Lets talk Komatsu.

[Deas Plant]

Re grey market spares.

Hi, NOB.
If all else fails, it might be worth enquiring here:

http://www.komatsu.com/inquiry/index.html

That is, I think, the Japanese offices enquiry link. There are only about 3 or 4 countries where English is the only language spoken and Japan does a LOT of trading around the world so I'd guess that there would be somebody there who would speak, read and write English.

Give the model and serial number of your machine and any other relevant data and ask if there is a supplier within the U.S. of A..

Hope this helps.

 

[Nightowlbird]

Grey Market Parts

Hi, NOB.
If all else fails, it might be worth enquiring here:

http://www.komatsu.com/inquiry/index.html

That is, I think, the Japanese offices enquiry link. There are only about 3 or 4 countries where English is the only language spoken and Japan does a LOT of trading around the world so I'd guess that there would be somebody there who would speak, read and write English.

Give the model and serial number of your machine and any other relevant data and ask if there is a supplier within the U.S. of A..

Hope this helps.

Hello Deas Plant,

Thanks for the link and I will give it a chance and see what happens.


Thank you,
NOB

 

[Tn Bulldog]

I Like a Komatsu PC160 OVER A 315 Cat have ran both & the experince i have had both the PC160 is better on Fuel than the 315 & seems to be just asfast if not faster than the 315


My granddad had A D57 Komatsu Loader & a 953 Cat loader @ the same time & the D57 WAS faster seemed little more power than the 953 loading Dirt on the dumpwagons & dumpbuckets than the 953 BUT the Cat seemed to last longer undercarriage wise vs the Cat

Nothing against Cat we still run them but also run Komatsu as well



Just my 2 cents & yall have a goodone


Bulldog

 

[John C.]

Nightowlbird,
Try Modern Machinery in Kent, Washington (253 872-3500). Talk to Neil or Roger in parts. If they can't help you then no one can.

You do have to have the serial number of the machine if you don't have a part number for what you want. If your sprocket teeth are getting sharp you probably need more than just the sprockets. There is a forum that does some basic training on tracked undercarriages

http://www.constructioncentric.com/forum/YaBB.pl

Deas,
I've worked on Komatsu machines for over twenty years now and haven't had the problems getting parts that you describe. Perhaps the way you talk makes it hard for parts people to understand what you want.

 

[Deas Plant]

The way I talk.

Hi, JohnC.
Nope. It can't be the way I talk 'cos I've never spoken to anybody in 'Kummagutsa' spare parts. I've just had the misfortune to be the closest 'other' person to the 'phone when several others found they couldn't get the parts they wanted when they wanted them. I've also seen customers waitng for several days to get a 'Kummagutsa' mechanic/serviceman/fitter out the their busted machine - - - - and I am talking state capital city customers where the client is less than an hour's drive from the dealer and most of that on multi-lane highways with 65 mph speed limits.

Please remember that we are talking about different countries and different dealers from the ones that you know.

Also JohnC, please understand that I am not knocking the machines themselves, other than the apparent shorter service life of most of them. I have found most of them, and all of the later ones, both easy and comfortable to operate and productive, with the possible exception of the PC400-3 mentioned earlier. They burn diesel, make noise and move dirt easier and quicker than I can with a shovel, so I like 'em.

 

[Nightowlbird]

Undercarriage parts for Komatsu

Hello John C.

Thanks for the information and the link. I had browsed the other link and looked at the information and this was very informative!!!! Yes, your are correct regarding just the sprocket, I had looked at the pins or track and had noticed that they are not round they are more shaped like a triangle or egg shape. I wonder what that will cost?

I will give the folks you had recommended a call. I do have the serial number so I will keep my fingers crossed and hope they are able to get the parts that I need. I will get back with to let you know how the progress goes..

Thank you for responding back with the information that I needed. There a alot of good folks here in this forum. I am glad I had spent the time enrolling to this forum!!

Thanks again,
NOB

 

[Construct'O]

For sprockets,rolls,and tracks here is a link that may help for aftermarket parts. They are a dealer for Berco track parts.

Try this........ http://www.gracetrackservice.com/
Good luck:usa

 

[Tony]

Starting to get a little PO'ed

Ya know, I've lurked here for a number of years and only recently have begun posting. There is such an "ongoing anti-Anything Cat" mentality here that it's almost scary.

