Backhoe inspection

[john_bud]

Wow, I need to raise my prices, considerably. For a simple rebuild, fill with oil, and pressure test, I don't think I ever charged more than a hundred.

You need to move closer so I can use you for rebuilds!

Had a hydraulic shop repair one (1, uno, single) cylinder and had the charge be $450! I was VERY torqued off as I told them to NOT do it if the cost would be over 250 as I could get a new one for 350. Then after they called (2 weeks later) to say it was ready, I had to wait as they didn't paint it. Rattle can over oil and charged me $25 for it!

I bought the spanner wrench and seals to do 5 cylinders for less than they charged for one. I'd like to use a word that ends in ards, but won't.

These are all VEE packing cylinders and those are more $ to do than a single U seal. But still...

 

[kmdigital]

One other thing when checking a backhoe. Put the hoe bucket on the ground about 4'-6' behind the tractor and press down. You should be able to lift the back of the tractor into the air with just the backhoe. Plus this is how you tell if the main pivot is worn (slight down pressure and releasing it to check for play).

It is very helpful to be able to lift the rear of the tractor just a few inches and scoot it sideways when digging a trench, w/o having to lift the stablizers, get in the drivers seat, reposition the tractor, put the stablizers down again, and finally get back to digging again. IMO, any decent backhoe must be able to lift the back of the tractor into the air.