Excavator maintenance cost

M

MrChuckles

New member

Equipment
L3301, Land Pride Brush Hohg, Kubota Backhoe, FEL
Jul 25, 2017
18
0
0
Garfield, AR
I realize this forum is all about tractors, but we're considering buying a Kubota KX040 excavator. We'd use it for reaching far spots to move and place rocks as well as managing the steeper slopes, digging, etc.

They aren't cheap and we plan to start renting first. My question is if we bought one how much would we expect to spend (roughly) on maintenance each year. Anyone with experience?
 
North Idaho Wolfman

North Idaho Wolfman

Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Jun 9, 2013
28,676
5,100
113
Sandpoint, ID
We like Excavators too!
We deal with anything Kubota and some even beyond that! ;)

With normal use they run about the same maintenance cost as a tractor.
they use a lot of the same Parts, and fluids.

I would say normal maintenance is about $300 a year, give or take.

One piece of advice get the OPS manual and the WSM when you buy the machine, it will save you a ton of aggravation down the line.
 
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R

RCW

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Lifetime Member

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BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Apr 28, 2013
8,382
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Chenango County, NY
North Idaho Wolfman said:
One piece of advice get the OPS manual and the WSM when you buy the machine, it will save you a ton of aggravation down the line.
Click to expand...
Great advice.

Several guys have gotten the WSM manual free with their tractor purchase.

At $100+ for the WSM, they were thinking smart...
 
Bulldog

Bulldog

Well-known member

Equipment
M 9000 DTC, L 3000 DT
Mar 30, 2010
5,440
73
48
Rocky Face, Georgia
Cost is about like a tractor but some extra care is involved.

Don't cut corners on grease. They have a lot of grease points and they have to be kept up with.

Don't travel backward. If you are walking a long way make sure you travel forward. Walking backwards for a long distance will cause excessive track wear. Also keep your tracks tight.

My best advise is keep it maintained. Everything more or less is hydraulic. Spend a little extra up front on quality fluid and filters. Cutting corners here can cost more than you realize. Hyd pump is probably around $10k (if you're lucky) and the valve body is around the same. Don't be the one that brags about getting fluid at TSC for $30 a bucket then cries about their pump going down.
 
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