size machine is quite a step down from a 70 size machine. HP does matter but what makes the machine perform is pump displacement and flow. I would just make sure the Komatsu you are looking at is not grey market, I think parts for those may be difficult to come by. What are you planning on doing with the machine?