550 mule hours - how many??

[DrRick]

I recently bought 2 mules from auction at the burlington railway in kansas city.
They are 550's with essex cabs on them. I found they were serviced well, but was surprised to see 8,786 and 14,234 hours on the hour meters. I wonder if this could be correct? That seems to be a lot for 2000 models, which is what they were represented as. Both run and idle well. the diff lock cables are rusted on both as well as some rust in the beds from some type of spray chemical possibly used from them. I plan on using them to check fence on the ranch. Is there any oddities on these machines that I need to know about, as these are my first atv's . all my other equipment is larger.
rick

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

man that is some hours. are you sure you read them right,lolif so they must have been some well maintained muleswhat size enbines come on them anyway?and can you post some pictures.moste companyshave service departments that take care of thier equipment so they must have been maintained pretty good.and you must have gotthem really cheap with that many hours on them right?

 

[DrRick]

pretty cheap- but I can't see a 10 horse single cylinder engine ( aprox 300 cc) lasting those numbers, however we read the numbers correctly. I figure these were pretty much run 24/7 on the railyard, and yes it seems the maintenance was very good. The inside of the carbs and air filter chamber looks new. I guess they could have replaced the engines, etc. as needed. biggest problem was the cables for the diff lock being rusted, and these are about 80 bucks each. I will try to post some pics later.

 

[darkday]

I remember reading something like 2k hours is expected out of the yanmar diesel engines for the JD gators and the gas only around 1k. 14k is insane. But hey it's probably cheaper to buy those and put a new engine in them then to buy a used one anyway.

 

[gordon21]

Are you sure the hours aren't really 878.6 and 1423.4?? That would be more realistic. Maybe some beancounter went out and looked at the dash and wrote down every number he saw including the tenths of an hour. If they did run all these hours, then they should have a maintenance log showing each time the engines were replaced. Then you will know how many hours are on the CURRENT engines.

A six year old machine with 14,000 hours would have been running over 6 hours per day every day of its life. That abuse should have shaken the entire frame apart by now.

I pity the poor employee who had to ride it 6 hours per day for 6 years.

 

[DrRick]

Here is a pic of the hour meter on one of the mules I have. I think it is in the thousands of hours and not in thttp://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=61612&stc=1&d=1159191065
mule hrs.JPGhe hundreds.rick

 

[DrRick]

here is the other one.

 

[gordon21]

Your original post is right. Those are tired old Mules. You need to find out how many hours are on the current engine if possible. There is no way it is the original engine. But, if you picked these both up for a grand or two each, then you have an excellent deal.

 

[DrRick]

I got them for 1500 each, they run well, and came with larger alternators, essex cabs w/heaters, and extra lighting.I think they will work for what I need.
rick

 

[gordon21]

You got a deal. The price of the cabs alone is over $1500 for new.

Good luck.

 

[darkday]

Yeah I'm sure if you keep up the mantainence they will serve you well. Sounds like a pretty darn good deal especially with the cab and heater.

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

do they smoke ?and something you might wanna check is the engine mount bolts .look to see if they are scratched up you know like if a wrech was ever put on them. that would tell you if they were ever removed or not. and if the engine does smoke get them some nicotine gum it should help them quit.lmao. i just had to mess with ya . looks like ya got a good deal man.

 

[DrRick]

they do not smoke at all. There is some blow by when the oil filler cap is removed while running. The service was perfect on these. I honestly think these are the original units, as there is no sign of wrench marks and the decals on the engines are as worn as the rest of the chassis. One has had the head off I think. These would have had to have been run almost constantly, with most of the use as a warm spot to get out of the cold, that provided lights for work in the rail yard. These have been run into things a lot as each panel of the essex cab is a different color and show signs of contact.
My boat mechanic says these engines will last a long time IF the valves are kept in adjustment, And they are used a lot.
rick

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

good deal can we see some full size pics. i know they might not be a pretty sight but what the heck.sounds like they had a good maintanance crew workin on them.and they knew that if the mule went down they froze that winter and walked.lol

 

[DrRick]

pics are from my phone- sorry about the quality

 

[DrRick]

another one

 

[DrRick]

last one.

 

[TOMMYHPX4X4]

you did pretty good ole boy .