Advice on buying a Daewoo

[kneelo]

I have been looking at a 20-30t excavator for the farm and have found 30t Daewoo that I’m interested in. It’s late 90’s but is an old demolition machine and its pretty rough. When I inspected it I noticed the following things:

• The hydraulics seem to work ok but pump seems very noisy and leaks a lot of oil.

• Both track drives and the center joint seem to be leaking hydraulic oil (track were leaking on the inside of the tracks but I didn’t take the cover plates off to look at where exactly).

• The swing bearing has visible play when you rock the boom up and down

• The stick cylinder rod has damaged chrome and leaks oil

• Manual throttle control works but the computer screen doesn’t power up and some of the cables to the pump are broken. Have been told it has 11000 hrs but the hour meter wasn’t working when I checked so I don’t know how they worked that out.

• The track car body and cab are quite dented and beaten up and it obviously spent a lot of time skidding around on it belly. Otherwise tracks seem ok except for a few leaking rollers

• Engine seemed ok except that it needed to be manually primed to get it to started

• I has a quick hitch and hammer piping and I’m 90% sure its seen a lot of use with a hydraulically driven screening drum bucket which is also for sale.

Anyway the questions I have are …
Are all the oil leaks an indication that the hydraulics have been overheated or is this just as likely a lack of maintenance?

Am I right in thinking that any play in the swing bearing means it needs to be changed immediately? What are the risks if I continue to use it before changing this?

Is rebuilding the hydraulic pump the sort of job that you can tackle yourself if you have a reasonable well equipped workshop? I have a lathe, a press and a sense of adventure…

Are there any other obvious things I should be checking that I haven’t mentioned?

 

[Chris5500]

I started writing responses to all the points and questions you raised, but I got so far and decided to just say DO NOT BUY IT!

 

[792DLC]

:iagree with Chris

 

[CM1995]

I third the motion. Unless it is very cheap, you have your own mechanics shop, ample time on your hands, abundant availability of cheap parts and a small fortune - I would keep looking.

 

[joispoi]

From what you've described, the amount of work and the cost of parts will quickly kill any enthusiasm you have for fixing it. You could easily spend more in parts than you paid for the machine.

 

[daman]

Your looking at a ton of money and time to fix all them leaks,the unit sounds tired and wore out,keep walking there's better out there for good money.

 

[plantman.uk]

my advice is WALK guy.....looks like it's had one careful owner and 10 bastards save ya money find a better one

 

[sultan]

Don't touch it with a 10 foot pole. There are just too many very serious problems with this machine. How much is the seller asking? I'd pay next to nothing, but at auction some fool may pay $8-10k.

I'd suggest getting a somewhat older machine that's in better shape. Fixing all these problems will take forever and cost you a few times (as in 3-4x) the machine's value. It's not worth it.

 

[kneelo]

They are chasing about $30k (USD$27.5k @ 92c exchange) for it at the moment I believe, but its been for sale for a long time. It was passed in at auction at $15k last month without any bids. I have been chasing prices for the big ticket parts its needs but have been thinking maybe 15 was about right without any of this info. I'm allowing for a new pump, swing bearing and repaired cylinder at a minimum.

Equipment in australia is quite expensive and even more so in western australia I guess because we are very remote. From what i've seen advertised around the place I would guess that that this machine would be worth $50-60k here if it was in good condition.

There hasn't been much around recently but the other machines I have looked at was a late 80's komatsu 220 grey import for around $20k which I didn't get a real chance to look at before it sold, and a 97 komatsu 220-6 in ok condition they are chasing about $60k for which is above my budget.

Because its only going to be a farm machine the time to repair it isn't such a big deal but i know the cost of parts can add up very quickly so I'm checking that out before I do anything. Ask my wife and she'll tell you I have a track record of buying crappy equipment and spending lots of time and money on the repairs... I know I'm doing it but I just can't help myself because I actually quite enjoy spending time in the shed fixing things.

I'm still not entirely dissuaded from this one yet.... My head tells me you guys are right but my heart says 'cmon you know you want to'.

 

[Chris5500]

I know I'm doing it but I just can't help myself because I actually quite enjoy spending time in the shed fixing things.

Well, if you enjoy repairing and maintaining them as much as you do operating them, and you've got heart your heart set on it then why not?

I'm sure if you do buy it and require advice on what your options are and how and what to do then there will be more than enough experienced people on HEF to guide you.

Like joispoi said,

From what you've described, the amount of work and the cost of parts will quickly kill any enthusiasm you have for fixing it. You could easily spend more in parts than you paid for the machine.

He's right in what he's saying however you've obviously set yourself a budget both for the initial cost of the machine and any components, parts and consumables you may need.

The real issue with this machine is the slew bearing, there's no doubt in my mind that it needs immediate replacement going by the visible deflection. Now, going by the machine's current state and the fact that it's an ex demo, come time to remove the slew bearing, you may find strong evidence of adverse operations and machine abuse, shown by marred upper and lower mounting surfaces (carbody and superstructure) which will further increase the cost of task. See this thread for more details.