I have a very hard time believing that all of these anti-Komatsu posts are based on truth. Some of you are so dyed in the wool Cat fans that you won't even entertain the thought of giving credit to any other product regardless of how good it may be. It's much like those who refuse to admit that Toyota builds a better car than GM, simply because Toyota is a "Jap" company.

The war ended in '45, guys, in case you didn't know.

I'm not saying Cat makes a bad product. They are great machines. But based strictly on statistics, Komatsu's do very well when demonstrated against Caterpillars. Komatsu's parts network is every bit as good as Cat's...if you are having trouble with getting parts, it's probably your DEALER, not Komatsu.

People who aren't even in the construction business know "CAT"...Know why? Because Cat spends millions on marketing. Want work boots? Buy Cat boots! Want to buy your kid a tonka toy? Go to Walmart and look how many Cat toy machines there are...that's because CAT knows that if they can get a little kid to remember their company from a young age, the "good feeling about the company" can last a lifetime. I myself have been affected by this.

The truth of it is this:
CAT is a marketing company
KOMATSU is an engineering company

Say what you want...I expect the flames to start immediately. But I hope you realize how ignorant you sound when you bash a product that you actually know very little about. Ask someone at CAT who they would consider their greatest competitor. The answer is categorically KOMATSU. Today's Komatsu is not the Komatsu it was as recently as 1995. They are agressive and very diligent in their design, and put a lot more thought into the operator in the seat than any other manufacturer out there.

Too many armchair critics who have no idea what they are talking about. Don't knock it unless you tried it. Hey, there are cases where a D6T will walk all over a new D65EX...I'm not saying "CAT sucks"...Cat builds great machines. What I am saying is that there is no truth to the general feeling that Cat is better than Komatsu in all arenas. In many cases, operators prefer Komatsu excavators to Cats. Put a new Dash 7 or Dash 8 against a C or D series Cat and I think you'll be quite surprised.

:soapbox Flame retardant suit now on.

Tony

 

[Deas Plant]

Suspicion Only???????????

Hi, Tony.
Why do I have this strange feeling that you might be ANTI-Anti-Kummagutsa????????????????????????????

It's a 'statistical fact' that 94% of all 'Kummagutsaa ever made are still out on the job. They actually got the other 6% back to the workshop to be repaired.

LOL.​

I acknowledge that the local dealer has almost eveything to do with why parts and service may be hard to come by. So why is 'Kummagutsa' still letting those dealers have the dealership????????????????????

 

[camara]

I have a PC 400 LC3 with 13XXX hours on it. I bought it from the original owner 2 years ago. When I got it it had 5 pounds of oil pressure at full throttle. Went to the dealer and got a main & rod set and did the bottom of the engine in my driveway at home. Took a week or so to get them. Need less to say my neighbors don't like me very much. But anyway I have had very good luck with it. It is strong and fast. The last experiences with a cat was a 245 in 1987 and my buddies 420D. I also think Deere makes a better tlb. I tried a WB140 tlb a couple years ago......went back to my 21 year old Deere. That rock in the picture looks smaller than it really is. I had to split it in 3 large pieces and a bunch of little chunks. I loaded it up on my buddies trailer and ran it over the scale............21 ton! Got the weight slip to prove it

 

[Steve Frazier]

Tony, we work very hard here at Heavy Equipment Forums to allow members to post their opinions about many things including their thoughts on different brands of machines. You are welcome to do so as well, but I think you will find that most of the opinions expressed here about different machinery are due to field experience. Your posts will have more credibility if you were to tell us a little about your experiences and how you've come to have the opinion that you do.

One additional note, we don't allow flagrant flaming of any machine here, we've pulled posts in the past which were examples of that.

Are your opinions based on field time on Komatsu machines or your affiliation with a Komatsu dealership?

You've described Caterpillar as a marketing company, and I'll agree that they do a good job of marketing their equipment, but there would be no demand for any Cat products if there had not already been a reputation established of them being a tough reliable machine. How many people do you see looking for Yugo apparel?

I myself have very limited experience with a variety of machine manufacturers. I owned a JD 410 TLB and currently own a Cat 248 skid steer. The difference in dealer support for these machines was like night and day. With the Deere I often had to wait 2 weeks for parts, that's if the parts manager remembered to order it. My Cat has proven to be very reliable, and on the two occasions of self inflicted break downs, the parts were in stock. My dealer bends over backwards to get me running even though I'm a small time operator.

