Suggestions on what to look for when buying used?

tommyz270 · Apr 21, 2009

I'm thinking about buying a used Kubota B7500HSD, 4wd, hydrostat, Diesel, 3cyl, 21hp.

I'm fairly knowledgable with cars and gas engines, but not tractors and diesels.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what to look for, what to look at, etc?

Everytime I start the engine, there is smoke, but I think that's common with Diesel, correct?

Any helpful comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

LD1 · Apr 21, 2009

A little smoke is normal for a diesel.

Make sure everything works as it should. Brakes, 3ph, clutch, pto, etc.

Check fluids and make sure none are low. Low fluids indicates a leak or poor maintenance on the unit.

Make sure hydraulic fluid is clear and not milky which would indicate water.

Crawl under and check for any visible leaks, or oily spots.

check the tires for wear/dry-rot. If the rears are loaded check the condition of the rims.

If it has glow plugs or a block heater verify that they work or it'll be a pita when it gets cold.

See if he has any service records of when the oil has last been changed etc.
If he did it himself look at the oil filter, some people write the date of when it was last changed on the filter.

Make sure the tach works, cause if it don't the hours on the machine probabally won't be right. And if its close to 6000-7000hrs its probabally close to rebuild time.

Yep I think thats about it.