2019 Komatsu PC35MR Mini Excavator

Mini excavators have been quite popular lately, so when I came to the site, I found this mini Komatsu PC35MR for the customer. Opening the chassis, I immediately saw a clean fuel filter, a new air filter, and no cracks or wear on the pipes. The hydraulic cylinders were my next stop as that’s where your money goes, the boom stick was out, the bucket out and everything looked decent (no scoring that I could see) and I ran my fingers down each rod to check. No leaks on any of them, seals appear to be dry – which is better than I’d hoped under anything else, with the machine sitting in a dealer yard with mud caked everywhere. The rubber pads and undercarriage were still packed with dried mud, no chunks off any rubber pads, and undercarriage shows even wear or at least no chunks for the rollers or idlers to show. The tracks should also have been maintained, with a very low wear rate, probably only about five percent worn.

Entering the cab and starting the machine, the noise is very low, which is one of the advantages of this mini excavator – it can “work quietly”.Inside, that’s where the fun begins: nothing is really “trashed” in the cab, just some dirt and dust, and it had a water bottle rolling around under the seat, indicating it’s been used in recent times, and that someone has been getting in or out of the cab without wiping their boots. It meant nothing but nice riding with me cycling everything – no looseness in the stick no looseness at the centre joints, a nice smooth swing not jerky as if the centre joinings were failing. When I looked at the oil cap, it had old staining from the bottom view (due to rain) but no staining was spotted in the bottom of the bay and no active dripping.  I can’t see any excessive play on the pins that way, and they appear to be tight from what I can see, when the boom was moving. Machine digs fine. No smoke.