My mini-excavator had some service done recently & one of the things they did was 'top up' the hydraulic fluid. My Cat owners manual says that the fluid level should be between the low & middle sight marks for low temperature and between the middle and high sight marks on the sight glass indicator and for higher temperature. The level that the machine has now is well above the high level mark and the temp is cold. Is this a problem? Thanks for your help.
It might be a problem.When the excavater gets warm it might overflow the tank.I was looking over my grove crane this afternoon.I added some hydraulic oil to it after a cylinder repair.In general I have found on hydraulic equipment to keep the tank at 3/4 full when cold.It dosent matter what the equipment is ,Crane ,dozer excavater,log splitter.Hope this helps.
Thanks 25c. What is the worse thing that can happen? Can it damage anything or just spill some fluid out? Should I worry about it and to try and drain some off?
Check your owners manual, most excavators require the boom, arm, and bucket to be in a certain position to check hyd level. Some, everything's extended. Others, mostly retracted. The position of the cylinders affect the fluid level in the tank. Your manual should tell you what position to have the boom components. Once you have set them in the proper position, with the fluid cold, if it's at or above the high mark, call your service people and chew them out for charging you for hyd oil that you did not need!
I set it all up as per the manual for doing the check & it was well over the high mark. Can this level of fluid cause damage to anything? Thanks;
Two weeks ago I overfilled my skidloader.I disconnect a hydraulic line on the bucket and drain off a gallon.
No, it won't really damage anything. Like 25c said, at worst it will puke it out a vent when it gets hot and expands. It will make a mess either on your machine or on the ground of the property your working on. But consider this, you've been charged good money for something you didn't need...hyd oil! Just like any oil these day's...they don't give this stuff away!
This was some work done on my new machine so they didn't charge me for the hyd. Sounds like it was a bit of a waste though. Service guys have been very helpful in many ways and I should fully trust them. Just wanted to double check what the impact was on my new machine as the manual says something different than what I see on the sight glass when it comes off back from a service. I'll have them drain some off during my next service so it gets done in a controlled way & not spilled out - that will be before the heat comes here in the frozen North. Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.
very good.
"A good mechanic isn't expensive, he is priceless" - One of the better quotes that I have heard in a long time. They are very few and far between. :drinkup
Quotes or mechanics ? You'll find both on here :drinkup