$25,000 for a 2005 KX161-3, with around 6,000 hours, that leaks?

[TJ Industries]

Curious on opinions on this purchase. I'm looking at a 2005 KX161-3 Super Series excavator. It's used by a go that does land clearing. Putting in roads. moving logs around, etc. It's got about 6,000 hours on it. It is dirty, but it gets regular maintenance, lubes, etc., and is fully functional. It's reasonably tight for the hours. The tracks are shot but will get me through my job just fine. The biggest issue is the main hydraulic stack leaks. He says about a quart in an entire day of work. I can't have that, so I'll need to get it refurbed.

He had the stack rebuilt around four years ago, also replaced the lines all the way up to each cylinder. My guess is the shop did a poor job, but worst case I can get it rebuilt, may even do it myself.

Anyway, the price is $25,000. Comes with an 18" Digging Bucket, and a 60" Grading Bucket. It has a blade that angles, and it has a thumb. It has an enclosed cab.

Sorry, can't post pictures, forgot to take any!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I had a quiklook for similar units, and the $25K price isn't bad. Have no idea what the 'stack' is or rebuild cost but yeesh a quart a day leak SHOULD be obvious ??
If it'd do the needed job,buy it,clean it up, resell ?
Lots of 2wd TLBs have been down that road......
I assume you have a trailer to haul it ??

 

[TheOldHokie]

Curious on opinions on this purchase. I'm looking at a 2005 MX161-3 Super Series excavator. It's used by a go that does land clearing. Putting in roads. moving logs around, etc. It's got about 6,000 hours on it. It is dirty, but it gets regular maintenance, lubes, etc., and is fully functional. It's reasonably tight for the hours. The tracks are shot but will get me through my job just fine. The biggest issue is the main hydraulic stack leaks. He says about a quart in an entire day of work. I can't have that, so I'll need to get it refurbed.

He had the stack rebuilt around four years ago, also replaced the lines all the way up to each cylinder. My guess is the shop did a poor job, but worst case I can get it rebuilt, may even do it myself.

Anyway, the price is $25,000. Comes with an 18" Digging Bucket, and a 60" Grading Bucket. It has a blade that angles, and it has a thumb. It has an enclosed cab.

Sorry, can't post pictures, forgot to take any!

I could tolerate adding a quart of hydraulic oil a day for a very long time over a big repair bill.

Dan

 

[TJ Industries]

I could tolerate adding a quart of hydraulic oil a day for a very long time over a big repair bill.

Dan

Yeah, that's what he's been doing, but it makes it kinda hard to use in areas where you don't want oil drips everywhere.

Need to look into the actual repair more, it actually doesn't look that complicated based on a video that "I think" is similar: control valve repair (different manufacturer).

 

[TJ Industries]

I had a quiklook for similar units, and the $25K price isn't bad. Have no idea what the 'stack' is or rebuild cost but yeesh a quart a day leak SHOULD be obvious ??
If it'd do the needed job,buy it,clean it up, resell ?
Lots of 2wd TLBs have been down that road......
I assume you have a trailer to haul it ??

No trailer yet, looking at one this afternoon! That's 12k weight is tough, you're too big for the 14k trailers and there's a bit jump with the 16k+.

 

[Henro]

Do you mean a KX161? Perhaps a typo...when I saw MX I thought it was a tractor.

Main hydraulic stack? Is this referring to the control valve assembly or the rotary joint?

You might ask the seller how much the repair he had done cost him, but no way of knowing if his answer would be accurate without seeing the receipt for the repair I would guess.

I would guess a leak repair to the rotary joint would be more expensive than the hydraulic valve assembly.

Hydraulic oil is fortunately much cheaper than SUDT for tractors...

 

[TJ Industries]

Opps, yes, I meant KX, not MX. Fixed, thanks.

I think another term is valve spool, or maybe it's control valve, I'm not certain. It's about 18" of independent values that are bolted together, next to the hydraulic reservoir. Looks similar to the video link I posted above.

The owner isn't a complete stranger, and he said the rebuild last time was $3,500.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm, after watching the video..I'm wondering if you could get lucky and just tighten up those looooong bolts holding the 'valve sections' altogether ? Say the 'rebuilding' didn't put lockwashers on those bolts...over time, vibration could loosen them off a wee bit. It wouldn't take much to allow oil to drip out. A few drips an hour might be a quart a day.
You'd have to remove whatever cover plates are hiding the valve assembly, super clean it(brake cleaner ?),then start/idle the machine. Use a strong ,focused light and try to see WHERE the oil is coming from. It might even be just ONE hose connection that needs snugging down. That much oil...it HAS to be kinda obvious....20+ hoses, lots of fittings, etc.
As for oil dripping while operating, maybe you can toss a bag of 'kitty litter' in there 'somewhere' to absorb most of it ?
Hope you get it...sounds like a good deal...hmm, have you a truck that can pull the trailer and the machine ??

OK had a look at the parts for it... Here in Canada, the 'control valve' is just over $9K, and each 'section' is about $2400. The assembly weighs in at over 100 # !!!
I'm wondering if the $3500 bill INCLUDED removal/repair/reinstallation ? There sure is a LOT of 'stuff' connected to it ! The bench work repair seems to be the easiest,heck I'd need a crane to lift the unit out and into the machine. Kinda wondering if buying a new one is a better option ,IF, you could resell yours...

 

[PoTreeBoy]

Rebuilding the valve as shown in the video shouldn't be too expensive. Most of the labor is probably disconnecting and reconnecting everything properly.

I recently disassembled my Husco stack to add a section. Husco doesn't use lock washers on the tie rods.

There are probably o-rings on each end of each spool. I would think these are more likely to leak and need replacing than the body o-rings. That wasn't shown on the video.

It would be good to determine where the leak is before removing the valve. And a manual for your brand valve would be helpful.

 

[Henro]

You might find the following site helpful and interesting:

Heavy Equipment Forums

Heavy Equipment Forums

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

 

[hedgerow]

You might find the following site helpful and interesting:

Heavy Equipment Forums

Heavy Equipment Forums

www.heavyequipmentforums.com

I would join this group. Lots of good folks over there that know heavy equipment. Years ago I had a bearing go out on my torque convertor on my Cat 941B track loader and the book and shop manager at Cat told me the trans and diff had to come out to get the torque convertor out. I got on that forum and a guy from Georgia contacted me and told me I could get the torque convertor out with out pulling the trans and diff he was right I repaired the convertor, flushed the trans and eight years later the Cat is still working. Took me two days to do the job if I would have done it the way Cat told me it would have taken me at least two weeks maybe a month.

 

[TJ Industries]

Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check that group out.