If another manufacturer can offer me the reliability and dealer support that Cat does at a lower cost, then by all means I'd be interested in looking at what they have to offer, I'd be selling my business short if I didn't. Your company was once somewhat local to me but has since closed that branch. If you are providing the same level of dealer support that H.O. Penn is, then perhaps you should consider marketing that point.

 

[Tony]

"...Are your opinions based on field time on Komatsu machines or your affiliation with a Komatsu dealership?..."

Both, Steve. I was an operating engineer for 17 years before I came to manage a branch for a Komatsu dealer. I have experience on both sides of the joysticks, so to speak.

HO Penn is a great organization, and one by which many of the other dealers measure themselves. I dealt with them personally when I was involved in a family business some years back. The have great support and have always been fair.

I feel your pain with the JD dealership (were you dealing with them as "KC Canary", or the Nortrax Company). I had similar issues with KCC when trying to get parts for our 792, 490D and 510...this was back in the 80's and early 90's. Believe it or not, the company I now work for used to occupy that same building when they had the IH/Dresser account for the territory. (I was not employed by the company at that time). The Komatsu merger in 1991 changed all that, as you know.

I very much appreciate the work you put into this great forum. I hope that in re-reading my original post, you will see that I am not flaming Cat or their dealer network. I am only trying to set the record straight as far as people very blatantly saying that Komatsu has parts distribution and machine reliability and longevity issues, when this is simply not the case. If you bought a Komatsu in 1982 and had parts issues, I can say, "that was then, this is now". The company has come a long way, and I think that many people who spend time in the newer generation Komatsu stuff are pretty impressed.

If you're ever heading east on I84 towards Danbury, stop in. I'd be glad to have you kick some tires in the back yard, and put a Komatsu hat on your head (no charge, of course!)

Take care and thanks again,
Tony

 

[Steve Frazier]

I didn't mean to imply that you were flaming Tony, but just to restate our policy so everyone reading this thread does not get involved in it.

I bought my machine from KC Canary, then a few years later was dealing with Nortrax. When I was shopping for my skid steer, I went there 3 times to look at the Deere offerings, the salesman was absent each time and never called me after leaving my number and interest.

I have very little experience with Komatsu, one day running an excavator in '90 and occasional use of a payloader at a local "load your own" gravel bank. Both machines did the job they were asked to, but beyond that I can't say anything about them.

Many of our members have many years of experience on many different types of machines and from what I've read many have had real issues with Komatsu. This may have been from years past, and from what you've posted it sounds like you agree there were problems in years past, I'm sure you're aware of how hard a bad reputation is to overcome. You're welcome to continue to try and reverse this when you see inaccuracies in Komatsu policy.

I was at the Sheriton Monday fro a trade seminar, too bad I didn't know you were on the route I could have stopped by.

 

[alco]

Tony,

I agree with most of what you have said. I will fully admit I am not the biggest proponent of Komatsu as a general line. That being said, there are a few machine lines they make that I am impressed with. The two that jump instantly to the front of my mind are the loader and excavator lines. I have spent a fair amount of time in both, and the only real complaint I have is that when I get everything set so it's comfortable for me to reach in the WA380's we have at work, I continually hit my right knee off the steering column. I admit, that's a pretty minor complaint. Overall, I would have no issues in running a Komatsu loader all day.

With the excavator line, I can find no faults at all. They are strong, fast, have good control....basically, I like 'em.

I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of their dozers. I find them to ride rough as a general rule. I also find the layout of the cabs on the machines I have been on was sort of like sitting on an apple crate with the controls piled around you. Not overly comfy....unless you had the seat reclined, feet on the dash and were...ummmm....resting. They accel at that.....very comfy to sleep in.

I am not a huge Cat fan for all things. I do like some of their products, but despise some others. One example of the latter is the excavator line. I wouldn't give two thoughts about digging a big hole and burying one. I liked the old 205,215,225,235,245 lineup, but haven't been even remotely impressed with anything they have put out since.

I do see issues with Komatsu service life. I have been on a D85 with less than 100 hours on the clock where the trim inside the cab was already rattling very loudly. From both operating and pulling wrenches on them, I find they tend to require a bit more attention than some other brands do as the hours mount up.

My biggest issue has been with parts however. Perhaps it was a specific problem with the particular machines, or it may have been the dealer, but just last year, I watched one of our contractors sit idle with two PC1250's and a PC1100 while they waited for hydraulic parts. The PC1100 was the first to get the parts in after a mere 3 weeks. One of the 1250's was down for about 6 weeks, and the other for almost 3 months. I also know the same contractor sold their 825 grader since it was actually spending more time waiting for parts than it was working. That is not an exaggeration either, it was actually down more than it was up.

