Hi All I am looking for some advice on a 1999 Daewoo 130 lc v that I have just bought - the issue with it is that when hot it basically loses tracking power. It seems to have good digging power for example at the weekend it was good and hot at which point the tracking was absolutely horrendous so I tracked over to stump from a good size tree that I had cut down recently and went about pulling it up. The stump was fairly solid and the machine was either pulling itself over (i.e the whole back was lifting up off the ground) or the whole machine was being pulled in towards the stump. Would this indicate that digging power is ok? On the tracking it tracks fine when cold in that she will spin herself around without the assistance of the boom/slew and will climb up a fairly steep slope and tracks in a reasonably straight line. Also the high speed tracking seems to also work fine when cold. Once it is hot it doesn't track straight at all and has zero power if I push one on the travel levers on the machine the track tries to turn but fails, the engine does not load up under these circumstances. When I push both levers together it will move the machine around just very slowly I have got my plant mechanic on it and he is an experienced guy so I have moved the machine to his workshop - he says he wants to replace the seals in the swing center first to remove this as a potential issue as the seal kit is only €220 from Doosan. He will go from there with checking pumps and motors etc. On the track motors would you have any idea what sort of case drain flow rate would indicate the motors were bad/good. Also are there any other diagnostics I can perform on the track motors? I also want to change all the fluids is there a specific grade of hydraulic oil I should be using or one that has better stability when hot Thanks for the help and advice
Good advice to replace the seals in the swivel as a first step. Get that done and see how you go from there.
Will keep you posted how it goes will be a week or so before my mechanic gets to it Anyone have any ideas what a normal case drain flow would look like Thanks again
Good day Case drain equates to internal leakage you can see this on a pressure gauge how quickly the residual pressure drains away. Kind regards Uffex
Hi Uffex, thanks for the reply is there a rate of change in pressure that is acceptable for case drain - Also do you know what the pressures at the track motor should look like for normal operation Thanks John
Good day John The crawler pressure according to spec is 324 ba. The case drain should not signifcatlnly increase when you use the crawling circuit. You can see this by "a" connecting a low pressure gauge into the case drain line and "b" a high pressure gauge to the crawler drive lines. If you would like specific information making it will take us a little time but happy to help. Kind regards Uffex
Hi All Just a quick update on this Daewoo excavator, posted a couple of photos as well for good measure. The machine has 12k hours on it and I paid 13000 Euros (~$15,000 USD) including a hydraulic hitch and 3 buckets. It is currently sitting with my mechanic who says he will probably get to the machine next week. He did however drive it and had the following observations 1. Cycle time for slewing boom etc seemed normal so he doesn't think the main pump is a problem - he also observed that the main pump was replaced at some time as the pump is a different color so it is either a replacement or rebuilt unit. This is inline with what the seller told me as he stated it was changed 1000 hrs ago (although i never put much weight on anything a private seller says) 2. He thinks that even when cold and moving the machine around that the tracking is very poor, he said there was no bite to the unit (his words). So while I thought it was fine when cold and terrible when hot he thought it was very poor even before the machine was hot. So I will have to retract my statement about the machine being fine when cold 3. He thinks tracks, chains and sprocket are very good, but that a link should be removed from each chain as they are very loose even though the idlers are fully extended 4. There is no slop between undercarriage and main body of the machine so the slew gear is in good condition We are going ahead with pulling the swing center/rotary valve and resealing. Thus my only problem is the tracking - the track motors are hy-dash units (gm18 i think) - and while the info from Uffex above is very useful my mechanic is still looking for a case drain flow rate on these units in litres per minute (or gpm). From my side i am interested in understanding how i can tell if the motors are bad themselves and what it might cost to either a) rebuild them or b) put in a new or remanufactured unit Also I purchased the shop manual online printed and gave it to the mechanic - so if anyone wants it i can share Thanks for any help John
Good day John A copy of the applicable manual would be useful we can then put some information together for you to diagnose where the trouble is coming from. This may take us a little while but happy to help. Kind regards Uffex
Good update John, but I would take issue with his comment "the tracks, chains and sprocket are very good", because if "a link should be removed from each chain as they are very loose even though the idlers are fully extended" then the pin/bush joints are probably very close or even past being 100% worn.
