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Who wants to settle a dispute? Komatsu PC 220

John C.

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Sure.

I know about the foot pedals and levers that fit into them. What I haven't seen are control cables going from the bottom of the pedals back to the control valve.
 

John C.

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That's what I've seen on the gray market machines.
 

lantraxco

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The machine was originally built for the local market, usually Japan or China, and not intended for shipment to the US or Europe or Australia. Usually has minor or possibly major differences from the ones your local dealer would sell, and stock parts for.
 

John C.

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All the Komatsu excavators of that vintage made for the states has short lever pilot controls. The gray market machines for the most part had the levers, rods and turn buckles that actually did the moving of the valve spools. The last hold outs were the travel pedals where some machines had control cables.

When the currency exchange had the US dollar real high and the Japanese yen real low it was cheap to have a picker in Japan finding machines for you and then importing those used machines to the US. Thousands of the grays of every manufacture came in and sold for many thousands less than a new machine made for here. The local dealers hated them as much as I loved working on them. The EPA quieted the market down some but the real change came when the value of the dollar fell against the yen. There are still some grays coming in now and then but not enough to make a good living on them anymore.
 
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