Pretty sure I lost the hydraulic pump this afternoon. Few weeks ago I noticed my 53 seemed to be short a little grunt in the loader hydraulics. Today started off cutting g a parking lot and loading trucks. As the day wore on my loader functions got slooowwweerrrr and it the loader would lift less and less. The loader won't lift more than about a third of a bucket of dirt, it won't break out of a pile with a full bucket using lift or tilt. When cutting grade is stiff clay soil it reached the point it wouldn't pull out of a 8" cut. Got a set of gauges to put on it tomorrow to check pump pressure for certain. How big of a job is it to replace the cartridge in the pump? Thanks John
It's an easy job. The biggest problem is stopping the tank from draining when you remove the suction line.
Got it done. Ended up replacing the whole pump with a new Cat Classic pump for just under $500. Thanks ks for the heads up on the suction line. I picked up a handful of rubber corks from the hardware store that solved that issue. All total lost about a quart of oil and three hours down and back. Hardest part was getting the gear off the old pump to install on the new one. Had to take it back to the shop to an impact and gear puller. By no means my worst breakdown on this machine. Thanks John