Hi Nige - would you visually see that sort of wear or is the looseness of the chains the only indicator? The chains themselves and the sprockets don't seem that worn when you look at where the sprocket and chains are meshing. I would take a picture but the machine is with the mechanic Thanks John
If the tensioner is all the way out the chains are at the end of their life IMO. I'm not saying that you can't remove a link to get the tensioner back and carry on using them. It seemed strange to me the mechanic's comment that the U/C was very good when the tensioner was all the way out and the chains still weren't tight. I don't have any undercarraige specs on these machines so I have no idea if they are imperial or metric measurements. It would be interesting if the track chain pitch spec could be found to measure it now just to see how much it's extended from the original spec. If you want to see how worn the tracks are and you fancy splitting one of them, knock the master pin out and lay the track out flat, shoes down. Then see how far you can push one end sideways before the other end starts moving, I reckon it will probably go a metre or so sideways.
Hi Nige - I will see what he says next week when I call in to him to check on progress The key thing for me is to keep the cost as low as possible as I only want this machine to do 500 hours work for me sorting out farmland over the next 2-3 years - the machine will be used for personal use only. Definitely don't want to put new chains on the machine so if I can get away with taking a link out I think I would chance it. Or if I get the tracking sorted I might continue as is.
Don't forget to check the front idler axle. If that is failed , you'll have a very slack chain as well. The condition of the undercarriage speaks to the concerns of the travel function. If the chains were run tight or in sandy material without maintaining slack, the motors may have been overworked. Is the problem in both directions? Forward and reverse ? Since your mechanic performed cycle time tests , how did left and right high and low shake out vs specs? Has anyone gauged pressure to left and right? Has anyone swapped reliefs left to right, forward to reverse? Case drain , as a rule should not exceed 10% of flow delivered to motor at full load. So if you have 30 gpm at full stroke, your case drain may not exceed 3 gpm. To be honest, if I saw 10% I would condemn the motor. It's a ridiculous amount. Additionally, case drain should mildly leak out , it should not stream, spurt or spray. Does your machine have a case drain filter. I would look there first. Its almost always neglected. Spin on a new one and cut the head off the old. Look for debris.
In that case taking out a link would be fine, especially if you're the one using it. You're likely to treat it with much more care than an hourly-paid operator would.
Thanks Nige for the reply I am afraid for the next few weeks I am going to have to take a wait and see approach @ funwithfuel thanks for the in-depth response 1. I will be sure to check the idlers 2. Travel issue is in both directions and both motors are equally weak 3. Unfortunately I am not sure what you mean by high and low shake out Vs spec . My mechanic basically gave it the machine a quick run and the observations he made were as above - hopefully will get more info as he properly gets into the machine 4. No guages have been on it yet or swapping of reliefs my guy is going to eliminate swing center first as an issue then assess track motors 5 case drain goes through main low pressure return filter - I have full filter set bought for the machine so all will be replaced. Thanks for the case drain info - I have a feeling I might be dealing with 2 worn out motors and I am not sure if they will be worth replacing based on the value of the machine. I might have made a bad call on this purchase Will update this thread as the situation evolves Thanks to all for the great info and help
High and low vs spec. This means paint a track pad put machine in turtle or slow, use the boom to raise that track off the ground. From a running start,at full throttle, time 3 full revolutions. Do the same thing in rabbit or high. Then do the other side. Your service manual should tell you what your time should be. This will give you an indication of flow versus pressure. If your unloaded speed is correct, you may have a weak relief(s). I would like to see gauged pressure before condemning travel motors. I know I'm throwing a bunch out there, I would just rather folks cover all aspects before spending huge chunks of money to still have the same problem.
