The hydraulic cooler on my Hitachi 120-3 rusted through, and since Pape wants almost $1200.00 for a new one I'm going to graft in a universal cooler, which means soft hose and clamps. My question is, how much pressure is in the line? Doesn't look like it could be very high, but I was once wrong before. Thanks.
Welcome to HEF wilko! :drinkup
I'm trying to figure out how a hydraulic oil cooler "rusts" out? Dash 3 machines are radiator style cores that stack in front of the engine radiator. They are not made the same materials though as a regular radiator. Most are silver brazed together and the core material is much stronger than an ordinary radiator core. If I remember right there is a bypass valve that limits back pressure through the cooler at around 50 PSI. I have had back pressure problems a couple of times when we plumbed in a compactor or breaker. We plumbed the return back through the cooler and a couple of times it blew off the hose. We put a spike gauge in and found a couple of hundred PSI in certain situations. If I had to plumb one now I'd go directly back to the tank unless heating problems developed. I have gotten coolers recored through a good radiator shop for a lot less money than what the manufacturer wants. You just have to let them know what the unit is going to do. Good Luck!
. Thanks for the reply, John. The cooler is all steel, dirt accumulates in the fins and holds moisture, causing it to rust from the outside in. Pressure washing from new might help. Anyway, sounds like the line can quite a bit of pressure at times.
I've seen coolers rot from the outside in as well. Since you said Pape, I'm going to assume you're somewhere in the PNW where we see quite a bit of rain west of the Cascades and most of it is salty, that doesn't help either.
I'd have to disgree with Cascadescaper on acid rain and coolers rotting out in the Northwest. I've been a mechanic here for thirty five years and the only things of that age that get that kind of rust are gray market and have been working in something very caustic. A Dash 3 Hitachi was built in the mid 1990s and I've seen no excavator of that time frame, originally sold in this country, loose a cooler from corrosion. I have seen other machines parked on barges floating in salt water with that kind of damage but useally the whole machine is eaten up. Perhaps a few photos would explain a lot.
I'm about 30 miles south of Portland. I called a friend when it started leaking and he said rusting through was common. The Portland Pape warehouse has two coolers on the shelf, which kind of confirms his opinion. I can get an aftermarket cooler the right size for $200.00, add another hundred or so to graft it in and I'll be way ahead of $1200.00
For all we know it could be a dash 3 gray. That would explain a lot.
It just occurred to me, the batteries sit right in front of the cooler. The fan pulls battery fumes through the accumulation of dirt and condensation stuck to the cooler, add 12 years, and whaddya get?
It could be grey market, I'm not even sure how to tell. Everything, including part numbers, sems to be in English.
you hit the nail on the head check here for a used cooler..... www.aisequip.com 517 321-8000, ask to speak with someone in used parts department.
Cooler Blues I see alot of rusted out high dollar coolers here in the New Olreans area , probally from the enviroment we live in as we have a lot of salt water , humidity and petro chemical plants , $1,200 is really pretty cheap as far as coolers go , had one built for $650 to replace a rotted core cooler in a Komatsu 80 ( which is small by any standards ) not long ago that would have cost $2,700 , plus 9.75% tax and frieght form dealer , the pressure is low and as previously mentioned it is protected by a by pass valve , if you plumb it up with hose and use the good stainless "T" style clamps you won't have any problem