Most reliable machines from 20-30 years ago.

CBMasonry · 2026-08-08T22:59:57.000Z

I had a membership here and somehow forgot my password then locked myself out. So this is a new account. I'm buying land for a new shop and eventually a new house and we have lots of skidsteers and material handling equipment, but don't do much on the excavation side. I'm going to need to get an excavator to park on there for use on whatever projects pop up, the first one being clearing several acres of young trees. Originally my plan was get just get the biggest old iron I could find, but then decided that was likely going to just end up costing me more money in the long run. So I've been looking at 12-15 ton machines that should be able to kind of do everything for me, and I can just rent a big one if needed or hire it out. I'm looking more for long term reliability and ease of repairs over production speed. Nearby I've found a Samsung SE130, Case 688 and Hitachi EX100-3. I'm going to keep looking for awhile, to make sure I get the right choice, but wanted some opinions on brands to look for or to avoid. The 688 intrigues me right now, it's at 5000 hours and looks to be decent condition, all the glass is still intact too. Seems like it's a fairly simple machine to work on. The Samsung is the best fit as it has a hydraulic thumb, but the internet searches have me a bit leery of it as far as getting parts goes. There's lots of older Deere, Link Belt and Cat machines with really high hours for cheap, but they are monsters, and I don't want to start the project off with 30 grand in repairs just to get up and running.

Started by CBMasonryAug 8, 202664 replies

CM1995ExpertAug 24, 2026#61
Shimmy1 said: I forgot that they quit measuring on top. Click to expand... Maybe it's a little bit of rocket science after all or maybe it's just in the O&M manual.
dayexcoSenior MemberAug 24, 2026#62
deere 690 elc...had 3 of them at different times. great machines, and parts were always there. many of the filters, engine parts you could buy from local ag dealer and buy quite a bit cheaper than buying them from heavy equipment dealer.
dayexcoSenior MemberAug 31, 2026#63
dayexco said: deere 690 elc...had 3 of them at different times. great machines, and parts were always there. many of the filters, engine parts you could buy from local ag dealer and buy quite a bit cheaper than buying them from heavy equipment dealer. Click to expand... of course, the very first generation of the "e" series....were hitachi's with a deere engine/paint/decals. then they kept boom/stick design, and bought their pumps from a German manufacturer. i had a early 90s hitachi 200 also...GREAT machine. biggest piece of crap i owned was a fe20 fiat allis...and i LOVED their front end loaders. for underground contractor, the 545 or 645 couldn't be beat....full bucket rollover going forward to clean up work, and 10 degrees more articulation than any other manufacturer to get into those tight spaces.
CBMasonryJunior MemberSep 1, 2026#64
I'm nearly there. Still waiting on hydraulic filters to come in. I fixed the track tension today and put new oil in the finals. New hydro tank breather came in, so that's going on this week. The manual is listing an oil type for the top and bottom rollers, but only for a "refill". Is that just for after a rebuild? Looking at them they don't look very serviceable while in the machine.
John C.Super UserSep 3, 2026#65
Bottom and top rollers are life time fill. You don't change the oil in them at all. If there is a leak, you generally replace the roller. There are special fittings used to put oil in bottom and top rollers which allow filling to the proper level.

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