Bobcat 371 Resto-Mod

[TZ1893]

Hello all, thought I'd start a new thread since some of you might find this project interesting.

Quick bit of background, I'd been on the look out for a skidloader for awhile, specifically one small enough that it will fit on the inside of my 2 1/2 car garage with both vehicles parked inside as well. This limits things quite a bit. Fortunately I found this guy...



It's a late 70s Bobcat 371 skidloader, nice little machine, designed to fit into tight spaces since it's only 44" at it's widest point. It has a few problems but I was able to negotiate the price down to what I thought was fair. As a bonus it was also very close to where I live, as in I could've driven it home close. So towards the end of July I pulled the trigger, and bought it. Since then I've used it on a few projects to get a feel for what needs to be addressed.

With that being said, my goals for this project are:

1 - Replace hydraulic lines/hoses and various seals since there are leaks.
2 - Repair the previous owner's "modifications"
3 - Upgrade the engine
4 - Add lights, 2 headlights, a reverse light and a yellow caution light
5 - Add gauges for fuel, battery etc.
6 - Repair/sandblast/repaint

Bonus round - Enclose the cab for plowing in winter.

Well here goes nothin haha...

First thing, remove the seat and seat tray to gain access to the hydraulics.



I know the picture is kind of small, but a few issues should catch your eye, first there's this crafty repair on a hydraulic line.



Next there's the very fancy addition to throttle



Finally if you look in the first picture, you can see door springs were added on the levers to keep them in position, much much easier then you know, adjusting the clutches! So there's three things right off the bat.

Next up, I removed the roll cage so I could stop crawling in and out, I'm not a huge guy but it's tight in there! I also removed the tires because I noticed a pool of transmission fluid under one wheel and then set it up on jackstands.



Lot's more to keep breaking down, I'll keep you guys posted and thanks for checking in.

 

[Farmall 1066]

Cute little machine. Almost got killed on a 371 about 20 years ago.

 

[code4pay]

Cute little machine. Almost got killed on a 371 about 20 years ago.

Don't leave us hanging, what happened?

 

[zkdiesel]

What's your repower plan?

 

[jhn9840]

Used to have one of those at a place I worked at back in the 80's. It was very useful to have around. Looking forward to seeing what all you do to it.

jhn9840
John

 

[TZ1893]

Thanks for the responses everyone...

Farmall1066 - Sorry to hear that but glad to see you're still here! Definitely need to watch yourself in it. The narrow wheel base is great, but it sure does make the machine tippy.

zkdiesel - I plan on putting an 18hp Kohler in it, more on that below.



I scored this guy off of CL to put in the 371



18hp Kohler Command with around 200hrs on it. Originally the machine came with a 14hp Kohler, the previous owner told me it seized up on him two years ago. His solution was to drop in a cheap 12 horse HF engine, which I guess works, but the machine is underpowered now and you can tell. Spinning a full 360 is out of the question, it bogs down easy when under a load, and in general just lags. Maybe with a bunch of adjustments it could all work, but screw it, I'll just go a little bigger/newer and it'll be set.

Still playing catch up on pictures, but I'll update tomorrow with the engine removal and a little bit of fab work. Thanks for checking in.

 

[Farmall 1066]

Back in mid 90's I worked for an farm equipment dealer that sold Bobcat. Salesman traded for a dead 371 that had been setting outside for years. I got orders to "just get it running" and nothing else.
Got the Kohler brought back to life....and at this point, I need to explain that I'm 6'7" and at the time, about 285#. Since there's no way in hell I'm fitting in it, standard procedure was to drive these backwards, standing in the bucket.
I went to back it out of my stall, and the bucket was flat on the ground. I reached in to move the bucket pedal, grabbed boom pedal by mistake. Rusted valve sticks in raise position, rusty steer levers stick in reverse.
I had to move out of the way to keep from getting mashed between roll cage and booms, ending up with bucket all the way up, with machine driving backwards out of the shop.
Crawled down the booms and reached in and yanked off coil wire!
So there you have it!

 

[code4pay]

Back in mid 90's I worked for an farm equipment dealer that sold Bobcat. Salesman traded for a dead 371 that had been setting outside for years. I got orders to "just get it running" and nothing else.
Got the Kohler brought back to life....and at this point, I need to explain that I'm 6'7" and at the time, about 285#. Since there's no way in hell I'm fitting in it, standard procedure was to drive these backwards, standing in the bucket.
I went to back it out of my stall, and the bucket was flat on the ground. I reached in to move the bucket pedal, grabbed boom pedal by mistake. Rusted valve sticks in raise position, rusty steer levers stick in reverse.
I had to move out of the way to keep from getting mashed between roll cage and booms, ending up with bucket all the way up, with machine driving backwards out of the shop.
Crawled down the booms and reached in and yanked off coil wire!
So there you have it!

