Hi! I'm contemplating the purchase of a 1989 Leibherr 641 track loader with a 4 in 1 bucket. I'm up in Western Canada where track loaders of any brand, except for the little JD's, are nearly nonexistent. I'm interested in it for some work on my stump ranch, clearing and reshaping some ground to extend my hayfields. So not really heavy work but handling trees and carrying fill around. I'm aware of the pitfalls to some degree-- Mercedes engine, Linde hydraulics, and fragile final drives. Not sure how much electronics are in this vintage of the 641. Supposedly has D7 undercarriage, although idlers, sprocket segments and rollers are probably not interchangeable with Cat. I understand the earlier machines had some pretty big warts that were improved over time but I don't know where this 1989 machine fits in. Right now I don't even know what make the engine or the hydraulics are--Someone commented in another thread that the machines had moved to Cummins engines and Rexroth hydraulics as time went on. The machine is a 7 hour drive away from me so I don't have a lot of detail yet on its condition--it is supposed to have some "oil leaks" in the control valves under the cab. That could translate into pumps that have calved or maybe something pretty simple. I'm assuming that the hydrostatic track drive doesn't have any valving and therefore "valve leaks" are related to the loader hydraulics... I'm hoping that someone has a hydraulic schematic for this machine and would be kind enough to scan and email it to me. (Or someone knows a source for a service manual that isn't worth $100+!) I'm also open to input on your opinions and experiences with these machines. I'm a mechanical engineer capable of working on this stuff and have a son who is an electronics tech (and a whiz at monkeywrenching) so we have the internal horsepower to fix at least some of the stuff. With a full machine shop to work with. I was sorely tempted to buy a 983 at a Ritchie Bros auction a few years back--it went for $15K...been kicking myself ever since. Jon.
I operated a 631 back in 1995. I found the 4 in 1 bucket hydraulics were very strong,so it will hold a stump or big log with no problems. I think there were both Merc engines & another brand fitted...maybe Liebherr ,in some models. The undercarriages were big & solid enough . I did not like those stupid Allen Head bolts used throughout the machine.I think most of the leak issues were due to this type of bolt. The other issue is spare parts.I remember hearing some BIG quotes on hydraulic parts,including transmission. These machines never sold well in Australia,although the 984 Excavators were well liked. I guess back-up support might have been the reason. As an operator ,I liked the power,stability,etc.....but not sure about the bills associated with owning one. Good luck. Jim
If you can't get parts or service would be a deal breaker for me.
I have repaired the Linde and Rexroth hydro controls, but I don't know about anything else.
Hi, Laycobeau, I'm curious about what you had to work on with the controls--did you do board level repairs on fried cards or were you out in the shop/field with a sick machine? Presumably this was with Leibherr iron? Although I guess the Linde and RexRoth hydraulics is on many other types of equipment as well.... Can you expand on what you worked on? Was service documentation on board level stuff easy enough to obtain? My interest in the Leibherr is because the iron is available at a deep discount due to their bad service reputation. Rightly so, if you are making money with the iron and it shorts out just because there was a lightning storm 20 miles away... But I have the luxury of wanting it for 100 hours per year, and if it dies I can delay the job for a month or two or work around it with some other piece of iron that may not be as efficient. And half the interest is finding out what is wrong and fixing it!!! Thanks, Jon.
I worked For Combotronics Inc for thirty years+ Board level repair on all kinds of electronic equipment for asphalt plants, pavers rollers loaders, and all kinds of heavy equipment. The owner passed away five or six years ago and me and the other techs are working for Layco Electric Innovations doing the same thing. see attached for pic's of some of the things we work on. www.slideshare.net/BeauBowlan