Bobcat E10 niggles

[Polecat]

Hello all
Recently retired boomer here, I’ve just got myself a little 2021 Bobcat E10 for a few garden projects now I’ve got time to spare.
Anyway, Ive found a few problems with it, nothing major, the boom creeps down slowly, engine on or off, would you say there should be any acceptable creep on a second hand machine under fair ware and tear?
Another niggle is when slowly crowding the bucket the bucket will dip back in the opposite direction a couple of inches unit you give it a little more on the joystick & it then corrects itself & pops back in the direction it should be going.
Niggle 3, the dozer blade doesn’t seem to have enough power lift the machine, it will lift it about an inch off the ground but that’s about it.
Niggle num 4, when the tracks are extended they are not an equal distance apart front to back, when measuring to the insides of each track I’ve got 28 inch at one end & 26.5 at the other.

Ive got a fitter coming out to look at the blade & bucket crowding problem, but I’ve not told him about the other problems as I’ve only just noticed them, just want to get em sorted while it’s got a bit of warranty on it.
Thanks for any help.

 

[doobin]

Not right, get them to sort it out. How many hours on the machine?

 

[Polecat]

The E10 has 1200 hrs on it, just thinking what to expect as fair ware & tear, yes its get play in the parts you would expect from a second hand machine thats done these hrs, i can accept that.
Its the boom dropping that could be a safety issue especially when lifting things, are all these micro excavators fitted with check valves
With the boom slowly dropping, should it be rock solid, engine on or off, or can i expect a little dropping, it will prob drop about a foot in an hour or so (engine off) it still drops with engine on, but i'm not sure if its the same rate.

 

[doobin]

The E10 has 1200 hrs on it, just thinking what to expect as fair ware & tear, yes its get play in the parts you would expect from a second hand machine thats done these hrs, i can accept that.
Its the boom dropping that could be a safety issue especially when lifting things, are all these micro excavators fitted with check valves
With the boom slowly dropping, should it be rock solid, engine on or off, or can i expect a little dropping, it will prob drop about a foot in an hour or so (engine off) it still drops with engine on, but i'm not sure if its the same rate.

No check valves on that machine. Most likely ram seal worn and bypassing inside cylinder- not a big job for them to fix.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

My E10 is 2021 with 350 ish hours. It has none of the above faults on it.

 

[Giles]

my dx10 same machine but dousan branded 2022 200 hours has none of those faults blade will lift it no problem and tracks are parallel on full extension

 

[doobin]

My E10 must be on around 800 hours these days, 2019 year I think. Everything working fine touch wood.

 

[CPS]

I thinkni seen a few posts on the plant fitters pages on FB about valve blocks cracking internally

 

[hiluxman]

My e10 is on around 2200 hours and it still operates very well with no issues in power or the ability to lift itself

It does have a slight internal leak on the blade ram with is only noticeable if you using the blade to keep yourself level for longer periods of time

 

[Polecat]

Hi all, thanks for the reply’s.
I was slightly wrong with the hours, the e10 has done around 1430, I checked again this afternoon, I raised the boom & the dipper arm all the way up in the air so the ram shafts were all the way in, switched off engine & left it for an hour, after the hour was up the dipper ram shaft had crept out 1.5 inches & the boom ram shaft had come out 3/4 of an inch.
I also measured the gap on the inside of each track again, after I had raised the machine off the ground & extended & retracted the tracks a few times, front measured 30 inches, rear measured 28.5, I then retracted the tracks, front measured 14 & 3/4 inches back measured 14 inches, maybe there is some crap lodged in the undercarriage somewhere that could be affecting the operation.

I purchased the machine from a dealer & was told it was covered for two month, so I would think or hope these faults are covered, or am I expecting too much

 

[hiluxman]

I'd say that was normal for the boom an dipper rams to creep that much if left in the air for an hour with the engine off.

 

[Polecat]

Would it be normal for it to creep that much with engine running (at idle) do you think?
I will try it in a bit, see if it creeps as much.
From memory i recon it did creep (at idle) when i was using the machine to lift & hold a bit of steelwork, about 60 kg, but i didn't check how much the arm dropped.

 

[doobin]

Would it be normal for it to creep that much with engine running (at idle) do you think?
I will try it in a bit, see if it creeps as much.
From memory i recon it did creep (at idle) when i was using the machine to lift & hold a bit of steelwork, about 60 kg, but i didn't check how much the arm dropped.

I'm getting mine out today, I'll leave it for an hour with a bucket of soil and let you know how much it droops by.

 

[Polecat]

I'm getting mine out today, I'll leave it for an hour with a bucket of soil and let you know how much it droops by.

Thank you.
Do you recon the undercarriage is susceptible to getting crap lodged in it, affecting the track expansion & retraction

 

[doobin]

Thank you.
Do you recon the undercarriage is susceptible to getting crap lodged in it, affecting the track expansion & retraction

Yes, definitely. Common problem.

 

[OBL]

Mines a 2016 with 1400 hours, I’ve owned from new. Been such a good machine. It’s been to absolute war in so many tight spots and done stuff it wasn’t designed to do but has been serviced every 250 hours.
Boom does creep down over time but blade is strong on the lift.
It’s had a fan belt.
Two new tracks at 1200 hours (snapped not that worn)
The switch that swaps between blade and track failed.
Had two hoses where they bend in the control arms when lifted to get on and off. I will need to do them all at some point, it’s a total pig to work on though, tight for access.
Could do with dipper end bushes and there is play in the slew pin bush but otherwise apart from paint it’s still a good machine.
I can see me getting 2500 hours out of it.
Cost a mere £11k new back then….

 

[Lancs Lad]

Ok. Show of hands who's got an E10.

Am I the only one without? I nearly bought a tidy one for 6k pre COVID still kicking myself. Massive FOMO now

Bobcat hacked this forum early on?

 

[doobin]

Ok. Show of hands who's got an E10.

Am I the only one without? I nearly bought a tidy one for 6k pre COVID still kicking myself. Massive FOMO now

Bobcat hacked this forum early on?

Nah, they were just the first manufacturer (as far as I know) to offer servo controls. It ticks all the other boxes for a micro (710mm wide) and their 0% finance certainly didn't hurt sales either.

 

[doobin]

Big bucket from the e27, must be at least 60kg.

Just shy of 55” to the bottom of the bucket, both rams fully retracted. Engine off, will check in an hour.

 

[doobin]

1 hour later. As you can see it’s dropped a bit on all the rams.

If I straighten the bucket back to where it was (flat bottom) the measurement to the bottom of the bucket is just under 53”. So 2” drop overall

Boom ram has extended by 1/2”
Dipper ram by 1 1/2”
Hope this helps.

631 hours, 2018 model. Had it longer than I thought and done less with it than I thought.

Just been and dug a bay tree out with it. 3 hours including travel, 240 in my back pocket and enough bay leaves to keep her indoors happy for years.