I know the manual for my telehandlers (1985-92 Lulls) say hydualic oil should be changed every 1000 hr. but I never did it, not even close. I do watch the filters in the hydrualic tank. :crying I guess I could get it tested like engine oil. What are you changing it at and what types of machines? I guess it gets sheared up and loses additives?
Hydraulic oil life? I think that is pretty much right... along with getting contaminated... dirt... water... machine component wear particles. On some of my equipment... it changes atomatically... every time a hose breaks... LOL I guess that's really not funny... OCR...
Ha, I thought my equipment had the only self changing oil :falldownlaugh
My mini-ex calls for Hyd oil changes at 750 hrs. For some reason I was convinced (having read the book {obviously not properly }) that the service interval was 1000 hrs. The first time we changed it we had a really noticeable improvement in performance.....it was like new. From then on we have changed on the dot (750hrs) and each time we get that, not really significant, but noticeable improvement in response, speed and digging performance. I wont let it go to 1000 hrs again thats for sure. This suggests to me that either the machine is one of those that is really hard on the hyd fluid or its plain crap oil that that the dealer supplies. I'm going to try Castrol next time to see how that goes. On the previous machine (Kubota KX 161-3) we never really noticed any performance difference after changing the hyd fluid. Change your hyd oil and see how it performs.....you may be surprised. Checking out the suction strainer is (apart from oil analysis) really the only way to see if you have contamination....and messing up your hydraulic system for want of an oil change could be a case of penny wise and pound foolish. JMHO. That said, I know of plenty of machines that I'm sure the owners wouldn't even know how to change the fluid let alone when. Some machines seem to be a lot harder on the hyd oil than others:beatsme
I thought this feature was invented by the demolition industry. Shear machines in particular. The constant cycle is tough on hoses. If your lucky, you have a machine that has the self cleaning feature when it comes to a broken hose. This is a HOT turbo charger with that HOT oil sprayed on it :cool2
Interesting reading http://www.lubrizol.com/press-room/news/2007/ProfiletHydraulicsPneumatics.pdf I know mine disappears some how through blow hose or leaks but I have plenty of empty 5 gallon pails to back it up.
oil samples Depending on the age of the equipment, we change at 2000 hours older equipment is done at 1000 hrs. We follow what the operator manual calls for as a rule. Some newer equipment is even going longer have not decided what we will done on these as we are no where near the first oil change. We do sample every 500 hours no matter what. We follow what the samples tell us what to do. most often if we have a problem we are told to monitor the compartment. Then we re-sample at 250 hours. We also have a filter cart that we run on the fluid on. With a resample after the filtering. Not sure if this is the best way but we have had very few failures.
I've had customers for years that never changed hydraulic oil until something failed. How often to change hydraulic oil depends more on the kind of machine, type of pumping system, operational cycle, climate the machine is being operated in and the type of oil you are using. A wheel loader using a gear or vane pump and large pilot or manual operated spool valves can take more contamination than an excavator with a complicated load sensing hydraulic system with piston pumps, a spider web of pilot lines and multiple types of control valves. By the same token that wheel loader, although having a similar hydraulic system to the telehandlers, is usually operated constantly and achieves a high enough temperature in the hydraulic oil to drive out water. In other words you change the oil in the Lull more often because it doesn't run as much and is subject to drawing water vapor into the reservoir that contaminates the oil. The oil additives in hydraulic oil as a general rule are anti foaming agents. The package is not used up except under certain situations. The oil also does not wear out either unless there is a certain situation. That situation is overheating. The oil will change state when heated above a certain temperture. Wheel loaders usually have plenty of reserve cooling capacity for the hydraulic oil. Most telehandlers that I have been around didn't even have a hydraulic oil cooler. Hydraulic excavators you would think would have plenty of cooling capacity but actually are right on the edge of being able to handle the job when the machine is operating in maximum load condition with no extra implements. Install a mower or grinder and you are running on the down hill side of your cooling capacity. The other usual scenario is to dust plug your hydraulic oil cooler by ten percent and overheated hydraulic oil will cook out the seals in the cylinders, inside liners in the hoses and turn rubber oil rings into flat washers. Squizzy, I am perplexed by your machine losing performance by running the oil change interval over the recommended period. What make of machine are you running?
Thank you John C. I also found some good reading here http://www.hydraulicsupermarket.com/technical7.html I know my owners manual for the Lull spec's Amoco Rykon MV but I never see that in a spec when I buy oil. I was using Valvoline but now I think most places are selling the brands I never heard of May be i should go the the CAT dealer or John Deere dealer when I dump some of these machines? Guess I am due. hydr au lic :Banghead ointhead
John, Its a Yanmar Vio 27-3. If you didn't change the oil you probably wouldn't miss the performance. The first change, when we went to 1000hrs, was the most noticeable, and its worth bearing in mind that was the oil the machine was delivered with. Subsequent 2 changes at 750 hrs are still noticeable to myself and my No 1 operator but is much less significant. My dealer supplies this oil: (RENOLIN B HVI) http://www.fuchs.com.au/categories.asp?cID=14 The new oil is a clear blue colour. After 750hrs its just slightly off colour (more greyish) and "feels" different. On filter paper it shows no contaminants and no metal was found last analysis. I think some of these compact machines are pretty hard on the oil and maybe what I am using is not the best quality. In our case we are often operating in temps well over the old 100 deg F, which I think is a contributing factor.
