Hi there What is the best way to go about completely changing out the hydraulic oil on a 270D deere excavator?
Completely? Was there a major component failure or you just want to change the oil? Complete draining would be the same as for a Cat track loader that I think Cmark detailed a few years ago. All hoses and hydraulic components need to be drained. It's a really big job! If there wasn't a major failure you could drain the majority of it. You could look into renting a filter cart and cycling the oil through it several times. Just depends on what the oil is like. If it has a lot of water might just want to change it a few times. Water filters for filter carts only remove so much and are expensive.
Its got 9500 hrs on it and I dont think it ever was changed. They recommend changing the oil every 5000 hours. I dont have any major issues, i just feel like it doesnt have the power it should have. The dealer reccommended changing the main relief valve, and changing the oil. I dont feel like taking off hoses, I just want to get as much old oil out as possible.
To get the most oil out without breaking into the lines, set the machine up before you drain it. Roll the bucket all the way in, bring the stick in, and drop the boom down. That puts more of the oil back in the tank instead of leaving it trapped in the cylinders. While you're in there, don't skip the suction screen. After that many hours it can hold a surprising amount of sludge. I'd also change every hydraulic filter, not just the return filter. That said, I wouldn't expect fresh oil alone to bring the power back. If the dealer is pointing at the main relief valve, I'd put gauges on it and verify system pressure before throwing parts at it. Low relief pressure or a worn pump will make a machine feel weak long before the oil does.
If you don't flush the individual cylinders and their circuits you will still have contaminated oil. Changing the oil in the hydraulic tank only is waste of time and money. IMHO
All the manufacturer recommends for a hydraulic oil change is the oil in the tank, replace the filters and clean the strainer. You might think about taking an oil sample for analysis to see what kind of contaminants you have in the system. It's pretty common for small operations to run hydraulic oils way past the manufacturers recommendations. It isn't ideal but you do what you can afford. Bigger operations run them out past recommendations and then trade them in. That's why I end up taking so many oil samples on machines that are being traded in.
Might be able to drain the tank and drain the cylinders that are relatively easy to get at. A filter cart could be a good option to help clean the old oil while mixing in the new oil. Drain as much as you can. Add new oil and cycle all the functions then run the oil from the tank through the filter cart. You could have the filter cart hooked up to run continuous while you cycle the functions too. Do this several times and it will be better than just mixing the new oil with the old. I think it's also referred to as polishing the oil.
Thanks everyone for your help and ideas
Based on that statement why not start with some testing.? Have an oil sample analysed to know the exact condition of the oil in the system and whether or not it actually needs changing. Speak to the dealer and get the specifications for all the cylinder, travel, & swing cycle times. Get the machine warm and all you need is a stopwatch to measure them. If you like get the pressure test specifications as well. Maybe someone on here has that information. A machine Serial Number is the best way of getting accurate information. You will need a bit more in the way of tooling for testing pressures though. All the above will require nothing in the way of oil or parts and at the end of it all you will be in a far better position to plan how to move forward.
To check the items Nige suggests above , the cycle times are in the Operators manual under Operational checkout . Operators manual available at the Deere bookstore as a free download, link below. https://coreinterface.kencookpartne...udC9qZHR4L09NVDIyMTA5Ml85NC9PTVQyMjEwOTI=.pdf . . The pump1 and pump2 delivery pressures AND pump control pressures live data are available in the monitor. Forum member John C has a tutorial on utube for the monitor operation of a Hitachi ZX-3 ( same monitor as a Deere D series excavators) .