Hi funwithfuel have that info from the manual and I will perform that test once I get my hands on the machine - I definitely won't be spending any big bucks on this machine without making sure the right problem is being addressed Specifications for Solar 130LC-V Travel Motor Jack-up Test 3 revolutions High Speed seconds 17.9 ±0.8 Low Speed seconds 26.3 ±0.8
I agree with Nige if the idlers are all the way out and tracks are loose they are wore out excavators will wear out the tracks internally can't judge by rail height. also I would look at the hyd swivel
With that many hours on your machine a swivel reseal is a good first step. As far as your tracks go you can remove one link and run them without any problems. I have had customers remove two links and run their tracks thru the bushings on the pins then replace the whole undercarriage . Good luck Bob
Good day John Response to your tracking issue. Kind regards Uffex
Hi uffex I am blown away by the information you have prepared and would like to say that it is very much appreciated (I owe you a pint or two) I only hope I will be capable of carrying out the procedures therein. No doubt I will be back for clarification in the coming days I will keep everyone posted as the story unfolds John
Good day Sorry John and those that have followed this thread there was a couple of mistakes and omissions please discard the original attached is the edited version. Kind regards Uffex
Hi Uffex and all Again thanks for the updated version. To make sure that I start on the first potential source of the problem I am wondering if I should test the main hydraulic pump just to rule it out as the potential problem The machine already has a pressure readout on the display for both the front and rear pumps (which I think is ~ 280-300 bar) yet in the document you suggest that my working pressure is 400 bar so would it be worthwhile checking the main pump pressure with a manual guage, and if yes how would one go about seeing if the pump is good - follow the cycle times given in the manual or look at the pressures generated for example when haveing the machine lift itself. I am not sure what pressure the pump should be making or is this governed by the relief? On the document you suggest firstly disconnecting the proportional valve to see if this changes the track performance - do you mean disconnect the electrical supply from this valve? Thanks John
Good day John You can check the pumps by observing the cycle time in the manual, the pressures are one of the two elements required the other is flow. With variable displacement pumps this necessitates the use of flow meters and knowledge of the output curves so I would not suggest you explore this element it is enough to check the arm - boom - swing cycle times. For measuring the circuit leakage we recommend a normal 3" pressure gauge and it is better to have one on the high side although you are unlikely to see more than that you have already measured. The pressures you have specified are enough so I would ignore this at the moment.The proportional valve you can disconnect the wiring it may bring an error up on the display just ignore this while you check it out alternative you can disconnect the pilot lines but we do not have a good enough picture to point this out. The high pressure is controlled by the main relief valve on the main valve chest however if you are getting your spec. forget this at the moment. Kind regards Uffex
John, each cylinder and even each direction of cylinder has its own pressure relief valve set to specific pressure, if you bottom out any cylinder you will se the pressure on you gauges that that particular relief valve is set on. Your traction set at the highest pressure ( higher only main relief valve). Do a “stall motor test” - put pieces of steel bars ( not pipes -bars!) with diameter close to the diameter of the tooth on your sprockets, between sprocket and a track. Effectively blocking the movement ( I wouldn’t trust parking breaks) , and see what pressure you will see on both pumps when you try to go forward! I am too highly suspicious of central pivot, but there’s another thing, it’s low pilot pressure - check the hoses and fittings with strainers on the supply line going to your pilot control l valve for traction. You can start by checking the pilot pressure at the main control valve Very often strainers at pilot valves get in lugged, lowering pilot pressure which in turn can’t push spools in the main control valve to provide sufficient flow.
PROBLEM RESOLVED!!!!!!! Hi All Just wanted to post an update regarding the tracking issues I was having with my Daewoo excavator - I see a lot of posts that don't have a conclusion as often when people solve their issue they never post a follow up, so here it is My mechanic has only got around to properly looking at the machine yesterday, and based on the fact that the cycle times seemed ok he tested the case drain flow and pressure and a couple of other pressures as a first look and found no issues there using one of those combined pressure and flow hydraulic testing systems see image attached. He said his next step was to look at the hydraulic oil and filters - This was confirmed as the issue as the oil was badly contaminated and both filters (suction and return) were badly fouled. In fact the return filter had literally fallen to pieces. Once he drained the system replaced the oil and filters the tracking issue disappeared, he had the machine left running for a couple of hours and I came over to see how the machine was performing, and was blown away by the tracking power as the machine easily climbed up a steep pile of earth when hot 1. The mechanic said the oil was the most contaminated oil he had come across in a long time and could be linked to the main pump replacement but we cant say for sure. 2. He has refilled the oil reservoir with 80L of 46 hydraulic oil and will use this to flush the system, he will then drain this and flush again with another 80L. He then proposes to drain the system refill to required level with fresh oil and replace again the return filter. (I have purchased a barrel of 46 hydraulic oil and a new return filter) 3. He also tested the front and rear pumps and they are putting out 350 bar each (with the new oil/filters in place) and he is happy they are preforming correctly. 4. He is now going to go ahead with a full service on the rest of the machine and address the loose tracks So basically my issue was that the main pump was getting insufficient oil flow, hopefully this will not have caused any long term damage -time will tell Thanks again to everyone who contributed to resolving this issue John
