• Thank you for visiting Skidsteers.net. Thanks to your continued support and popular demand, we've added a forum to our site. We hope it becomes a valuable place for you to connect, ask questions, and share your experience. You may also find the links below helpful.

    After registering, please remember to check your spam/junk folder for the confirmation email if you don't see it in your inbox.

    Specifications Compare Find Model

Bobcat Parts Source for Hydraulic Parts

P

Pikachu

Member
Hey guys, I was looking for a hydraulic pump and ended up browsing Bobcat parts source. At first I thought it was just another small parts site, but they actually seem to carry a pretty wide range of stuff like pumps, drive motors, seal kits, and undercarriage parts. Prices look decent compared to dealer quotes, but I honestly don’t know anyone personally who has ordered from them.

Has anyone here used them for bigger items like hydraulics or final drives, not just small maintenance parts? I don’t mind aftermarket as long as it fits right and doesn’t cause problems later. Just trying to figure out if they’re reliable before placing an order.
 
Suppliers like this are pretty common now. They usually source from multiple manufacturers and sell under a general replacement category. That doesn’t automatically mean lower quality. I’ve seen aftermarket pumps last years and I’ve seen expensive OEM stuff fail early too.
Main thing for me is whether they stand behind warranty and actually help if there’s a problem.
 
I bought a final drive when dealer lead time was pushing three weeks. Honestly expected problems but it installed fine and has been running for months now. Packaging looked basic but the part itself seemed solid.
 
My experience was mostly good but not perfect.
I ordered a hydraulic hose assembly and the first one that came wasn’t quite right. Customer service did fix it and sent another one, so no big drama, but it did cost me extra downtime waiting.
Not saying avoid them, just double check specs before ordering.
 
I think expectations matter. If you’re expecting dealer-level support and branding you might be disappointed. If you just want working parts without dealer pricing it makes sense. I’ve used them for undercarriage components and didn’t have any complaints.
 
Appreciate the honest feedback, especially the mixed experiences. Sounds like it’s more about verifying part numbers than anything else. I’ll probably give it a try but I’ll triple check specs first.
 
I’ve dealt with suppliers like this for years, not just Bobcat parts source specifically but the whole aftermarket hydraulic ecosystem, and there are a few things that matter way more than the brand name on the box.

When it comes to bigger items like hydraulic pumps or final drives, the real risk isn’t “aftermarket vs OEM.” The real risk is whether the internal tolerances and relief settings match what your machine expects. A pump can physically bolt on and still cause headaches if pressure compensation or displacement specs aren’t correct. That’s why part number verification is everything. Not just matching the machine model, but matching the exact pump variant. Serial number breaks matter more than people think.

Final drives are similar. Most failures I’ve seen weren’t because the aftermarket unit was junk, but because contamination wasn’t addressed. If your old drive failed due to metal contamination and you don’t flush the system properly, you can ruin a new unit in weeks. Then everyone blames the supplier. So if you’re ordering something like that, I’d always replace case drain filters, inspect lines, and make sure the motor isn’t getting debris from upstream components.

Seal kits and hoses are lower risk. A pump or drive is where I pay attention. Warranty support is the other big thing. Dealer pricing often includes diagnostic backup. Aftermarket suppliers usually don’t hold your hand through troubleshooting. That doesn’t mean they won’t stand behind the part, but it does mean you need to be confident in your diagnosis before ordering. If you’re guessing at the root cause, you can burn money fast.

One thing I’ll give credit for to most of these suppliers is availability. When dealer lead time is weeks out, having something in stock can be the difference between a machine running or sitting. That’s usually why people try them in the first place. Personally, I don’t avoid aftermarket hydraulic components, but I do three things every time:


Confirm exact OEM reference number.
Ask about pressure settings if it’s a pump.
Flush or inspect the rest of the system before install.
Do that and most of the horror stories disappear.
 
I ended up ordering a hydraulic pump through a similar supplier last year when my Bobcat T770 started losing lifting power. Dealer price was honestly hard to justify at the time and the lead time was almost a month.The aftermarket pump I bought wasn’t branded as Bobcat parts source specifically, but it came from one of those replacement suppliers that carries pumps for multiple machines. Installation was straightforward and the machine has been running normally ever since.
One thing I noticed though is that the machining quality looked surprisingly good. The casting and ports looked almost identical to the original pump that came off the machine.
 
Where aftermarket parts sometimes cause confusion is model variations. For example on some Bobcat machines like the S185 or T650 you can have different hydraulic pump variants depending on serial number breaks. Two pumps might look identical externally but have different displacement or pressure settings. That’s where a lot of problems start. Someone orders a pump based on the machine model alone and ignores the exact part number reference. Suppliers like Bobcat parts source usually list cross reference numbers, but it’s still worth double checking before ordering.
 
I’ve bought undercarriage parts from them before, mainly rollers and sprockets for a Cat 289D track loader. Fitment was correct and the parts lasted about as long as the OEM ones we previously installed. Packaging wasn’t fancy but everything lined up properly during installation for wear items like that I don’t worry too much about aftermarket.
 
Dealer parts still have one advantage in my opinion and that’s technical support.

When you buy from the dealer you’re also paying for their ability to diagnose problems if something doesn’t work right. With aftermarket suppliers you usually need to be confident that you’ve identified the correct failure before ordering.

That said, when dealer lead times stretch into weeks, companies like Bobcat parts source become a pretty attractive option.
 
Hydraulic components are where I personally slow down and research a bit more. If a hydraulic pump fails on something like a Kubota SVL75 or Bobcat T770, there’s usually a reason. Contamination in the system is common and if that isn’t addressed before installing the replacement pump, the new one can fail quickly.
That’s why whenever we install a pump or final drive we always inspect lines and filters first.
 
Another thing people overlook is how many OEM parts actually come from the same manufacturers. Some hydraulic pumps used in skid steers are built by companies like Sauer Danfoss or Bosch Rexroth and then supplied to multiple equipment brands. The dealer sells them under the machine brand name, while aftermarket suppliers sometimes sell replacement versions with the same basic design.

So the line between OEM and aftermarket isn’t always as clear as people think.
 
One situation where suppliers like Bobcat parts source become really valuable is when a machine is older and dealer support starts to thin out. I had that problem with a Bobcat S250 a few years ago. The machine was still running great but the dealer was quoting pretty high prices for certain hydraulic components. I ended up sourcing a replacement hydraulic pump from an aftermarket supplier and it’s honestly been running without any issues since then. The interesting thing is that when we compared the pump side by side with the original unit, the housing and port layout looked almost identical.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top