How to Inspect a Used Skid Steer Attachment Before You Buy

The used attachment market in Canada is large and active — Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, Ritchie Bros., farm auctions, dealer trade-ins. Good deals exist. So do expensive mistakes. The difference between the two usually comes down to whether the buyer did a proper inspection or just kicked the tires and assumed everything was fine because it looked "alright."

This guide gives you a systematic process for evaluating any used skid steer attachment before money changes hands. It applies to everything from used GP buckets to grapples to mulchers. Some categories have specific checks covered at the end.

Before You Go: What to Ask First

Before driving three hours to look at an attachment, ask these questions over the phone or by message:

• What machine was it used on? Brand and model helps you verify quick-attach compatibility. If it was on a Bobcat with Bobtach, it may not bolt to your universal skid steer plate without an adapter.
• How many hours of use, roughly? Attachments don't have hour meters, so this is a judgment question — but the answer is revealing. "Light farm use" and "commercial contractor, daily use for 5 years" are very different situations.
• Any repairs or welding done? Repairs aren't automatically a problem, but you want to see them and evaluate whether they were done properly.
• Why are you selling? Upgrading, downsizing, the business closed, the attachment no longer fits a new machine — all reasonable. "Hydraulics need work" is a different answer.
• Can I test it on my machine (or one like mine)? Anyone serious about selling a functioning hydraulic attachment will say yes. Reluctance to allow testing is a yellow flag.

Ask for photos beyond the listing photos — specifically of the quick-attach plate, the hydraulic couplers, and the underside or wear surfaces. If the seller won't send close-up photos of these areas, you already know something.

Quick-Attach Plate Inspection

The quick-attach plate (also called the mounting plate or skid steer plate) is the part that locks into your machine's coupler. It's also where a lot of problems show up.

Frame and Weld Inspection

Heavy attachments live a hard life. The frame takes constant impact, vibration, and stress. Weld failures are one of the most common failure modes in used attachments, and a good weld inspector can spot them in seconds. Even if you're not a welder, here's what to look for:

Signs of a Good Weld (in original condition)

• Uniform bead width and height throughout the weld length
• No visible porosity (holes or pockets in the weld bead)
• Good fusion at the edges of the weld to the parent metal
• No undercut (a groove burned into the parent metal at the weld edge)

Signs of a Problem

• Cracks running along or across the weld — look for rust streaking out from a crack as a telltale
• Areas where welds have clearly been ground down and re-welded (colour inconsistency, different surface texture)
• Paint bubbling or lifting over a weld area — this often means heat from a previous crack repair
• Missing welds or obvious gaps in weld coverage at stress points
• Visible flex or movement in the frame when the attachment is loaded (have someone push down on a grapple jaw or fork while you watch the main frame)

Plates and Gussets

Check that all structural plates and gussets are present and intact. Attachments that have taken severe impacts sometimes lose gussets or have them bent and straightened. A gusset that's been bent and straightened is likely significantly weakened, even if it looks okay at a glance.

Wear Points and Cutting Edges

Wear is normal and expected on a used attachment. The question is whether remaining service life justifies the asking price, and whether wear is concentrated in ways that suggest the attachment was misused.

Buckets

• Cutting edge: Measure thickness. New cutting edges are typically 1/2 to 5/8 inch thick. Anything below 1/4 inch is near end of life. Check for even wear — uneven wear suggests the bucket was often used on one side.
• Side cutters: Should be present and not worn through. Side cutters protect the bucket corners, which are expensive to rebuild.
• Bucket floor/back: Look for wear-through holes or thinning at the bottom of the bucket — this is where abrasive material (gravel, rock) grinds through over time.
• Bolt-on tooth holders (if equipped): Check the adapters for cracks and the bolt holes for elongation. Worn adapters make tooth replacement difficult and are expensive to replace.

Grapples

• Check the tine tips for wear — they should be sharp enough to grab material, not rounded off.
• Inspect the pivot pins and bushings for play — grab the tines and try to wiggle them laterally. Some movement is normal; significant play means worn bushings.
• Check the cylinder mounting points for cracks and the cylinders themselves for straightness and clean rod condition (no scoring, no corrosion on the chrome rod).

