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I paid a premium for a titled '89 HMMH, but got a bargain on my '87 SEE (followed by much aggravation due to bill-of-sale-only, plus some extra fees, still a bargain if I value my time at min wage
. Totals: $55K, 30 hours rebuilt, 800 miles. Hard lesson learned: tilt the cab and re-torque the head bolts on RR depot rebuilds, two reputable old salts grinned and chuckled at my sob story. -30*F, I tried the ether-shot on the SEE last winter, not sure where it stuck but I had to bail outta the cab when I felt the buzz kicking in, only then did I see all the steam coming out the stack. 110*F later, on its next (jump) startup, all was well -- but sure gave every indication I'd blown the head gasket, sounded the part too?
Hey, we can have a race! I'm starting on a quick attach conversion on Tuesday, when the adapter arrives. Not sure when the fully hydraulic snow blower will arrive, but to me the biggie will be to find out if the rear hydraulics will run it properly.
If your using the the backhoe or loader your going to want to grease the pins and bushings daily.I paid a premium for a titled '89 HMMH, but got a bargain on my '87 SEE (followed by much aggravation due to bill-of-sale-only, plus some extra fees, still a bargain if I value my time at min wage
The SEE was less cherry, but also better taken care of (aside from incorrect head-bolt torque afaik) -- every zerk freshly greased. I'm not an expert on military affairs, but there's a TO (not TM) in with the rest here, which covers the greasing issue. My HMMH never hit a maintenance interval, so its zerks aren't even scratched! 85*F - -40* where I live, 3-5 pumps per zerk spring & fall will be my interval, even if they don't need it as per operating hours / miles. If you get a runner, grease 'er up good first thing! My HMMH has tell-tail stains on the flat-green paint job, where the grease all melted out. My SEE had visible fresh grease, upon arrival, but winter here means sand & salt, so pump that grease out in the spring and refill it in the fall.
First test of the suspension lockout on the HMMH cracked the reservoir, apparently a known problem which hadn't manifested pre-sale. Plus two leaky hydraulic cylinders, one major one minor, same deal -- cherry HMMH only ever been driven, without exercising various systems, stuff gonna dry rot. Those crane seals took five weeks to get, why I ordered plenty, I don't remember what I was told about the OEM on the crane, or the company which now owns that brand?
Air leaks on the HMMH, has 4x4 but no diff lock? I found some interesting info here on fixing this issue, which isn't covered in the "unit maint" manual, once again a case of stuff just sitting around not being used -- cherry FLU's, imo, really are too good to be true! Unless you take the time, upon acquisition, to do all the routine maintenance they require before ever starting the motor. Plus a few extra checks like head-bolt torque.
If only I had it to do over again, on both my "new" Mogs! Nutshell answer to OP: none of these issues presented pre-sale, nor would any have been deal-killers -- negotiating points, sure! I've had a couple of heartaches, despite not even having used either of my FLUs yet, because I didn't hit all the routine maintenance (and then some, like the air system, head-bolt torque check, drain the ether and use distilled water plus some WD-40 on that dash-mounted self-destruct-switch) before ever starting them up, after taking possession. My HMMH won't see much use in winter, but I will take her out of the barn twice a month and just warm up & work all the hydraulics, in this cold dry climate. There's nothing I could've done to keep her from spewing hydraulic fluid the first day I had her, this sort of equipment just doesn't take kindly to sitting around. Although, all hoses on both mogs are good.
My cold-weather mods so far: hydronic heaters & heated dipsticks, full fuel-line replacement with standard rubber fuel hose -- the 30yo plastic hoses are so brittle they aren't likely to last long around here, so Preventive Maintenance. I have lots of real-world work to do with mine (the SEE's getting a universal skid-steer adapter & belly PTO to run a snowblower) before they're relegated to garage-queen status, but even then, they need to come out & play. Day/night difference in my two mogs, one sat around, another was cared for 2x for every hour it was used -- even came with two spare oil filters, one spare hood gasket, full printed manuals, and a Unimog ballcap!
That is the question! Last winter was deep, here. Had I subbed out the SEE-blower, I would likely have recovered my investment in one winter. Intriguing idea about SBC on the back, given that. I'd use a Japanese motor, seeing as how I already put Russian hydronics on a German-American truck!
I've been researching custom snowblowers (made in USA), more like custom-configured. Rotate & deflect can connect to the front hydraulic pump.
Kinda my thinking on having a 2nd motor on board.
I think it is, but now you made me question that.
For the hydraulic pump you just need to match pto rpms / gpm to the blower you plan on using .Kinda my thinking on having a 2nd motor on board.
I thought (until a few minutes ago) the hose reel was powered by the rear PTO. Sometimes I forget to keep things simple... a nice, new PTO hydraulic under the tranny can't be a bad thing to have, and I'm sure it'll run whatever snowblower I decide on. 8-foot is just wider than I want to go, sticking out on both sides, collecting debris trying to maneuver on narrow, twisty mountain driveways and private roads you couldn't get a permit to build like that nowadays. But, I haven't bought anything yet, the trees still have leaves but not much green left, so it's getting down to the wire.