Wow, that was a close call, I glad your still around!

 

[zkdiesel]

Glad you got repower figured out. Hopefully all lines up decent
I can't imagine my life without a skidsteer to handy and general beefy ness to do things is awesome to have

 

[bimmer1980]

Is this bobcat driven by clutch packs on either side or with hydraulic pumps and motors?

How much does it weigh?

I've randomly thought about if a smaller skid steer would come in handy..... I currently have a New Holland LS150 that weighs about 4500lbs. Since the garage is now about done, I use it less, but I can't foresee not having a skid steer.....

Looking forward to seeing it running again!

 

[TZ1893]

zkdiesel - Thanks man, I hope everything will too.

Bimmer1980 - All of the drive components are mechanical, apparently it's pretty crazy in there, the parts guy I talked to at my local Bobcat dealer compared it to a swiss watch haha. The 371 weighs in at just over 1900lbs. That's a nice size machine you've got, I've ran a lot of New Hollands at work and I've always thought they were solid. This is my first experience really getting into a Bobcat so we'll see how it goes.

Quick before shot of the rear end after removing the guard.



And with the engine/engine compartment try and fuel tank removed.



Fuel tank was full of some pretty nasty nasty old gas. When the engine got switched, the HF one had it's own tank, so the original one has just been sitting there sloshing around. But hey, if it's full of gas then at least I know it doesn't leak. Here's right after it was removed.




With all that removed I cleaned out all of the dirt and debris that was laying in the bottom of the fuel tank well, nasty with a capital N. Fortunately it's all pretty solid though.

Now there's a tray that covers up the fuel tank well and gets sandwiched in by the engine mounting plate. Here's the original..



I was hoping to remove the horribly cut up areas and patch in new 16ga, but after some stripping/cleaning, the tray was heavily pitted and pretty nasty. So I picked up a new piece of tin and laid it all out.



Definitely not a master at this. Fortunately I was able to meet up with my Dad at his work and use their shear/brake to cut everything to size and make the bends. The few pieces I couldn't get with the shear I finished off on my bandsaw at home. Larger holes were done on the drill press with a 2" hole saw, mounting slots were 1/2" and then cut on the bandsaw.



Pretty happy, I screwed up and went off the wrong line for the bottom two 2" holes, but fortunately it won't affect anything once it's in place. Once I decide final placement for fuel filler line and pick up line I'll drill the holes for them. I'll get you guys a picture of it in place tomorrow, fits pretty nice. Thanks for looking as always.

 

[CNGsaves]

That's going to be handy little Bobcat when you're done. Always wanted one of them so I'm envious of your score/rebuild.

What do you think you'll have invested all total when it's running ??

 

[zkdiesel]

Glad it's working out
Mines a 10k new holland with the weights and foam filled tires, I can do a lot with it, but moving it through the yard and soft areas one needs to be extra careful or grass damage or big ruts occur

Those small machines the downside is the lift capacity, very small, Rivals compact utility tractor numbers, but in a way more compact package with better maneuverability and visibility.

 

[raddksn]

I'll be watching this. looks good so far!!!

 

[bimmer1980]

Ok, I figured it might be the clutch packs.

My brother and I also have an older 600/610 series bobcat with the Wisconsin engine at our SD shop. That has the clutch packs on either side. I had some issues with slop in the control sticks, so there was some dead spots in the center when you switch from forward to back. We did end up welding up some of the slop so that the control stick could be tightened onto the pivot arm that runs into the case where the clutches are. We also found that there is a nut on the outside of each clutch pack that has to be adjusted correctly so that it engages and disengages smoothly. Overall, the clutches are fairly straight forward to deal with. Just keep track of how they are assembled if you mess with them. I think there is a series of washers and thrust bearings in there. I think we had to replace a couple of the thrust bearings at one time..... It currently needs some seals replaced on the axles, so it hasn't been used a lot lately.... I will say that we did get really good at taking the engine in and out. We have had a variety of issues with things that required the engine to be pulled numerous times. That Wisconsin engine is very prone to blowing head gaskets. Be glad you don't have one in your machine.

