Continental F227 water coming out of head bolts

Sedgehammer said:

It's in the drive train where the issue would be. More power would allow the possibility to move more material at once. That would put more strain on those parts. The lifting capacity wouldn't change, as that's a preset limit. Drivetrain turns if there's power to turn it

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DDoug said:

The drive is not hydraulic ?

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Sedgehammer said:

The 900 series were Bobcat's biggest machines for decades. The 970 started it. It is in really good shape plus I've been fixing things over the years to keep it that way. Yes there's a point of no return, but with needing $20,000+ to replace it....... They are a bit big. While this was a gasser, they also came with a Perkins 4.139 I think it was. I know John Deere makes a good motor that's a bit smaller than the 4B. 60 HP I think. I don't use this everyday, nor work it hard really, but there are times I need a skid and don't have the resources to spring for a replacement machine

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Garwood said:

Perkins is a pile of shit.

JD is a decent engine, but JD as a company is shit. Parts are shit these days.

If you want to keep it working forever a 4B/4BT with a Bosch (NOT LUCAS!!!) fuel system will never, ever disappoint you.

That said, I can't fathom putting that much work into a machine that age. I have only worked my little skidsteer a small bit (Mustang 2040), but a good friend works on these things for a living. He hates Bobcat machines with a passion and claims they are the worst designed equipment of all of them. I know he had an old big one in there with a Perkins recently and it was a huge money pit. Always breaking, tons of labor to fix simple shit.

If I were in your shoes I think I'd try to sell it for whatever I could get and look for a better, new machine. Several of my friends have Case 1845 machines with high flow and a 4BT Cummins. They weigh about 10K lbs and will do some serious work, probably about the limit of what a skidsteer can do without getting into TSL territory. If you wanted an old, simple, larger machine that you can work on easily and run forever I'd probably get one of those.

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john.k said:

I dont know how any Perkins could be a money pit......parts are cheaper than dirt ......just about everything I have is Perkins powered............Anyhoo,despite the machine being hydrostatic drive,fitting another motor inside the space available may be more problematic than imagined.........from whats quoted a 4/236 from the 1980s would be a suitable power range ......actually a bit bigger cubes than the Continental.......A John Deere 4/239 ,and a 4B Cummins in the same class...and all about the same cubes (236/239/,240)

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