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Bobcat T-300 Idlers

Coastal

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
323
Location
BC, Canada
Anyone have to replace idlers yet? Im at almost 1000hours, and my second idler in 2 weeks is dieing. The first one cost $658, the front one is $758. I found a couple aftermarket sources for them but they list no prices...
 

Prairie Dog

Active Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2007
Messages
36
Location
Annaheim, SK, Can.
I just replied to another post about skid steers. We have an ASV RCV(its like an RC-100) and we just replaced the bearings in the tracks on both sides. Cost close to $3500 (800 hours). So its happening to all brands is it?
 

Coastal

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
323
Location
BC, Canada
Ya thats no good, I found a source in ontario that quoted me $350 per idler. Luckily my rollers seem fine. The one idler that is the worst, it seems i caught it in time, and might just get away with doing the bearings, which will be under $100. ;)
 

heymccall

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2007
Messages
5,352
Location
Western Pennsylvania
Bobcat needs to rework their undercarriage components for the real world. I auctioned off 3 864G's that continually ate bearings in the bottom rollers and their idlers were not hardened correctly. I don't mean to bad mouth one brand, BUT the Takeuchis I have at 1300, 2400, and 3500 hours have never failed a moving part in the undercarriage besides the track itself. Two of my 864G's took 12000 dollars each in under carriage parts just to make 1000hrs.
 

Tigerotor77W

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
1,014
Location
Michigan
Occupation
Engineer
heymccall, the 864G is a very old machine (relatively speaking) and was Bobcat's first foray into the CTL market.

I doubt you'd see those issues (widespread) anymore.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
9
Location
Covington Ga
Coastal i would not go with any aftermarket idler go with bobcat its better in the long run . I have 5 t250 track bobcats i run some after market idlers on them all some have 2 hrs some 40 hrs and all have just come apart . so long story short go with Bobcat Brand here in Ga they run 700 for back and 900 in front
 

Digdeep

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
704
Location
Wisconsin
Southerndigger is correct based on my experience selling Bobcats and having friends that sell both Deere, Mustang (Takeuchi) and Case. You can count on around 1,000 hours on front and rear idlers as an average and about 1,500-2000 hours out of the mid rollers. The two primary makers of these wheels are both Italian- Berco and Passini. Aftermarket idlers and rollers will not last as long. You get what you pay for, the same as tracks. In my experience, Bridgestone will last the longest- 750-1000 hours on the higher end, and the others brands usually last around 500-700 hours sometimes less.

Heymccall, you are getting great life. The Mustanf salesman that I know from my Bobcat days tells me that they are getting around the same life as all of the others.
 

Fishfiles

Active Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
Messages
34
Location
louisiana
Stay away from After Market Bobcat Track parts

Got to agree that the after market idlers and rollers from Korea are junk , they are less than 1/2 the OEM price but don't last , have gone thru quite a few of them , they warranty them but they fail again
 

unimog

Active Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2007
Messages
40
Location
Missouri
I don't mean to bad mouth one brand, BUT the Takeuchis I have at 1300, 2400, and 3500 hours have never failed a moving part in the undercarriage besides the track itself.

I just picked up my new TL150 today and hope I have that good of luck. After reading so much negative stuff on here about CTLs I've been having some reservations.
 

equippartsdir

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
63
Location
OHIO
OK Fella's
I just saw this post and had to jump in on this one. Not all aftermarket products are inferior. Just the products you purchased from whoever you purchased them from. I'am in the aftermarket parts business, so I have a little bit of experience in this area. For Digdeep, and the rest of you, both Berco and Passini produce for both the OEM and the aftermarket. I sell both lines of products. Passini Group manufactures ITM [aftermarket] and Sorefa [Deere]. Berco also sells in the aftermarket and I doubt that either of these companies differentiate in the quality of the products, because they are manufactured in the same factories.