Good choice on just replacing that metal pan. A good primer and paint will keep it nice.

Looks like you need to get the pressure washer out................ ;-)

 

[madoc1]

sounds like a neat project. sure will be following.

jim

 

[SteveH-CO]

Good thread, because face it - every guy wants to own a Bobcat!

 

[raddksn]

good thread, because face it - every guy wants to own a bobcat!

yep!!!

 

[furbis]

subscribed. I would like to own something similar some day but just have not found the right deal yet.

 

[jabberwoki]

Needs a big Harley V twin powering it.

 

[TZ1893]

Hello all, I finished up my front porch project(you can check it out on my other thread) so progress was slow on the 371, managed to sneak in a little bit of work though. I concentrated on fixing the holes the previous owner cut in the fenders. I think he was try to get at the jack shaft bearings but I'm not 100% sure, especially since taking the fenders off wasn't very difficult.

Here's what I started with on one side, I guess what you'd consider the driver's side.



Ground the around the hole, and the smaller holes where the eye bolts for the no-longer-needed spring holes. Then I squared up the hole for a patch.



Cut the patch panel and clamped it in.



Welded it all in, although this is 1/8", I still tacked and hop-scotched around to avoid distortion.



Same thing on the "passenger" side...



And after

 

[TZ1893]

With the outsides welded, I went around and touched up the backs, then ground everything out, here's the finished "drivers" side...



And the "passenger" side



With that done, I moved to the seat tray. The part directly under the seat was in pretty rough shape.



No saving anything directly under the seat, but the sides/back are still solid, time for another panel.



I'll get the pics of the patch tomorrow, enjoy your Saturday night everyone.

 

[TZ1893]

Way over due for an update, project is almost complete so let's play catch up here. As I kept removing parts, I found more and more broken pieces or parts that were on the last leg of their life. Most of the hard-piped hydraulics were horribly rusted, so I removed everything, labeling/numbering them as I went.



With all that out of the way, I decided to remove the boom as well to give myself more room to work. Plus it made life easier getting it sandblasted/repainted.



Since the engine compartment was empty and with the new tray made up, I was able to fit the new engine and mark out where the new mounting holes will go.



It fits in there pretty nice, I was able to keep the same spacing between the engine shaft and the drive/hydraulic pulleys so nothing had to get resized thankfully.

I'm finally going through all of the pictures so I'll have more to follow. Thanks for checking in.

 

[code4pay]

Thanks for the update. You really have put some work into it looking forward to seeing the finished product.

 

[TZ1893]

After having the engine mocked up, I finished modifying the plate.



After stripping it, I plugged all of the existing mounting holes.



Ground all the plug welds smooth...



Drilled the new holes and countersunk each hole so that the bolt heads are flush with the bottom of the plate.



All of this got accomplished while the boom was curing in the spray booth.



And the finished product...



On a quick side note, I built the spray booth for this project, after the mixer that I built, I was done with having overspray all over the garage, plus at this point cold weather was going to be coming in and painting in an uninsulated garage wasn't going to hack it. The booth is 8'x10' with double doors for access. Two box fans with filters keep everything ventilated. By no means a professional booth but good enough for rattle-canning things in my garage.




Thanks again for looking!

 

[TZ1893]

With the boom done, time to start tearing into the guts and replacing bearings, races, seals. One of the major issues with the Bobcat was leaking hub seals on both rear axles. Unfortunately to replace them, everything but the upper jackshaft needs to get removed, and since I'm replacing the two rear seals, the front ones might as well get done right away too.



So this guy looks like the damn inside of watch on the inside and I won't lie, when I originally pulled the cover off to reveal everything, I was pretty intimidated, but it all got ripped out.



I laid everything out on my bench downstairs in kind of an exploded view. You've got the 4 clutch assemblies. The lower jackshaft in the middle and then various tensioning sprockets.



I ordered all new bearings, races, seals, o-rings, clutch linings. and started further pulling everything apart to change everything out.



Theres all the old needle bearing, linings etc, or at least thats most of them. Unfortunately the pictures get a little skimpy through here because I would take things apart and immediately reassemble them while how they came apart was fresh in my mind.

With everything out, I loaded up the tub and took it to be sandblasted.



Missing the pictures of painting it, but there's not much to see. Once that was done, all the finished pieces came out of the basement and got reinstalled. Here's everything back together.