Goo day John Thanks for keeping us in the loop great news that you have resolved the problem. Kind regards Uffex
Good day John An after thought regarding your hydraulic fluid being the cause, if this has been neglected it may well be with cheating the likes of transmissions for lube. Kind regards Uffex
Greetings all. I have a 1995-6 (have to check) DH Daewoo 130-2 with 9300 hours, with the same symptoms as John's hoe had. I've already changed the hydraulic fluid twice with new filters and cleaned strainer (no notable contaminants found) to no avail. What confuses me about John's hoe is why wouldn't a dirty filter and or strainer have lower flow with cold thicker hydraulic fluid therefore worse tram power when cold? If I could understand that it might help me troubleshoot mine. I don't have a mechanic, just me. I bought this hoe in 2011 to keep on my farm. I had all of the manuals till my place burnt down a few months later. I have made a living for the past 20 years operating heavy equipment and have never known a hoe to have symptoms like mine. Shortly after I bought the hoe I change the hydraulic fluid, new filters and cleaned strainer. I ran it a little before that and tram seemed fine (not certain, didn't fully test). In addition to strong cold, weak hot tramming, I sometimes get forceful resistance in the joysticks only when attempting to tram and only when it is at operational temp (that might be fairly new issue though, not sure, sometime there are several months between using the hoe). Honesty, there are so many variables relating to the conditions/symptoms, it is hard for me to keep accurate track of all the combinations of conditions symptoms and situations, greatly spaced out over the years. However as conditions get hotter, tram and tram related issue continue to appear and increase. Any assistance would be appreciated. Having a easy fix like John, would be a little bit like wining the lottery after all of these years of tramming issue grief.
After being kicked in a butt few times by tracking issues ( the one thing that will really mess you up on case drain testing is cross port leakage) I developed a testing algorithm for my self to save time and aggravation. I will share it and you can scale me later. First and formost - pilot pressure! Check the pilot system first then go straight to control valve, there should be no significant drop between two. Then it gets little more extensive: Put gauges at each pump pressure pump and do a stall test: look at the pressure, plug the hoses at motor and operate the lever - if pressure is low - plug the hoses before center pivot and operate the lever, if pressure still low - check the port relief valves. Everything stated above is only when you have problems with traction only and other functions working good. You can go straight to port relieves after eliminating the motors if you have known good ones and o-rings for them ( have been caught without proper o-rings on a job site tens of miles from anywhere few times). I am personally NEVER reuse o-rings! Another very helpfull thing is taking temperature readings, OK IR thermometer cost $24, if your motor loaded heats up to 200F/90C - it is leaking b*****d! If you suspect motor but don’t get a lot of case drain flow - remember about cross port leakage! Usually if after eliminating the motor you see pressure come back to normal, and motor under load heats up like a toaster - 90% it is a motor! They are expensive, so to know for sure you have to have one analyzer and two case drain flowmeters. One for case drain another for measure the flow on the “tank” hose. The problem is most places with test benches don’t want to test used components ( unless it’s their own return) in fear of contamination of test gear.
God day Randy Suggest you check the pilot pressure at the crawler valve to begin with , you do not mention if the case drain filter has been changed if not try that also. We have a refined crawler trouble shooting procedure in the making its not complete but if you believe it may help you happy to post this to you. Kind regards Uffex
Thank you TVA and Uffex, for the quality advice and super fast response. I will be at work at least until Friday, so I will have to wait until Sat. or Sun. to test, free time is in short supply. Till then I will invest in some testing equipment and manuals to locate the things mentioned. I will locate and replace the case drain filter ASAP. If it is not any trouble, the crawler trouble shooting procedure sounds like a must have for any toolbox.
Good day Randy Its a little heavy but we try to cover most eventuality's KR Uffex
Very good uffex! But little too comprehensive in this case and lacking the right sequence. It seems his other functions is working good so we know that pumps are good. That’s why I came up with my algorithm: measure pilot pressure right at control valve ( since your other functions is good the pump relief valve and hyd. lock is good also) Then install gauges right at the main pumps line test ports and eliminate ( and I think you forgot to indicate on your diagram the location of such ports ) by plugging and checking pressure at the pumps “backwards” : first motor, then, center pivot/rotary manifold, then what will be left is a control and merge valves “fun”! One thing that I didn’t talk about is mechanical binding of undercarriage!
