Komatsu pc50

Hello and thanks for letting me join. My son and i are going to buy his best buddys pc50. I have it here now. I cant find a vin plate serial number. I would like to know exactly what model and year because we will want a manual and for repair and parts reasons. I searched on the internet and found a pic of a 1989 komatsu pc50uu that, to me, looks like the one i have here. I know this one was a grey market machine and was that funny blueish color and has been since painted cat yellow. My question today is, where can i find a serial number so i can find out more about it? thank you much.

Welcome to the forum! What are you and your son planning on using the machine for? Work or just around your property? Does it have an articulated boom (the boom hinges in the middle?) I’ve never had one, but have read enough to know those Komatsu 50uus can be a bit tricky with the safety system that stops the boom from hitting the rops/cab. Not a ton of info available. I would search this site for info, lots of it on here about that model. Not trying to be pushy, but how many hours and what are they looking to get for it?

Some info here….

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/komatsu-four-safety-system.94699/

PC-50 covers a lot of models, do a google image search on a PC- 50uu-1 and a PC 50uu-2.
I am assuming you can't post pictures yet as a new member, if you can post pictures that would be helpful.

The uu-1 I am not very familiar with but it would have 90 degree corners on the covers and shields.

uu-2 has more gentle radius on the corners and if original colors would have a raspberry colored cover over the oil tank and battery. The vin plate on these would be at the normal spot on the side of the cab just in front of the boom cylinder base if it didn't fall off.....

The early uu-2 would have a 4 digit vin sometimes 5 digit with an old school gear pump. The later 5 digit have a variable displacement pump. I got a service manual off ebay that covers all uu-2s.

I have had no issues getting mechanical parts for mine, body parts is another story

Komatsu for the most part never stamped the frames with a machine serial number. There were tags as described above on the cabs and some of the older machines had a tag on the outside of the cab behind the door. If it is real old the tags could be on the inside of the cab door.

It was generally felt in the time of the gray market machines that many were stolen and all identifying info was removed. Post a photo when you can and maybe we can identify it by sight.

Good day
See atttched may go some way to model identification.
Kind regards
Uffex

I have a pc50uu-2 serial 14484. If your machine is 8001 or higher it is a -2. I bought this manual:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NJYKPIG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It doesn't really hold your hand for stuff like regular maintenance but it has helped me out quite a bit as this is my fist excavator.

My serial, as you are standing in front of the machine facing it, is on the front left had side of the cab, just below the plane of the cab floor.

My machine was also that funky purple / grey color but someone painted it yellow. Sprayed right over the serial. It is still readable but took me a minute to find it for that reason. There is a serial on the engine as well, towards the back, I think there are 3 different motors you could have gotten.