Bobcat 863

[rrausch]

I have some friends who just bought a used Bobcat 863 for use on their property. They are good folks but don't know anything about diesels, and I don't know anything about Bobcats. But I offered to do some maintenance on it for them. I have to change out the Alternator and Batt first thing. Any tips? And does the 863 have any oddball things to watch out for? I am not sure how many hours is has on it or how old it is.

 

[thomase]

Go buy the service manual from your local bobact dealer. Price should be about $60 and it is money well spent. Also check parts prices at the dealer for your alternator... . I have found the dealer to be quite competitive on pricing. Don't be afraid of Bobcat's... they are great machines and easy to work on. I've got an 853 right now and have had a 743 and 743B in the past.

Good Luck!

 

[rrausch]

Thanks Thomas. I paid about $145 for the Alt. at the Dealers. I checked NAPA first, but they didn't have one. I think I'll get the old one rebuilt and keep it as a spare or put it on ebay. I went and got the Service Manual, now I need to study it.



How many hours are "old age" on these Bobcats?

 

[bmoeller]

How many hours are "old age" on these Bobcats?

Depends on how it was treated/maintained over the years. If it was treated well, I wouldn't be afraid of a machine with 4000 hrs on it. But, I've seen and run machines that had 2000hrs on them that were junk, from abuse and lack of care.

 

[rrausch]

Thanks BMoeller. I don't know the history of this machine. My friends bought it at a dealer, and it had been repainted with new decals, so DERN it looked good! I'll find out the hours in a few days. Engine looks fairly clean and everything seemed to work. So I am optimistic.