Randy for testing gear you gonna need 0-600 psi gauge and 0-5000/6000, preferably two for future use. I never delt with Korean equipment but I think ( and let people who knows correct me) they use Japanese JIS standart ( BSPP thread with inverted seat on male side). To test pressure at main pumps you gonna need 3/8 BSPP port to whatever you will be using for test hose adapter. Most of this can be purchased on eBay, and be OKish for occasional use. Gonna need long hoses to go through cabs windows if you will be working alone. If you own the machine I would suggest buying gauge kit, tee adapter kit and caps and plugs kit.
Good day TVA Thanks for the comments however you have missed the fact that the information is not aimed at an individual case, the intention is to give a check list and method instructions. As we deal with such issues on a frequent basis the instructions follow A to B format sorry if this is does not meet with your approval Kind regards Uffex
I understand, and like I said it is very good, but IMO lacking grouping and sequencing of running checks on different systems. I’m not criticizing just hinting towards improvements!
Update. I changed the case drain filter (thanks Uffex I did not know it had one , hopefully I haven't overlooked any others). Also cleaned the pump strainer and inspected the main return filter. I used gasoline to rinse out the old case drain filter and strainer and collected minimal debris and inspected it in direct sunlight, only found a 5-10 tiny brass dust particles among the other debris. Noticed, a lot of tiny bubbles in the hydraulic reservoir before and after working on it. In the past I suspected there might be a bubbles in fluid problem but never could find a point of air entry. For now I think I will focus on confirming whether or not air is mixing with the fluid. Any thoughts on mystery air entry?
The airation should affect the work of the whole system not just travel! Your suction side supposed to be pressurized ( pressure in the tank regulated by valve in the breather), so any leak in suction should come up as oil stain/leak on the suction pipes. Another two possibilities is chemical reactions of oil or low oil level or broken/ too short return pipes in the tank. All your return flow should enter below top oil level. Sounds like “multiple offenders deluxe”. Although it’s always multiple offenders when you really pay attention to the whole system, it’s just we tend to focus on one “big” problem!
Brass particles might be from piston shoes of the motor or pump. Check your suction - airation and piston shoes damage can come from suction restriction.
I agree, and the boom and arm are not springy like I would expect if they had some air in them. The tank stays pressurized for at least hours after shutting off the hoe and the suction hose and tubes are oil free. I confirmed that oil enters below oil level by viewing the fluid inside the tank, while running, through a cover I had removed. Maybe I am wrong, but I thought a tiny amount of super fine brass particles was normal? The particles I saw, it would probably take hundreds of them just to equal the size of a grain of sand. The suction strainer was rather clean, defiantly less than 5% restricted and suction tube and hose are not collapsed. I guessing that should rule out suction restriction. After I put things on the hoe back together I worked it on a slope for about 45 minutes, all of the same symptoms eventually appeared as expected. One minute it easily climbs the slope (even at 1,200 RPM) the next minute it can just barely climb the slope and only with maximum assistance of pulling with the hoe arm. Running at lower RPMs delays the onset of the symptoms. The forceful resistance in the joysticks seems to only happen during forward tram or when attempting forward tram, and even when forward traveling down slope. It got dark on me today so I plan to do the IR thermometer testing tomorrow, as I don't yet have the other testing equipment. I believe once I can follow through with all of your testing advice, the problem(s) will be revealed. I can't thank you all enough for all of your knowledge and assistance.
Yeah good IR thermometer should give you a location of bypass leakage, but I think you will be second guessing yourself until you see pressure drops on the gauges. Especially when you find out the prices, then you will start REALLY second guess! Don’t forget to pull the covers off of the motors when taking the temperature readings.
Stiffness in joystick can be caused by leaking spool in main control valve, should be shown by spiking pilot pressure when monitoring with the gauge.
Oh I already know $3,675.00 per final drive motor and $5,036.25 plus $350 shipping for the pump. At those prices I will just have to contend with running it for about 45 minutes per day. Thanks, I was wandering if I need to pull off the motor covers or just check the line temps, good know.
