Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer

   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #11  
I wonder why Bobcat didn't have a recall? I have a late (august '05 build) B series. Is this one of the years affected? I have the occasional (won't go into gear) thing and then it jumps into gear if i move the lever back to neutral and then back to forward or reverse.

Top speed going up a hill is terrible but I get up to about 17 on a straightaway.
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer
  • Thread Starter
#12  
17 mph is a little slow for top speed, I think it may be an indicator of trouble or you may need to adjust the throttle cable. You should verify that you are running at 3000 RPM at full throttle, or perhaps a bit higher, maybe 3050 RPM max. If your max RPM is low, then the top speed will be low also.

My dealer said the hydraulic pressure and flow tests can identify a drive motor issue early, even before an operator may notice a problem. You might want to have that done for peace of mind, but you should expect to have to pay for the testing. I don't know how much, the labor on my repair was just a single line item, not broken down into individual tasks. I would guess at a couple hours max.

My experience with not going into gear is strictly an operator thing, not REALLY an issue with the machine. The control system in the Toolcat needs to see certain conditions met before engaging the drive system. First, the armrest has to be in the down position, and second, the drive pedal must not be depressed when you select forward or reverse. The controller does not recognize the armrest position instantly, it may take as much as 1 second from the time you lower the armrest. I often hop in, drop the armrest and hit the drive selector too fast, and have to select neutral again and back into drive. Also, I may be in a hurry switching from drive to reverse and leave my foot on the pedal a bit, so then I have to select neutral, remove foot from drive pedal, and re-select forward or reverse. I think if you watch the speed in which you make these changes, you will see the relationship which causes it not to go into drive or reverse when you ask. Now, I'm not saying it's perfect, I think it should check the status of the armrest more frequently, like 10 times a second, which is a very common sample rate in automotive control systems. Perhaps newer ones do?
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #13  
My specs call for 2800-2850 RPM for high idle and up to 18 MPH at high range for max speed. I operate mostly up and down in the hills on my ranch. Toolcat is about worthless off road at anything more than low speed due to suspension issues.
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #14  
For what ever it is worth, all of you with TC's that are series B, C, & D might want to seriously consider being proactive with respect to the drive motor issues. Both of my TC's (B series) ended up with new drive motors in the middle of a large snow storm. Take your TC's in and let your dealer do a simple hydro test on your units. They can tell pretty quickly if your are a future drive motor customer. Even if you pay for the test and all is well, it's better than finding out too late...
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #15  
timm9 said:
For what ever it is worth, all of you with TC's that are series B, C, & D might want to seriously consider being proactive with respect to the drive motor issues. Both of my TC's (B series) ended up with new drive motors in the middle of a large snow storm. Take your TC's in and let your dealer do a simple hydro test on your units. They can tell pretty quickly if your are a future drive motor customer. Even if you pay for the test and all is well, it's better than finding out too late...

That's some good advice. I'm taking mine down to the BC dealer in order to get a couple of warranty issues fixed and I'm going to have the hyd test done as well even though I anticipate paying for it. I really racked-up the hours last winter and after that I want to make sure I'm going into this winter as ready as possible.
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #16  
Hi,
Just been following some old posts, and wonder if anyone will be seeing this ? I have a few questions concerning this drive motor issue. Can I ask them here or do you suggest starting a new thread on an old subject? New to the site. Just bought an 03 TC w/1950 hrs on it winter of 09. Not sure which model? Pretty bad huh?
 
   / Toolcat Weak drive motors - My experience with the Bobcat dealer #17  
Grassman,

While I'm far from an expert, I do own two 'B' series TC's and would be more than happy to answer the questions that I'm capable of answering. One suggestion I would make is to (if you have not already) establish a relationship with a dealer. They should be able to search their 'system' and tell you everything that has been done by any dealer. I have also started doing hyrdaulic samples from each unit. If you are starting to loose the drive motors it will show up in the lab report before anywhere else.
 

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