After having said all that, I am not one who will wave a particular manufacturers flag and proclaim them to be the only one that can build machines. I think most make certain groups of products well, and the rest about average...or in some cases below...Cat included.

Brian

 

[Billy X]

As for myself a small time dozer contractor based here in Queensland Australia we have no problem with Cat,Komatsu or even Dressta. I have a Cat at the moment which was bought secondhand and we have had no major problems so far.As an operator working for contractors around Qld before i started working for myself I had experiance with D7R's, D85A-21e's and Dressta TD20H's working in a range of jobs,like scrubpulling,building dams,stickraking and many other jobs to do with rural development.

I was once working a new Komatsu D85A-21 with about 200 hours on it and there was a problem with one of the heads on the motor.The Komatsu dealer was about 4 hours drive away and once notified of the problem they had a fitter there within 1 day and then a float there within 2 days and it was back at the workshop getting fixed.The machine was returned within a week.

The other thing i would like to mention is the price factor,for us here a brand new D7RII is somewhere around $750000!!! A bloody lot more than I paid for my D7HII secondhand. On the other side of the coin a Dressta TD20H is about $420000 setup with a 6000hr powertrain warranty with the parts and service that will match anything Cat can produce in this part of the world,I have seen this with my own eyes having a couple of friends with TD20's. I can here everyone now talking about the resale value of the Dressta,well after about 8000hrs of operation a TD20H is still worth about 200 to 250k in these parts.As for the D7R it will be still worth about 350 to 400k,alot bigger loss!!:Banghead I think Komatsu is similar with price to Cat maybe a little cheaper. The point I am trying to make is that I think Cat is pricing there products out of reach of alot of smaller operators, and that other brands can and will match the performance of Caterpillar.

 

[Countryboy]

Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums Billy X! :drinkup

 

[klyons]

the excavators and artic dumps are made in tenn.

 

[Burnout]

I work for a company with a 95% CAT fleet. In the year I have been there I have got to sit in a ton of different machines. I grew up with Deere and Cat at home so I have always thought thats where it's at. I got out here and found some Komatsu Equipment in this huge company. My first experience was on their D85PX with 1500hrs. First impressions were great.... pushed like a mother and sounded great and a nice cab. Then after 2 hours some shift solenoid on the transmission went. The dozer was down for 2 weeks while the dealership tried to figure out what was up with my baby. They got it fixed and that thing ran like a top afterwards and we were told thats a fluke problem that some of the new 85's have. This particular dozer had that shift solenoid changed 3 times in its 1500hr life. That day we were supposed to be getting a brand new PC400 for a demo... never showed up. The dealership left our float in the yard doing a credit check......

The Cat equipment is different here, it could have a little problem and everyone just says "its a fluke cat is the greatest", but I have noticed there is some nice Komatsu equipment kickin around. Now that I have seen some of their older stuff and newer stuff they make a decent product. And in some cases their quality is a hare better than Cats.

To each his own...but John Deere is still king. Well ok maybe not but I grew up with Deere so I am forever required to love their equipment.

 

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Tony.
Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Now to address your claim of 'blalantly saying; things about 'Kummagutsa' that are not the case.

Quote: "I am only trying to set the record straight as far as people very blatantly saying that Komatsu has parts distribution and machine reliability and longevity issues, when this is simply not the case. If you bought a Komatsu in 1982 and had parts issues, I can say, "that was then, this is now". " Unquote.

Your dealership and others with whom you have dealt may provide good service. I don't know about that. What I DO know is that the local 'Kummagutsa' dealer here in South-east Queensland is something less than 'on the ball' a fair bit of the time. I also KNOW that many of the 'Kummagutsa' machines that I work alongside and see working around me seem to go in for re-builds a little more regularly than the Cat machines doing the same or similar work.

Having said that, aside from the early 'Kummagutsa' dozers that I ran, the D60A and the D80A, I can't remember running a later 'Kummagutsa' machine that I didn't like, service and longevity issues regardless.

Just my 0.02.

 

[Billy X]

Deas

When was the last time you ran a Komatsu machine for a long period of time?I beleive the only way to really comment on a machine and brand is to have recent seat time with their products and by seat time I mean a few months or more,that way you really get to know how far they have advanced or gone backwards.