What might involved in repairing a leaking spool? Possibly just need new seal or new valve body. I know virtually nothing about the inner parts of pilot controlled valve bodies. Still sourcing replacement set of manuals (shop, parts and operations).
If your other functions is working good then pump is not a problem.
You need to run tests first, could be a speed changing spool in the motor, have a patience!
Good day A couple of points that may be of interest the self pressurising valve on the tank check it out, it should be able to vent air after a few strokes of the cylinders, the machine has a back pressure valve on the return line, this prevents cavitation somewhat but defective it could contribute to air entering the system. It is of low pressure 3-4 bars (40-55 p.s.i) with fluid at working tempreture. I would endorse TVA comment check out the suction lines carefully a block or partially blocked strainer filter will encourage air to be drawn in. Kind regards Uffex
Thanks, the tank does build and hold pressure, not sure how much pressure, also I don't know how much pressure the manual calls for (still working on sourcing replacement manuals) but I will look around on the cap to see if it states a pressure rating. The suction strainer had well less than 5% contaminate blockage, but it is all clean now. I will be running it again today and will check for bubbles in the tank fluid afterwards.
Tank pressure is usually one atmosphere or 14.6 PSI. Cycle times for boom, arm and bucket are usually all you need to check pump output. Normal time for boom up on excavators your size is between 4 and 5.5 seconds. The center swivel is the usual cause of weak travel in one side and sometimes on both sides. The usual failure progression is that the machine will not track straight. I have also seen where the problem shifts tracks when you swing the house to the other direction. A stiffening of the pilot control handles is usually a clue that main pressure to the travel motors is getting into the high speed travel control circuit ,which is pilot pressure, at the swivel. You usually see the issue when you travel and operate the implements at the same time. You can check that by capping the hoses for high speed travel at the swivel and run the machine travel at the same time as an implement. If you get a squirt of oil from the fitting you can be sure you need to repack a swivel. I would waste the time or the oil to do that, at this point it is easier to just pull the swivel. I haven't worked on a Daewoo so can't tell you what it takes to remove and reseal a swivel but all other manufacturer's machines of that size that I have worked on took less that six hours to complete. Seals for a swivel are usually less than a couple of hundred bucks. Travel motors, valves and pumps will run many thousands. There is a lot of information being presented here that is for the most part good for people that do this stuff all the time. However, it is just muddying up the problem. Work from least expensive first and remember "KISS", keep it simple stupid!
Amen to that! If your hours is close to 7000/8000 it’s recommended that you repack the swivel anyway. Also check your swing bearing for slop.
Where are you getting those hours from? I've worked on most all the major brands and have never seen that recommendation in any published manufacturer's recommendations or specifications.
I didn’t say it was recommended in the literature. Just observation ( as equipment I work on is all older machines) and also talking to other owners and mechanics, it seems like that’s the hours that seals in swivel start to fail. Provided, of course, that machine was operated normally, not like the owner of one of shipyard who build the small tug boats - he liked to pull the boats ashore by using the swing of either his excavator ( I think it was JD 922 ) or Grove crane.
But I admit that I used word “recommended” in the wrong context! I apologize!
So based on two machines and your vast years of experience you deem it advisable to state as a general rule that swivel packing fails in that range of hours? Is that on all machines with a swivel? You mention a JD922 of which I'm not familiar with as an excavator and also a Grove crane which is an entirely different machine and type of swivel. You then make a statement about a machine operated "normally" and then imply that using the swing function on an excavator to pull a boat is somehow harmful to the operation of the swivel. What is it about swinging the house on an excavator that would cause the swivel seals to fail? What is the usual process of swivel seals failing?
Oh! Forgive me, o Greatest of all technicians ever lived John C., for daring to comment after you showed up at the thread on your “high horse”! No! hours doesn’t matter! Improper use of equipment doesn’t matter! Broken swing gears doesn’t matter! Ruined swing bearings have no impact on swivel seals! No, no, no!!’ Using swivel of the excavator or a crane to drag a tug boat on the ground and breaking swing gear on the swing motor it does not impact machine at all! Please, please, please forgive me, o greatest Technician ever born!!! Yes, yes, yes, it’s all in my sick, twisted, and unexperinced mind! I made all this up! Please, please, forgive me o Greatest?!?! I’ll just crawl in my little hole and shut up! What was I thinking? Still commenting on the thread after John C. blessed us by stooping down to comment on this thread!!! Stupid, stupid me!!! I’m lowliest if lowest imposters! Shame on me!!! Shame on me!!! Shame on me!!!