One of our main suppliers for UC is Valuepart, Inc. [a Passini owned company] They carry a wide variety of items have excellent Quality, Warranty Policies and Product Support. I also handle Bridgestone. So when I quote a customer on Rubber Tracks, I give them 3 options:
- Bridgestone
-Avon [France]
- Asian [China or Korea]
The acquisiton costs are incrementally less, but the Warranty is the same. I leave the choice up to the customer.
 

Fishfiles

Active Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
Messages
34
Location
louisiana
Berco does have a part number on the Bobcat T series rollers and the number is in the aftermarket dealers Berco line , but they can get it from Berco , it's only OEM for right now , so the Koreans copied them cheap , and man has it been a disaster , installed a bunch of them and they started going out like popcorn popping , the casuality rate I'd thik is 50% , the company sent replacements and they lasted about the same as the first ones 80-100 hours , this past Friday they gave the first moneitary credit on the original purchase for one company and I went to the Bobcat dealer and paid $682 a piece for them ,paid $360 aftermarket , I for see a lot of credits to come , the time wasted with all the changing them around , and down time was a killer , take care when buying aftermarket ------------the after market tracks don't last either , have tried just about all brands and had the same results , half the time as the OEM Bridgestone who use to sell to us when I was service manager at a rental house , but they cut that out , the aftermarket tracks probally don't last because the rubber is not as firm ---------for now I wouldn't install another track or roller that was aftermarket on a Bobcat
 

bobcat ron

Banned
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
843
Location
Abbistan, B.C.
Occupation
playing with the new 247 MTL
Wow, I had 1770 hrs on my T190 CTL when it was traded off for my 247, and all the idlers and rollers were in mint condition, the sprocket was in need of replacement, but the tracks had to be done at the sme time too, how do you people only get 1000 hrs before rollers and idlers start going bad??
 

Fishfiles

Active Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
Messages
34
Location
louisiana
!

We see a lot of street and demo work which wastes alot of rubber , the Bobcats seem to be 800-1000 hrs on the Bridgestone OEM tracks , the aftermarkets tracks 350-500 hours ---------I seen machines that do majority dirt landscaping that had 1700 hours on the original tracks , the operator also makes a lot of diffence in the life of the track ----------on the sprockets I have seen the aftermarket spockets doing a wicked wear pattern that looks nothing like the way the OEM sprocket wears and in turn damages the metal crossover bar that is molded into the rubber of the track , seen a few eventually eat thru a few of the bars ----------the Takeuchi track set up which has metal plates molded into the path where the oversize flat lip roller rides on is the best set up , have seen them go over 2500 hours on a set of tracks and rollers still going
 

02Dmax

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
Messages
687
Location
MO
2000 hours on our T300. idlers and tracks are still in good shape, we're expecting another 1,000 hours out of the tracks
 

Xcopterdoc

Active Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2007
Messages
41
Location
NC
Haven't seen any roller problems with the Bobcat since they went to the greased and sealed units on the 864's. On the older 864's the rollers and front idlers were oil filled. They sucked, the seals failed, what lil bit of oil was in them leaked out and away they went. Track tension maintainance is a MUST! Too tight and you will have problems. 1/2 to 5/8 inch slack between the center roller and the track, with the machine lifted.
Drive motors are a different story. I'd start looking for failure at around the 1100 hr time frame. We were doing real good until we went over the 1000 hr mark on several of our machines. But we also have a couple over the 1500 hr mark that are just fine so far.
Other problems have included bent or broken bucket tilt cylinders. They don't like back dragging with alot of pitch on the bucket. The more extension, the more likely you are to break one or bend one.
If you do have problems with ANY drive system component, and you are out of warranty, INSIST that your dealer or you, contact the regional service rep. You will get a deal on the repair. It's a known problem. They will work with you.
There is also a field mod on the T-300's, some S/N's, for a cooling fan hose replacement. Check with you dealer if you haven't recieved a letter.
Also lastly, on any model Bobcat T series. When you have the track off, change the final drive oil! Bobcat only item, special syn oil, cheap, one bottle will do 3 machines.
Can you tell I've been working on a lot of Bobcats lately?? LOL!
 

