# Question for you skidsteer pro's.



## CK82 (Sep 17, 2005)

Any idea on the amount of labor to change out the two main hydrolic drive hoses on a skidsteer. Also any rough idea on how long to split a hydro pump and put a new seal in? I know every machine is different and its a long shot, but please help. I have a Gehl 5640T, and my dealer is trying to take me to the cleaners as usual. Please help I need some idea for when I pick my machine up. I still am dealing with them on the previous service that cost me $1400.00 for some minor work and fluid changes.


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## magnatrac (Dec 22, 2006)

Well my 01 new holland ls 160 had a flex plate go out( alot more work than changing hoses). It was dead in the water back in the woods stuck between 2 jumps on a mx. track. I had to get a backhoe clear a road for the dealers rollback truck to get in and load it. Long story short they picked it up ( in the woods) tore it down and dropped it back off for $ 1,100  It was money I never planned on spending but I have no buiness doing a tear down on a skid. They did it all in 3 days. I could have saved $125 if I would have picked it up after it was fixed, but It was later nov. and snow was falling so I made more money staying at work !!! My dealer has always been good to me so I know prices can vary for work from shop to shop. I do know that they want an insane amount of money for an oil change even if I drop it off. That will NEVER happen !!!

,shaun


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## DugHD (Nov 1, 2005)

CK - no harm intended here just constructive critisism , but if you dont have a idea how long it will take to rebuild your hydraulic pump you probably shouldnt attempt it. If you do tackle it , a service manual would be a wise purchase. Are you sure its a seal? There are many other factors for lost pump pressure. Dont forget to flush the entire system if there is pump failure. My opinion Good luck, doug


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## magnatrac (Dec 22, 2006)

DugHD;761986 said:


> CK - no harm intended here just constructive critisism , but if you dont have a idea how long it will take to rebuild your hydraulic pump you probably shouldnt attempt it. If you do tackle it , a service manual would be a wise purchase. Are you sure its a seal? There are many other factors for lost pump pressure. Dont forget to flush the entire system if there is pump failure. My opinion Good luck, doug


 I think he is asking how long it will take the dealer. As in how many hours he should expect to be charged for? Thats how I read it, but then again it wouldn't be the first time I miss read a post !!! As far as manuals I looked into buying them when my old loader had it's break down and it was close to $ 400 just to but all of the factory books I decided it was better to give the dealer that money in labor:crying:

, shaun


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## DugHD (Nov 1, 2005)

OOPS, sorry about that ck. I'm here cruising the internet , watching tv, preparing a bid and talking to the kids. I need to pay attention a little before I start blabbing. 
I would estimate the dealer is going to charge for 6-10 hrs plus materials for the pump removal and repair. doug


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## CK82 (Sep 17, 2005)

Yea I definitely wouldnt attempt tearing the pump apart. Replacing a hose or doing a fluid change isnt rocket science and helps save some money thats for sure. One last thing I wouldnt have to flush the hydro system just for changing a hose? I appreciate any and all the advice guys! 

Chris


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## KRtraxx (Jan 6, 2009)

magnatrac;761856 said:


> Well my 01 new holland ls 160 had a flex plate go out( alot more work than changing hoses). It was dead in the water back in the woods stuck between 2 jumps on a mx. track. I had to get a backhoe clear a road for the dealers rollback truck to get in and load it. Long story short they picked it up ( in the woods) tore it down and dropped it back off for $ 1,100  It was money I never planned on spending but I have no buiness doing a tear down on a skid. They did it all in 3 days. I could have saved $125 if I would have picked it up after it was fixed, but It was later nov. and snow was falling so I made more money staying at work !!! My dealer has always been good to me so I know prices can vary for work from shop to shop. I do know that they want an insane amount of money for an oil change even if I drop it off. That will NEVER happen !!!
> 
> ,shaun


 A little off the subject here but wanted to mention ,did the dealer tell you why your flexplate failed? ALWAYS bump up the idle a bit if your getting out of your machine for over a minute or two..At low idle speeds a harmonic vibration is sent through your drive train which can be harmful to the flex plates splines and rivets if its done all the time for long periods.(long idle times) If you do this it will eliminate a lot of the chance of this happening and save you some bucks and headaches. This tip does not apply to Bobcats since they use a belt drive..


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## KRtraxx (Jan 6, 2009)

CK82;761542 said:


> Any idea on the amount of labor to change out the two main hydrolic drive hoses on a skidsteer. Also any rough idea on how long to split a hydro pump and put a new seal in? I know every machine is different and its a long shot, but please help. I have a Gehl 5640T, and my dealer is trying to take me to the cleaners as usual. Please help I need some idea for when I pick my machine up. I still am dealing with them on the previous service that cost me $1400.00 for some minor work and fluid changes.


 Is yours a E model Gehl? Previous to the E model Gehl had some Hyd.motor problems on some of their skids.Instead of recalling them ALL .They took a chance and only replaced the ones that failed.Thats sucks for the low houred customer whose hyds. didnt fail till 3 years down the road..I guess I would check another Gehl dealer for a second opinion.Its YOUR money to spend where they treat you right..


