Can anyone clear up a debate I am having with my superintendent over the correct oil to be using in the HPCU of the 963B we have (SN: 9BL00974 and 9BL02418) We lost a hose to one of the drive motors and have since replaced and filled back up the compartment and my super is telling me that what the Cat dealer advised I have our mech use (10w) was wrong and that it should have been 30w. 30w is what is used in nearly every other compartment other than the hyd. system. Who is right here? Cat or my super?
I would say Cat. A 10W oil works for ambient temperatures in the range of -4F and +104F. A 30 oil temperature range only goes down to 50F ambient as a minimum and 122F as maximum. Bearing in mind your geographic location I'm pretty sure your ambient temperatures will get below 50F at certain times of the year and I am not sure they would get anywhere near as high as 122F. SAE10W will give a far better/faster response after early morning startup in the hydrostat in cooler ambient temperatures. It will also sharpen hydraulic system response.
I only run TO4 10W in my HPCU machines, 943LGP & 963B.
Nige, Thank you for this information. Any chance you have access to a PDF copy of a manual showing this info? My super is a "show me" kind of a guy... Especially if he's wrong...
I thought you might ask that.......... See attached. Personally I would put either straight hydraulic oil or TO-4 oil in that compartment whatever viscosity was selected. However based on your geographical location if the machine was mine it would get 10W oil in that system. Also I suggest that for $50 you could download the complete Operation & Maintenance Manual (SEBU6744) for the two identical machines from Cat. That sould solve all arguments and probably give you a load of other useful info as well.
Excellent chart Nige. I'm puzzled by the SAE 30W temperature range for powershift transmissions on the top of page 2. It shows 32-95F. My manual has ambient temp. 32-120F for 30W as far as I can tell. I don't run in the winter for maybe more than 50 hours. I give the machine a 30 min. warm up out of the wind. I don't think running 30W in temps. down to 10F should be a problem? The recommendation for below 32F is SAE 10W.
The chart I posted was taken from the O&M specifically for the 9BL-prefix 963B machine and should not be used for any other model. I have no idea why there are oil recommendations for a power shift transmission as the 963B does not have one. Different models can (and likely will) have different ambient temperature recommendations for the same grade of oil. Note there is no such thing as a “30W” oil. The only engine oil classification viscosity that has a W after the viscosity grade is an SAE 10W. SAE gear oil viscosities like 80W/90 are a different range. I would agree that in the case of your 977 provided you warm up the power train before loading it there is no reason why you cannot use an SAE30 oil. Some prefer to do it by putting the transmission in 3rd speed and stalling the converter against the brakes at just off Low Idle rpm but if you don’t mind burning diesel for 30 minutes your way also works. (I would not like to do that on a hystat machine.)
Thanks for giving me the stalling converter trick and reassurance that it's OK to fire up the 977 on the SAE 30 in the cold. Providing the use of a good warm up. I like to keep the Girls happy, they aren't making any more of them. They are nose heavy machines, but I think they are also a simpler design and possibly easier and cheaper to fix. Well, as long as Cat keeps making parts at least. Thanks for your help Nige
Nige, Wonderful chart to have at the ready. We did put the 10W oil in the machine. So far so good, and even the super has had his blood pressure come down finally. As they say, time heals all wounds. I purchased a manual for the machine off Ebay but was still waiting for it to arrive so I could look this up. The downloads you mention at the end of your reply, is the information contained in them the same as the large manuals I have been ordering for $200-$300/EA? I didn't think that Cat offered them digitally to prevent "sharing" of the manuals? That's a much better resource for me given I take the lap top everywhere I go to.
I don’t know what is the “large manual” you have ordered. Do you have a Publication Number for it.? It will be at the bottom LH corner of the label on the spine IIRC. To the best of my knowledge full-blooded Service Manuals are not available for download, only in paper or CD form.
Nige, I bought this one on eBay. Its serial number is SENR5300. Pages are in great shape and the cover just looks worse than it really is.
If it is complete that manual should contain (amongst others) an Operation & Maintenance Manual, fold-out Electrical & Hydraulic Schematics, plus other section for Test & Adjust, Specifications, and Disassembly & Assembly. No idea how much you paid for it but a new one is priced at over $1,100. Right inside the front cover there should be an index page. See below. Check that all the separate documents listed in the index are there. You may be able to get new copies of any missing ones through your Cat dealer.