Augers

• Flight wear — is the spiral flight worn down, bent, or damaged? Badly worn flights reduce drilling efficiency significantly.
• Bit condition — tooth inserts should be present and not cracked. Broken carbide inserts mean reduced cutting and higher fuel consumption.
• Drive hex or drive socket — check for wear in the drive connection. A worn hex or round-drive socket slips under load.

Hydraulic Breakers

• Tool (chisel) condition — check for mushrooming at the strike end, cracks, or excessive wear at the retaining pin groove.
• Housing condition — look for cracks at the top of the housing where impact loads concentrate.
• Service history — when were the lower seals, bushings, and accumulator last serviced? Most manufacturers specify service intervals of 500–800 hours. An unserviced breaker can fail quickly.

Hydraulic Components

Hydraulic failures on used attachments are one of the top sources of regret for buyers. A bad hose is cheap — $80–200 to replace. A blown motor, failed valve, or damaged hydraulic cylinder is a different order of magnitude.

Hoses and Fittings

Hydraulic Motors and Cylinders

Hydraulic motors (on mulchers, sweepers, tillers, and some auger drives) and cylinders (on grapples, 4-in-1 buckets, blades) are the expensive components. Inspect them carefully:

• Cylinders: Look at the chrome rod — any scoring (deep scratches), pitting, or corrosion on the rod means seals will fail quickly. Look for oil residue around the rod seals.
• Motors: Listen for unusual noise during operation — grinding or knocking indicates internal wear. Check the drain port area for weeping.
• Valve blocks: Look for external damage, cracked manifolds, and weeping seals.

Functional Test Procedures

Do not buy a hydraulic attachment without connecting it to a machine and operating it through its full range of motion. This is non-negotiable. If the seller won't allow it, walk away.

What to Test

• Full range of motion: Cycle the attachment through everything it's designed to do. Open and close grapple jaws fully, tilt a blade through its full range, spin an auger motor both directions (where applicable), operate all hydraulic circuits on a multi-function attachment.
• Cycle speed: Compare the cycle speed to spec if you can find it. Slow cylinder movement can indicate flow restriction, internal leaks, or an attachment that was set up for a different flow range than your machine produces.
• Hold test for cylinders: Raise the attachment with the cylinder extended, then watch it for 60–90 seconds. A cylinder with good seals will hold position. Gradual drift (slow descent) indicates bypassing seals — this will get worse over time.
• Load test where possible: A grapple should actually grab something. A bucket should move some dirt. An auger should drill a hole. Real-world loading reveals problems that idle cycling doesn't.
• Listen: Operate the attachment at full speed and listen for unusual sounds. A healthy motor hums smoothly. Grinding, knocking, squealing, or rattling are warning signs.

Attachment-Specific Red Flags

Negotiating Based on Condition

A used attachment doesn't need to be perfect to be worth buying. The goal is to pay the right price for actual condition. Here's how to think about it:

Price Adjustments for Known Issues

• Worn cutting edge (bucket): Replacement cutting edges typically cost $150–400 installed depending on size. Deduct that from the asking price.
• Needing hydraulic hose replacement: $80–200 per hose plus labour. Typically $300–600 for a full re-hose on a grapple or similar.
• Cylinder seal replacement: $400–900 per cylinder for parts and shop labour. Can be higher on large cylinders or specialty equipment.
• Missing or worn teeth (buckets, mulchers): Tooth and adapter kits vary widely — get a quote before negotiating.
• Worn bushings in pivot points: $100–300 in parts, several hours of labour depending on accessibility.

What You Can't Negotiate Around

Some problems should change your decision from "negotiate hard" to "walk away":

• Cracked main frames or structural weld failures — repair costs are unpredictable and the attachment may never be as strong
• Hydraulic motor or pump failure — parts alone can exceed the attachment value on older equipment
• Bent or twisted quick-attach plates — the safety implications are serious
• Missing major components (guards, deflectors, safety features) that are no longer available as parts
• Signs of major impact or rollover damage — bent frames don't just look bad, they change stress concentrations throughout the attachment