Rock n roll dudes, at this point I was thrilled to have something that at least looked like a skidloader again! More to follow as always, thanks for checking in.

 

[PugetDude]

I owned a 743 in a previous life...had a bucket, forks and the backhoe. After we added rear outriggers it was a great little dirt-mover.

 

[mikegt4]

Nice work.
That little Bobcat reminds me of the Oliver HG-31 (later called OC3-31), a very narrow crawler designed for use in tight places. They were often used in orchards and were popular for plowing snow on sidewalks. They could be had with a nifty V blade and a cab for winter work. The 31 signifies the center to center distance of the tracks. With 8" wide tracks that would make it a 39" total width.

 

[AZ Pete]

Subscribed!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[OutlawDrifter]

thanks for sharing, grew up on a 400 and a 600, both old gas burners!

 

[mike93lx]

I would love something small like this, but it's probably unlikely. Subscribing for updates

 

[Mandres]

Interesting, so how is the hydraulic pump(s) driven? I've never worked on one of those older bobcats with the clutch steering, that looks really complex.

 

[captain14]

Interesting rebuild project. I would like to stay around for the final outcome.

 

[myredracer]

Cool! When you're done you'll have to find a vintage Bobcat show 'n Shine...

Back in the mid-90s, I used to have a '64 M500 Melroe Bobcat like in the photo. Pretty antiquated and simple compared to more modern skid steers. No cage! I stripped it right down and rebuilt the entire thing including a sandblast and repaint job. The local Bobcat dealer got me any parts I needed despite being 30 years old at that point. Moved a lot of dirt with that thing on a previous acreage. I remember the foot pedals were really hard on the lower legs.

I now have a late 90s Case skidsteer that has way more power. I've dug and moved tons of dirt on our new property with it. The hand controls are much nicer. A skid steer is one of the best tools I've ever owned. Just wish we had a tracked machine.

 

[TZ1893]

Thanks for the responses everyone,

Mandres - The hydraulic pump is driven by belt/pulley off the engine shaft. I'll take a close up of it the next time I'm messing around with it.

Back to it, I remade most of the rear compartment cover. I wanted to close it all up just to button up the whole backend. I cut the three cross members off the side rail and since they were still in pretty good shape, reuse them. I used 1/4"x2" flat stock for the sides, and skinned it with 16 gauge. Holes were cut for the exhaust and gas tank filler. (those pictures are currently MIA, but I'll get some)






I'll get some better pictures of the finished rear tomorrow.

At this point I was starting to re-assemble the boom, and get all the hydraulic lines run. I remade all of the hard lines, and put all new hoses on. Had to have a friend help me wire it up, my electrical experience starts/ends with changing light fixtures or outlets. Also since it came with a pull start engine, I didn't have anything to go off either.



Next warmish day we get around here I'll clean up the wiring a little more, it looks a little hap-hazard I guess. Thanks for looking as always.

 

[TZ1893]

And we have the finished product...



Now it's just small things to worry about, I've got a few scratches in the paint to touch up, maybe clean up the wiring a little more, and the right (passenger) side clutches need to get dialed back just a little bit. Oh and I'll paint the rims the same gray as the cab whenever I decide to get new tires.

I guess to recap what all happened here...

New engine
Replaced all seals,bearings,races
Replaced all hydraulic lines
Fabbed new seat tray, engine tray, rear hatch, patched holes in fenders, repaired rear of roll cage(detail pictures to come)
Add LED lights, ignition, wiring etc.

Man when I look at it like that, it sure doesn't seem like a lot, haha. But man, that was something else to say the least. Thanks all for following along, if any of you guys ever come up with one of these and need help with part numbers,copies the service/parts manual or anything else, feel free to send me a message and I'll be more then happy to help you however I can.

Oh and finally, the main reason I went with a machine this size...



All tucked in the side of the garage with both vehicles in as well! Thanks again everyone.

 

[madoc1]

nice work. i sure would have been worried about taking all those chains, etc. apart.

jim

 

[Jeffksf]

How does it run with the new power?

 

[deepee1973]

Re: Harley V-Twin: I had the very same thought regarding my 371 just about an hour ago. Great minds..... I, too, am not impressed with the Kohler 14 HP. Lots of vibration and leakage. If I come across something better and a good value, I plan to re-power.

 

[bigguns69]

I did a repower on a JD 40 skid steer about 15 years ago and put in a Kohler 25 hp vtwin. It was a much better machine with the new, bigger engine.