Worth buying a used cat 303cr?

kshansen said:

Well as I said I'm not familiar with these machines but did take a quick look on SIS and saw this remark:
Oil is supplied to the left travel motor (1) by the left pump through the swivel. Oil is supplied to the right travel motor by the right pump through the swivel.

So I'd say one would need to be sure the problem is in the motor and not the pump or swivel. It would be nice if the lines for the right drive and left drives could be temporarily swapped to prove where the problem was, maybe at the control valve?

Strange thing is when I check the parts book on the machine I'm not seeing these two pumps. Is Cat trying to confuse me?

Click to expand...

Head scratcher there. Maybe I can track down a manual at the shop and see. I’ll give it a shot and see what if it works.

It always gets me when I hear about the way some people like contractor take care, or should I say don't take care, of their equipment. Also how so many have no idea how they even work. I mean the equipment is 90% of what pays the bills. No matter how good your workers are if the equipment don't work how are they going to get the job done?

Yes but also doing heavy digging on final drives say bucket over it and blade up hurts the bearings in final drives and how you load and unload the machine on final drives ...I just had a 304cr mini final drive go bad 5200 hours and bearings on sun gears let go machine is old and handled rough ..but is strong as a ox
Buy it and service it ..check with https://www.offroadeq.com/ for final drive they have cat parts and aftermarket

Georgia Iron said:

I cant believe you even asked this question. I have never seen a mini for sale for that price. How could you loose the power pack is worth that....


See if the boom has enough power to pick up the machine if so the hydraulics are strong enough.

Get a final and go at it


i had a 302.5 used it for over a year and sold it for more than it cost.. It was a leaky pos. But it did a good many jobs and made me money when i sold it.

Click to expand...

Just got off the machine. It is not strong enough to pick its self up anymore. Left track seems to drag only after its been run for a while and is heated up. Maybe i was a little off with it being the final drive? Could be something to do with the hydraulics more so than the final drive it’s self.

take the oil plug out on final drive at drain but do it at 3 oclock position so its not draining but to see the metal shavings on magnet plug … a lot of metal final drive is going bad ...next hand and foot levers how much play to make machine move is more one sided as the weak drive ...they get pitted from wear on travel control under floor board even packed with mud not very costly to replace valve body there....
will it bucket down cold pick it self up then hot not ?
my 2004 304 cr with rebuilt motor will and has always been more powerful then our 2012 304 by a lot its is weak but smooth machine ..sent it back to cat 2 times nothing wrong they said my old mini will pick up 3000 pounds with blade down and swing it to load a rammax trench compactor newest one will not even pick it up