It"s Here !!!!!!!

[ianoz]

Hi John , The weather here has been against me , Only done 4 jobs since i got it . By the way , Your photos don't come up for some reason .. Biggest beef i have with the machine is the total lack of storage . Has yours got the plastic toolbox that sits on top of the radiator cap ???

[Robotplant]

Got a plastic tool box but that came loose with her don't know were it's supposed to go. I don't find it to bad for storing stuff on the machine, I used to keep everything in the cab with me on the JZ and my bait box used to go behind the head rest not ideal. With the ZX I keep the grease gun and a few tools under the little hatch by the door, I keep a chain inIMG_1551.jpg the bay where the fuel pump is and my bait box sits on top of the batteries so my cab is clutter free. I have a different cab to yours ,same as the bigger zx's.

My only gripe with it so far is when on eco mode I set the revs to suit but as soon as I hit the tracks the engine revs up, needless when your doing some fine control.

I will try and post some photos again it maybe because I haven't posted much on this forum before.

IMG_1556.jpg IMG_1554.jpg IMG_1564.jpg

[ianoz]

Hi John , What Didn't the salesman at the handover go through the machine with you ? .I must admit our salesman struggled a bit to find where the tool box went .If you look at the radiator ,there is a couple of brackets on it . The toolbox sits in them ..With my machine i got 2 copies of owners manual ,parts books and workshop manuals. Stubbie coolers caps shirts ,Jacket and a carry bag .Got 2 greaseguns ,two complete sets of filters ,oil sampling kit ..
The 8080 JCB has 2 reasonable size storage compartments under the seat, I was sirprised that hitachi did not have something similar .

[Robotplant]

You are joking... I didn't see my salesman any where once the money was paid. I am getting one set of filters and I am struggling just to get a lousy fleece out of them. Did get one grease gun and tool box. Am I correct in that your getting 3 years warranty as well , I'm only getting 1 year. Maybe the the prices are vastly different too.

Really pleased with the fuel consumption. I was told that this Isuzu is not a common rail engine by one sales man when asked , what's your take on the engine?

[ianoz]

Yes , I got 3 year Warranty ..Hopeing not to need it . Our Zaxis 200 basicly has not had a spanner on it .Not bad for a 2004 model machine.. As to fuel consumpton ,no idea .Pump mine out of a tank in the back of my ute . But Hour meter said 10 hours ,fuel gauge was still just over half ..

Not sure on the engine , I would have thought it was common rail .. Our salesman lives locally .On delivery he spent a couple of hours with us .Then next day he and products support guy were here for another couple of hours They took the details of the rockbreaker And he called in the other day with all the pressures and flow rates the machine needs to be set to . Any thing i have pointed out as problems Have been Photographed and reported . With 4 buckets Quick hitch Air con Tinted windows UHF radio seat cover ,was just over 90000 pounds Plus tax ..With the slew boom i would imagine mine to be a bit dearer than your straight boom model .

[Robotplant]

I paid $71500 aussie dollors ( just done the convert), as you say the mono boom would be cheaper. I had no quick hitch, no buckets and one year warranty. I did get city pads, quick hitch piping and switches, a/c, heated seat, camera and radio. No doubt I could of had a 3 year warranty at extra cost. Like you I do not expect to be doing any major repairs for some years yet.

Difficult to compare like for like from across the way. How would my deal stack up down under?

[Robotplant]

More pics. Bye bye JCB.

[Muz]

More pics. Bye bye JCB.

How do you find those pads in the soft stuff ?

I hated those old JZ's ... I operated one with a paralell boom on it once, massive undercarriage and a terrible short reach on it

[Robotplant]

Hi Muz,

I went for the pads cause I have to consider all types of work I do. I need sometime to be kind to tarmac or concrete. I was expecting to find a loss in grip, but was surprised how well they grip in soft stuff they really penetrate the ground and don't slide around.

I was happy to see the JZ70 go but I can't really knock the machine too much. I had good service from it the reach was okay and digging power was good. I was always told to keep away from the offset boom type JZ, maybe they had a poor reach. The JZ 70 has a smaller track than the ZX85 shorter length and width, the biggest problem I found with the machine was that it wasn't the best balanced machine out there and with not having a smooth a feel as the Hitachi put it in a league much lower than the Hitachi.

[Muz]

Hi Muz,

I went for the pads cause I have to consider all types of work I do. I need sometime to be kind to tarmac or concrete. I was expecting to find a loss in grip, but was surprised how well they grip in soft stuff they really penetrate the ground and don't slide around.

I was happy to see the JZ70 go but I can't really knock the machine too much. I had good service from it the reach was okay and digging power was good. I was always told to keep away from the offset boom type JZ, maybe they had a poor reach. The JZ 70 has a smaller track than the ZX85 shorter length and width, the biggest problem I found with the machine was that it wasn't the best balanced machine out there and with not having a smooth a feel as the Hitachi put it in a league much lower than the Hitachi.

Interesting .. I had a Volvo ECR88 that was a bit of a dog because of undercarriage problems leading to massive balance problems

The dealer delivered it to me and I sent it straight back, because the front idlers were not in contact with the track chains

It lead to a world wide modification of the machine

They had to modify the idlers with weld on rings .. it was a complete pantomime

[Robotplant]

Tried a ECR88 PLUS ( the better one ) didn't like it , horrible to grade with and that I assume was without the track problem.

[Muz]

Tried a ECR88 PLUS ( the better one ) didn't like it , horrible to grade with and that I assume was without the track problem.

Think its more or less the same with some extra ballast.

The biggest problem was if it was on rubbers and the massive heavy boom .. what a dog it was in retrospect, and didnt really hold its value well either when I when to sell it

[ianoz]

Loaded the Hitachi on the float .

[Muz]

Cool .. hows the digger been performing Ian ?

[ianoz]

It is a Hitachi Muz ,How do you think it would preform.
Very nicely Of coarse .