The cylinder will need to be re-chromed and re-sealed. Depending on what type of tooling you have, you may be able to reseal the piston and head yourself and hone the barrel. Obviously you’ll need to send it away for a re-chrome.

If you can get some photos and more info on the pump leak then we can possibly diagnose it for you, hopefully you won't need to replace the pump.

The other issue is the leaking rotary joint. If it’s leaking internally you’ll need to reseal it or you're going to get all kinds of travel, braking and overheating problems as well as possible system contamination. Again, this can be done you; correct tooling will make it easier but not essential. Hopefully it's just an o-ring or two on one of the hoses.

The leaks from behind the travel motor guards may be minor, or then again may be major! Get the cover off, inspect them and get us some photos!

 

[sultan]

They are chasing about $30k (USD$27.5k @ 92c exchange) for it at the moment I believe, but its been for sale for a long time. It was passed in at auction at $15k last month without any bids. I have been chasing prices for the big ticket parts its needs but have been thinking maybe 15 was about right without any of this info. I'm allowing for a new pump, swing bearing and repaired cylinder at a minimum.

Equipment in australia is quite expensive and even more so in western australia I guess because we are very remote. From what i've seen advertised around the place I would guess that that this machine would be worth $50-60k here if it was in good condition.

There hasn't been much around recently but the other machines I have looked at was a late 80's komatsu 220 grey import for around $20k which I didn't get a real chance to look at before it sold, and a 97 komatsu 220-6 in ok condition they are chasing about $60k for which is above my budget.

Because its only going to be a farm machine the time to repair it isn't such a big deal but i know the cost of parts can add up very quickly so I'm checking that out before I do anything. Ask my wife and she'll tell you I have a track record of buying crappy equipment and spending lots of time and money on the repairs... I know I'm doing it but I just can't help myself because I actually quite enjoy spending time in the shed fixing things.

I'm still not entirely dissuaded from this one yet.... My head tells me you guys are right but my heart says 'cmon you know you want to'.

If you want to, go ahead and try having fun, but it is not easy and it is expensive replacing the slew bearing. The pump repair can also be very costly, and they often need a full replace/rebuild.

They are asking way too much. If your max budget is around $35k AUD, you can probably find a decent and fully operational but somewhat older machine. For example, you can get a ready to work ~94' CAT 325 for around 33k AUD at auction. Go to a ritchie bros sale or something similar. Just remember to examine everything yourself super-thoroughly (incl. running it and loading it with things like lifting itself up) at an auction. You can get many great deals, but there is also a lot of overpriced junk bought by fools at auctions.

P.S. Even when you buy a working machine, you can be certain that things will break down every now and then, and almost no used machines have 100% of their gizmos working. You'll have plenty of fun without being overloaded with pricey and time consuming repair work.

 

[gasfield315c]

wow, everything on that machine is wet, i bet even the darn mirrors leak, i wouldnt buy it, anything with at least 11K hrs on it and leaks that much oil. Probably sink 10 times what its worth in parts real quick

 

[rockmuncher]

Mate, I really don't think that is worth any where near what they are asking for it look at katos as they go fairly cheap and are simple and very reliable.
Also look for older cat, hitahi etc machine, they often go fairly cheap.

For eg
Cat 325L
http://www.constructionhub.com.au/DesktopDefault.aspx?ItemID=3172964&TabID=3427

Shane

 

[rockmuncher]

http://www.constructionhub.com.au/DesktopDefault.aspx?ItemID=3172604&TabID=3427

 

[stx-450]

kneelo you well spend a lot of time on your kneelo's if you go ahead with this, Ive owned
one of this and it was useless from day one and sold it after many components failures.
Ive owned nearly all the makes of excavators and there are some that cheaper to own than others particularly those with generic components however leave this one alone.
Check out the other ones on the other side of the yard near the cattle yards

 

[stock]

NAhh leave the daewoo along just too much wrong with it that 325 don't look too bad for the cash....

 

[cps]

I say go for it, Bid them a real low price, fix a few leaks do a bit of work with then fix the rest as they get worse or you have more time to play with it!

 

[kneelo]

Thanks to all for the advice and links. Some of those other machines look good but they are all on the otherside of the country so not really an option for me. I haven't seen anything in the west which has been reasonable and in my range since before christmas. I've been steering away from really old stuff but maybe I should be having a look.

Got pricing for parts... $8k for the swing bearing, $9k for a new pump and $6+ for the cylinder repair. I guess it wouldnt be to bad if I was confident that was going to be the only stuff I had to replace and the machine was cheap.

Ive got a week or twos worth of work I need to do now and I was hoping rather than pay someone else I would be able to use the money toward buying something.... it would put a resonable dent in the money I have to spend now if I have to pay someone else. If I could get this one cheap enough and then get my work done before anything went bang I would be happy. Ive got a few more weeks before I have to make a decision so I guess i'll just keep looking till then.

 

[DoosanFan]

best of luck, you don't need to ask me what I think you should buy...

 

[watglen]

Parts are silly expensive. Even the cheap parts are silly expensive! Unless you can get it for nothing, leave it be.