Cat 508 Skidder

[Scott]

Hi guys, I have a chance to buy a '88 cat 508 skidder. It seems to be a good clean, well kept machine. I could probably get it for 10K. I know nothing about Cat skidders so I'm hoping someone on the forum does. Is there anything I should be aware of? How about the 3 speed auto transmission? Anything to watch out for there? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

[bkellyvtme]

Good skidders from what my friend tells me. I think I know the skidder you are looking at. I would be surprised if you can get it for that. Good luck.

[Scott]

Thanks for the response bkellyvtme. I asked a couple of loggers I know and they all said the same thing. Although they warned that if the automatic transmission needs work it will be very costly. As for the price, the guy is asking 10,500 for it so 10,000 should be no problem 

[bkellyvtme]

Ahh. Different machine. Yeah it is expensive to have the trainy rebuilt. I used to work for a cat dealership and I also found that the bearing in the drive line in the articulation area is also very expensive for what it is. I would check that out too. Good price though. A good thing too is that there are always parts to be found for em. May be a bit pricey, but they are available.

[Scott]

Thanks again for the information. I've decided against the 508. The skidder would be for personal use so I can't justify spending 10 grand to rebuild the auto transmissionif it were to break . I'll wait for something else to come along. It looks like a great machine for anyone whos interested though. A lot of people have told me to look for an old 230 Timberjack. They're eay to work on and parts are cheap and easy to find.

[semologger]

I think that the Cat would out pull the timber jack. I Had a 508 for awhile it had a problem so sold it pretty fast. The breaks when they would warm up it would lock up and you couldnt get that thing to move. But until then that thing would pull. It would out pull a 648 E up some of the hills we were on. It was also out pulling my 450 timberjack. Just keep looking i now have a 648E grapple its a 96 model. I paid 12 for it and have been running it for close to a year and havent done much to it just a few hoses and cylinder kits.

[Sawyerfortyish]

I'll second the motion for the old 230TJ. I have one and it rarely breaks down and I have pulled hundreds of thousands of feet of timber with it. I have owned it since the mid eightys and it's a 1974 and still going strong. I paid 8500.00 for it and can still get what I paid for it today and(NO it's not for sale) . I don't know much about Cat skidders but I will tell you I have never had any trouble getting any part I needed for the 230 even being as old as it is.

[Scott]

Thanks for the feed back guys. I'm going to look around for a good 230. Most of them that I see around here run about $12K. There's a whack of the old 230s working in this area and parts are super easy to come by. I'm also keeping my eyes open for a good TJ 208 or a 440C Deere. We'll have to wait and see what comes along. Thanks again
-Scott