Koehring 6633 / 3366

[msllc]

I can not remember the correct model number right now, so please do roast me to badly. I'm considering buying this 77k pound machine from a guy for $8000 & paying another $3000 to have it delivered to me about 300 miles away. my questions begin with...

1.) how well will this machine pull out hardwood stumps that my previous 8000 pound bobcat would not do easily?
2.) what sort of problems are these huge excavators known for?
3.) the seller is saying that it only has 8000 hours on it. what would you guys check before jumping on this possible financial grenade?
4.) are they worth much, If I had to part it out to recoup my losses?

 

[Mother Deuce]

Oh yeah... it will definitely extract those stumps. There are a number of them around in service still.
In 87 Koehring was acquired by Northwest which morphed into the Terex Corporation. I
would be researching parts availability. I see a 6633 in Maryland the seller is trying to get 10,500
for. The Koehring guy's will be along directly.

 

[Bls repair]

Big machines =big repair cost, at 8000 hrs undercarriage if not replaced before should be about due $$$$$$$$
Hydraulic cylinders leaking ,hoses, slop & cracks in boom. Bucket condition ,engine leaks,smoke. Radiator leaks

 

[msllc]

Oh yeah... it will definitely extract those stumps. There are a number of them around in service still.
In 87 Koehring was acquired by Northwest which morphed into the Terex Corporation. I
would be researching parts availability. I see a 6633 in Maryland the seller is trying to get 10,500
for. The Koehring guy's will be along directly.

The machine I was talking about is one in the same as you mentioned. I would like to get a heavy equipment mechanic inspection done on this machine, if any are available in Maryland. I will let you know if I end up with it.

 

[msllc]

Big machines =big repair cost, at 8000 hrs undercarriage if not replaced before should be about due $$$$$$$$
Hydraulic cylinders leaking ,hoses, slop & cracks in boom. Bucket condition ,engine leaks, smoke. Radiator leaks

You are definitely right about the larger parts costs & repair bills from heavier / larger machinery. All I know about this machine (beyond a few pictures & generic make / model specs) is that the 75 year old owner is forced to sell due to health reasons.

Here is the link to it, if anyone is interested in looking it over = https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...uipment/for-sale/191654083/1988-koehring-6633

I would be using this machine for around 50 to 100 hours before completing what I want to do with it (clearing about three acres) & then I would be looking at selling it off for a potential profit. Any thoughts & opinions would more than welcome.

 

[Andy1845c]

Personally I think if the machine isn't something you actually want, and you're just buying it to clear 3 acres, I would probably just hire someone to some in and do the work for you.
I like to do work myself so I get that part, but I doubt there is a lot of profit to be made on that machine when you go to sell it, could be a long wait for a buyer, and the 3k you pay in trucking it won't be able to be recovered. A few small repairs like hoses will add up super fast. With a machine this size so many repairs will require another machine and special tools to even complete since everything is so heavy. Its not quite like working on a skid steer or mini excavator. A major repair will leave you dead in the water.
If you wanted it as a toy and were justifying the clearing as a reason to buy it. Wanted to fix it up. Didn't mind working on it and didn't care if you ended up with more $$$$ in it than its worth, i'd say go look it over good and go for it.

Another consideration, I don't know exactly what your situation is, but I have cleared a lot of land with my JD 710 backhoe. The hoe will dig the stumps out well but you end up with a lot of holes. Its hard to smooth everything out when you're done without a dozer. You could maybe do some of that with your skid loader if you don't need to make any big corrections and the soil isn't super miserable to work, but a dozer works so much better.

 

[Mother Deuce]

Here's my two bits but mind you, I have been at home for 5 days and my character is becoming suspect. If I was spending my money I would find a 200 with a hydraulic thumb (one with a compound link). Use that to "park out" or brush out whatever brush you're going to clear and stack it to dry. Start yardin' the stumps out. You may have to work a little harder at it with a 45,000 pound machine versus a 80,000 pounder. But it will do it. Split the stumps you can split easy, without beating the daylights out of the machine. Clean the dirt out of them. Roll them around, pick them up and drop them. A combination of that will work. If you can burn use your drying (dirt free, cause dirt don't burn) brush to start your fire and to get your stumps burning. A fan is a plus. If you can't burn and have to truck it split stumps fit into the can or trailer better and less dirt is more wood hauled out. When your forestry extravaganza is complete. Bust down to your neighborhood scrap yard or bridge builder and secure a 8 foot piece of heavy 12 inch H Beam ( get an H because a I beam web is too tall and will bend) it runs about 100 pounds a foot. I said compound link thumb for two reasons. The link protects the cylinder from side load and it also allows the thumb and bucket to roll out together closed out to the maximum ground level reach.. Why do I want that?? Because your brand new H beam is now your dozer blade for roughing in your project. If you dig a building footing or Pad with a little practice it will look like you did it with a dozer. If it does not need to be that precise take a chainsaw and find a reasonably straight tree around a foot or better in diameter and cut a 10 or 12 foot section and that's your grade log. Clamp it in the thumb and because you have a compound thumb you can stretch out all the way to the end of your reach and grade your way out. One day I stopped by a tract development my dad was doing and he was cleaning up the site with his TD7E. He had chained about a 15 foot Alder section to the blade and was sweeping up with the blade width as wide as a D-8. The 200 is going to cost you more Between 27 and 35 for the sort of vintage your looking at and you need to select the manufacturer (avoid units that have no support) that has the best support near your job. A field service call will be less, The parts will be less and should be available, the fuel will be less and transportation will be less.When your done you can sell it to the DIY operator in the neighborhood.... just the prattlings of an old woman though, who is suffering from cabin fever. Best of luck with whatever way you decide to go.

 

[Delmer]

In your other thread you ask for a mechanic to look at it. Almost be better to settle for a knowledgeable operator with something like this. Yes, a mechanic could measure the undercarriage and engine performance and pins and bushings, but a good operator could tell how much this has been used lately, or how long it's sat which is about the most important thing, if it's sat without any significant use, then it's liable to start leaking after a few hours. If it starts up decent, runs good, operates as it should, then the undercarriage and other wear are just things you'll live with, you'll never improve this, only ride out the last hours it has. The past maintenance and repairs are irrelevant, what you see is what you get, not that hard to see what shape something this big is in. The big expenses will be seals and hoses, unless it gets something terminal, and then it's scrap time. You won't get anything for scrap at the moment, might get hundreds for some components if parted out, or thousands if somebody wants to take on a project.

We're talking $10K, if you have a use for it, why not?