Hi my caterpillar E110B has developed a nice oil leak from the bottom side of the main distribution assembly. I don't know the proper name for it. Its the main distibuting block fed from the pump, and it sits behind the swing motor, and in front of the engine. The problem is, there is just a somewhat small oval hole in the main frame to see or get at it. I held the camera in the hole to get this picture. Everythng get soaking wet with fluid and I can't tell where it originates. It looses about a gallon an hour. I've tried to clean it up, then just moving 1 direction control to see if that would tell me which line, but it seems to get everything wet and start dripping with every sequence. I even put a video recorder under it while running, but I can't tell where it starts from. I thought about lifting it up to access it from above, but it is hard piped to the radiator, and there is no eye for a hook anyways. Getting frustrated. There isn't enough room to get your arms, hands and face in the area at the same time. I thought about putting some cardboard dividers, to see what gets wet first, but the access is too small to work at it. Is there a troubleshooting trick to determine where the leak is?
That is the main control valve. What i do is soap up the whole area and then powerwash it. Let it dry before running it. If I still cannot find the leak, dye can be added to the hyd oil. We use red in hyd oil and blue in trans oil. This is dye made for this purpose. Cat does sell it but i'm sure it can be purchased other places. As the dye mixes and circulates you can sit under where the leak it and wait for the red oil to start bleeding out. Hopefully its a simple O-ring or a loose line. Good luck.
Ditto LeeOnline. Gotta clean it and get it dry. Leaking a gallon an hour, shouldn't be too hard to find.
Good day Sir I suggest you use cardboard to locate the leak, placing the cardboard at the highest point first, this is much safer practice. Regards Uffex
I know it is dangerous and a crappy job to do but, do you have an operator you can trust to hit a couple of funtions while you watch the vale bank?