I am looking at an EX200LC excavator that a neighbour has for sale. One of its issues is a significant oil leak that seems to be coming from the swing bearing, (please excuse my lack of the proper terminology as I am new to excavators). I had a look under the belly pan and there are some drips coming from the bottom of the swivel but the main amount of oil seems to be coming from between the two parts of the aforementioned bearing. The swing motor is dry on top and the oil is full in the gear reduction of the swing motor. Any ideas on whether this might be something other than the swivel seals? Thanks for the help in advance! Brent
Sounds like a problem with the swivel joint. Typically not a big deal, nor terribly expensive to re-seal. If the price is fair enough, no big worries doing the repair. There's always a chance that swivel needs more than just seals, but I don't see that often. Be sure and check the cylinders for leaks, you could easily sink a grand in cylinder shop repairs, more if rods or barrels are in bad shape.
Thanks Willie. There is some small leakage in some of the cylinders but I think it is not serious yet. There is a repaired crack in the side mid boom that is about two inches long that has cracked through the repair. It was not done well in my opinion. It is the second owner and it has sat for the last 6-7 years and has less than 5,000 hrs on it. It starts good and there doesn't seem to be much slop in the pins or the swing bearing. I am thinking it might last a long time on the farm but I understand that things are not always cheap to fix.