Today I worked the hoe until the symptoms were fully apparent, parked it for 1 hour, removed tram motor covers, took temperature readings at the tram motors, pump, control valve, center pivot, started it up, put the RPMs to around 2100, pulled the left track lever to full reverse and kept it there for the next ten minutes while checking temps. The pump, control valve, center pivot got up to around 130F and the tram motor and the lines connected to it never got above 105F and the track never rotated even an inch during those ten minutes. I took video while checking temperatures. That's all I have time for tonight, got work tomorrow. TVA, with regard to your above post to John C. I hope you are not actually dissuaded from posting here, I highly value your input.
I am just an operator but these people have this opinion. http://info.texasfinaldrive.com/shop-talk-blog/swivel-joint-or-travel-motor " It seems that after about 5,000 hours the swivel joint seals on most machines tend to start leaking."
BACK IN TROUBLE AGAIN Hi All I thought I had my tracking issue resolved but it is back and worse then before. After changing all oils and filters everywhere in the machine she appeared to be fine and climbed a steep bank no problem. However I then took out a link on each track and tightened up my tracks (this job was a bit of a nightmare to do, as we ran into a few issues and I did this with the mechanic as his helper for the day) leaving the correct gap between track and undercarriage according to the manual I took the machine away worked it for a couple of hours and one of the idlers appears to have seized up solid and is currently lodged up against the back of the yoke. I am wondering if this issue was also part of my problem all along and that tightening up the track has now highlighted the problem. Uffex did say to check filters first, then idlers then hydraulics so in my case this advice is spot on Anyway I have an idler ordered, but does anyone have any advice on removing this on my machine Thanks again John
Good day John I kind off hoped your troubles were over, here is the information after the chain is split just pull the idler wheel from the guide. Kind regards Uffex
They say “never assume” but people on this forum kinda assume that OP before, posting here, checked all the simple and obvious things.
I agree with you TVA but for me this is a learning experience as I have never owned an excavator before. Most certainly I am addressing the simpler things first; however, what is obvious for the experienced plant operator/engineer often times is not so obvious to the less experienced. What I can say for sure though is that if I was ever to buy another machine I would most certainly be much better equipped to assess it prior to purchase which is in part due to the great support I got here on this forum. Thanks to Uffex for the info - I will take some photos and let you all know how the replacement of the idler goes John
That was more of a self criticizing rant, that’s why I started with “never assume”.
This is a follow up to the weak tramming and other issues I previously mentioned. But first I want to thank all of the contributors here for their help, especially TVA for going out of his way to help. It was only because of this forum and members that, after about 7 years of me not being able to figure out what was causing the issues, I was able to fix the issue, otherwise I might not have ever figured out the issue. So thank you all very much! As it turns out the problem was leaking swivel/center joint seals. This was one part of an excavator that I knew almost nothing about, so I never thought about it having seals or that they could leak until I came across this forum. I realized the seals likely were leaking by running the hoe until everything was fully at operating temperature and the very weak tramming was at its worst, then shut it down for about an hour and a half, removed the tram motor covers, started it back up, idled it up and had my daughter hold a tram leaver all the way back (the hoe was still too warm, therefore too weak to worry about it being able to turn just one track especially with the bucket on the ground), then I started doing the IR thermometer testing on the hydraulic system, everything up to, and including the swivel joint, was steadily rising in temperature but the tram motor and lines only increased very little in temperature after 10 minutes with a tram leaver constantly being pulled back all of the way. So this told me that the fluid was likely bypassing within the swivel joint so I replaced the seals. I waited this long to post the successful repair because I wanted to test the hoe for hours on a day that was above 80 degrees to be sure it was successful, and I didn't get that chance until the other day. The hoe now walks up steep slopes with no problem. This is very exciting to me because previously I had never been able to that with my excavator after running it for a few minutes. Thanks again. I hope this helps somebody someday.
Always nice to hear a success story. TBH it's nice to hear anything at all....!! Usually the forum never gets to hear if a fix worked or not.