bobcat ron

Banned
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
843
Location
Abbistan, B.C.
Occupation
playing with the new 247 MTL
I'm with you on the last remark, I changed that oil when I blew the drive motor bearing 2 days before the warranty was up and I had the other side done too. After 250 hrs, I did the same again, this time got CAT to sample and test the oil and everything was clear, it's a real PITA to take the tracks off, pop the drain plugs, refill and replace the tracks, why Bobcat never put an external drain plug, no one will ever know. But what peace of mind doing that whole process brought though.

But that old T190 is gone now for a cheaper running CAT 247B2 MTL and I don't regret anything about the CAT.
 

bobcatmechanic

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
429
Location
kansas
Occupation
bobcat mechanic
bobcats idlers and spockets wear funny not all of them wear out it kinda depends on how you use it conditions and so forth keep the tracks tight also helps a bunch the front and rear idlers are known for the bearings going out and theres really nothing you can do about it but spend the 500 hundred dollars a roller or idler when they go out sorry to break the news to you but its just how it is bobcat is kinda slow on admittiing and fixing there design flaws i work for a dealership and i see it weakly basically you can just run them until your tired of looking at the worn idlers or until the bearings go out in the or replace them is about your only to options but keeping the tracks tight is your best bet to keep the drive train in good shape make shure you dont over tighten the tracks also because that can cause more harm then good to have them to tight you should be able to push on the track and it give a little but not touch the track frame also your drive motors on your machine have they ever been replace and it not the outter bearing in them are week the old style where real short on the sprocket are the new ones are about 5 in from the center of the track to the out side of the motor but they still arent full proof thye have problems with them to your looking at about 5 to 6 thousand dollars per drive motor if they have to be replace. the machine will not want to move when the drive motors are going bad if this happens get it to a dealership immediatly to get checked out because 12 thousand dollars for drive motors is alot cheaper then the 20 or 30 for whne the metal shavings go throught the case drain filters and take out the hole system because then you have parts and labor to fix everything and diagnose what needs replace and buy then its about every major hydralic componet but that is just something to be aware of not saying its going to happen to you but its something to be aware of for future purchases of bobcat track loaders do your services on time and change the finale drive oil and case drains at 1000 hrs every 1000 hrs if you see metal shavings in the case drains look to the drive motors because thats where 98% of the time they are coming from any questions and ill be happy to answer them
 

bobcatmechanic

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
429
Location
kansas
Occupation
bobcat mechanic
one bottle of oil for the track machine final drives will do 1 machine and do both drive motors with that one bottle i work for bobcat and that is a fact that 1 bottle has 90 cc's of oil in it and 45cc's per side on the motors
 

bobcatmechanic

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2008
Messages
429
Location
kansas
Occupation
bobcat mechanic
the 250's and 300's have a external plug the 140 180 190 dont they are located under hte track spocket on the drive motor so you have to pull the tracks off a little trick lossen the brake bleeder fitting first because if you take the grease zert out you are probaly going to loose an eye they are under very high pressure then take the bleeder fitting all the way out and then take the grease zert out after that then take 2 2x4's and stack them ont op of each other on the track frame start hte machine and use the traction lock over ride button and roll the tracks forward to compress the track tensioner it before you do that though remove both covers on the side of the track frame and the bolts other wise you will break the bolts off and it will scare the crap out off you when they break and grease will go 50ft on a nice warm summer day at that point but roll the track around until the front idler is even with the track frame front and then take a 3ft pry bar stick it in the groove in the center of the track frame by the front idler and be caeful not to get pulled by the track but pry out on the track and roll the track forward and the track will roll of the front idler and then you can remove it from there pretty easy reverse the prosess to put it back on
 
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