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## CK82 (Sep 17, 2005)

My Gehl is a 2004 model, prior to the E series I believe. The machine has been good to me thus far I have had it for about a year and a half. I bought it used at 1200hrs. and it now has 1700hrs. The only issues I had were that the temp gauge in the cab would only rise to 160F at most. I put a thermostat in it and that wasnt it, it was something in line prior to the thermostat. Couldnt tell you what it was exactly but the machine heats up well now! I also had a new seal put in the hydro pump, or so thats what they told me they did. I looked in the engine compartment and that looked like it would have been a hell of a difficult job to do. Then the most recent was they replaced the two drive hoses from the left hydro motor. The one hose had a nice sized hole blown through it, the other looked lke it had just a little wear. My dealer has been nothing but problems since I started servicing my machine there. They billed me for 10hrs. to split the hydro pump and put a new seal in, along with some fluid changes. Then the most recent they replaced two simple drive hoses and billed me for 8.2hrs. to be exact. It doesnt add up if you ask me. 

Sorry Im just rambling.


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## DGODGR (Nov 30, 2008)

Skid steers are great tools. Their compact size affords them the ability to do things and go places that larger machines can not. Unfortunately their compact design makes many repairs very difficult. I have never owned a Gehl so I can not speak about repair times or service experience as I have none. I hate taking my Bobcat to the dealer as I usually suspect that I am being over charged for repairs. For this reason I do all maintenance and as many repairs as I can. Your particular hydro pump may or may not be complicated to repair. From what I am reading it has a swash plate so I would imagine that it's more complicated than a gear pump. If you do not feel comfortable with performing repairs you do have another option (than using a dealer that you don't like) if you can perform basic mechanical repairs. As posted above you can try another dealer or you can remove the pump as a unit and take it to a hydraulic repair shop for repairs. This can potentially save you a lot of money. I had the hydraulic fan motor go bad on my A300. The dealer charged me 5 hours to R&R the pump and said that it could not be repaired, that it only can be replaced. After the work was done I took the old pump (hydraulic motor actually) to a local repair shop and they immediately recognized the unit and had it rebuilt in two days. The cost was $125.00. The cost for the new unit from Bobcat was $700.00. As you can guess I was very upset by this. I now have a rebuilt unit in case the new one ever goes bad. The point of all this rambling is that the hydraulics on almost all machines are supplied by relatively few outside vendors and most hydro repair shops are familliar with these components. In most cases they are more familiar and thus may even make repairs faster and better than the dealer can. 
It is good that you have concerns and are paying attention to your service bills. Over the years I have caught many errors on bills that I have recieved (from all types of venders including repair shops) and have saved tens of thousands of dollars by being vigilant. I would suggest that you talk to your dealer about your concerns and see what type of response you get. Use your intuition to determine if you are getting a snow job. I would also talk to other machine owners in you area and see what their experiences are and who the use for service. Pose the questions that you posted above to another dealers service dept and see what times they will quote you. I think most dealers will quote (and charge) a manufacturers book time for repairs. Even if it takes less time. Maybe you can find another dealer that has a mechanic with more experience and thus takes less time making the same repairs. It is obvious that you are not happy thus far and I doubt that will change if you don't do anything about it.


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## KRtraxx (Jan 6, 2009)

Excellent post Dgodgr... I also found that many times a good mechanic may like making a few extra bucks after hours at home or in your shop.I know most arent supposed to do that but a Gehl dealer normally doesnt have the rules that say a Cat dealer does for his employee.I guess you would have to know the guy well to do something like that.
I once had a 170HP tractor that blew an O ring somewhere down under the cab on the hyd.system. The one dealer who I thought I trusted came and got it and said they would have to take the cab up and it was quite a job to get to that part. They delivered it back a week later with a 1900 dollar bill...After using the tractor for about 2 months it blew again.I had met a mechanic who had a great reputation at another dealership and gave him a call and explained what happened..He said he was in the area the next day on his day off and would stop by to take a look.I was busy when he showed up but pointed out the the tractor was in the shop across the yard if he wanted to give me an estimate on what was involved we could proceed from there...About an hour later I saw the tractor being driven around the yard !!.He said there was a door on the floor of the cab under the rubber mat to get to the o ring and that the other guys had put the wrong quality O ring in.. This was 2 years ago and No issues since..Asked him what the charge was and he said how about 65 bucks.I handed him 250 cash and we BOTH smiled the rest of the day.....A good honest mechanic can be priceless.


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## CK82 (Sep 17, 2005)

Its unfortunate that people will try and take advantage of you when they can, especially if there is money involved. Your O Ring problem seems similar to my blown hydrolic drive hose. I popped the cab up, took of a plate near the controls and I was able to access both ends of the hose in about 25 minutes. I would most likely have had to put the machine on jackstands to get better access to one end of the hose, but all in all I bet I could have the job done in 3-4hrs. max and I am definitely not a mechanic that works on these machines day in and day out. 

Thanks for the post guys.


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## gary42095 (Jan 4, 2009)

i am unsure of your machine but i did all 4 drive hoses onan 853 bobcat. i will never do it again myself. not only is it miserable trying to feel your way around with arms extended fumbling with tools. it took me allmost two days of misery to get the hoses on. (i do 95% of mechanical repairs on everything i own) but the hoses about 2 feet long have to bend like an "S" to hook between valves/motors with a new straight 2" ? hose it was a *****. sure you get one side, but then trying to get the other end in place, keep the o-ring on, and get the threads startted...forget it. of course i ASSumed i put them on the way they came off till i was down and i crossed them :realmad:
but just for a heads up on cost. i got mine made at a hose place and all 4 were around 800 dollars. cant imagine what dealer R&R would be


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