Those ambient temps I'm sure are hard on the system by themselves. I'm not familiar with the Yanmar systems so can't make an intelligent comment on its cooling capacity. It does sound kind of suspect. I'm sure your oil supplier knows about the operating temps in your region and can recommend an oil that will stand up better to the higher temps if you desire in the future. I do agree with you on the smaller machines being a little tougher on everything. If you have an infrared thermometer you could check the temperature of the hydraulic tank when the machine is at its hottest. I also usually check the inlet and outlet of the hydraulic cooler for the difference. A good working cooler usually runs 15 to 30 degrees difference. Ten degrees or less and I'm blowing out the fins with lots of air pressure. If I still have the problem I'm looking for contamination in the return filter and doing a sample on the oil. The give away on heat for me when checking machines is leaking rod packing on mulitple cylinders and hoses bleeding oil through the outside covers. Thanks for your experience on your machine.
John, everything is very much as new...no leaks whatsoever. I guess back to the subject at hand....the point I was making is that slight deterioration of the oil will pass un-noticed. And on the other hand, many machines exceed the specified service interval without any measurable deterioration of the oil or performance. For a compact machine my change is not an insignificant cost (the filter cost about $80 Aud).....I'd like to get 1000hrs out of that......but I guess some Yanmar engineer somewhere (who is a whole lot smarter than me ) made a service interval based on good engineering practice.
hi squizzy, you should try gulf western harvester hydraulic oil, it was developed for sugar cane harvesters working in high temperatures in northern queensland, a high quality hydraulic oil, there is a distribitor in malaga, you can find details on, www.gulfwestern.com.au .
Thanks AP: I looked up the site and entered my machine details. They recommend a 46w oil (SUPERDRAULIC 46). Yanmar publishes ISO VG46 as the spec for the machine and the Superdraulic meets this VI. The dealer recommends 68w. I am currently running 68w. No if you put a heavier mineral oil in a machine it will respond better when its not too cold...but, the heavier oil will supposedly maintain viscosity at higher temps. There is also the school of thought that lighter oil will give up heat faster......:beatsme. Tell you what....we have effectively trashed this thread but I'll chuck the Gulf Western 46w in and see what happens......its gunna take two changes to flush it through...thats 40 x 20 litre drums .....Just for you Pete
I'm not an equipment manager, but I've spent 20 years talking with equipment managers about how they maintain equipment, and with equipment manufacturers about how they design hydraulic systems and with lubricant marketers about what they expect from hydraulic oil. It seems to me you have two choices on how to maintain hydrualics: 1) Use regular oil analysis (that includes particle count and spectrographic analysis -- like they use on engine oil -- as well as some measures of viscosity and water content) to decide when to change oil. Primarily, you want to know if the oil is clean enough to protect your valves and seals, if it's being overheated, and if there is any water in it. Use that information to decide how the oil should be filtered and when, or if, it should be changed. 2) Follow the manufacturer's maintenance recommendations. You should use the same oil analysis described above at least for the first few oil changes to confirm that those recommendations are adequate for your application. If you're not doing one of those two, any hydraulic-system problems you're having are really your own fault. Oil analysis is essential in either case because, let's face it, manufacturer's service recommendations, especially for hydraulic systems, are shots fired in the dark. They have smart engineers looking at component design parameters and extensive testing data, but they got no idea how you are using your hydrualic system or how good your hydraulic oil is. And variation in how hydraulic systems get used in the world are so diverse that they can only pick a conservative middle-ish point and say, "There. That's when most people should change their hydraulic oil." In my opinion, if you want to manage hydraulic systems for minimum downtime and maximum bang for the buck spent on labor and materials, you have to know your own hydraulic systems pretty well. You can best do that with thorough oil analysis (particle count, spectrograph, and chemical tests). And you're best off sampling every other engine-oil change or so (close to 500 operating hours). You can always reduce frequency if the results prove pretty consistent. The people I've spoke with who have researched and attacked hydraulic-system problems have all started with rigorous oil analysis programs. And they've all implemented fairly similar measures. They get militant on hydraulic cleanliness. A little contaminant (dirt, metal, water, anything) always creates a lot of contaminant -- mostly metal off the interior surfaces of valves, cylinders, pumps and motors, but some rubber off of seals, too. A surprisingly high percentage of the best managers find themselves having samples of new oil analyzed. Anybody who's run particle counts on the oil they receive at retail -- either from a bulk truck or in packages -- knows how dirty the stuff is when it's sold to them. It's dirty -- seldom meets the hydraulic-component manufacturers' target cleanliness levels for acceptable component life. Run it through a filter with specs at least as good as the finest filter in your machine's hydraulic system. Lots of people use a filter cart with much-higher-efficiency filters to get the stuff clean. They convince their jobbers to filter the oil coming out of their trucks into their bulk tanks (and they specify the efficiency of the filter), and then they put filters on their own bulk tanks and trucks or other dispensers to filter the oil before it goes into the machine's hydraulic tank. You don't have to be an engineer to do this. Get JLG to help you out. They have good people. Just push up the chain until you find somebody who knows hydraulics and will help you with your system. If you can't find anybody at JLG, go to the hydraulic-component manufacturer. But don't go empty handed. Make sure you have some oil-analysis history and component-life history defined and in hand. Define your problem and challenge them with it. You need to clearly establish housekeeping rules for maintaining the cleanliness of oil in storage, oil in transit, and oil being poured into a machine's reservoir. If you don't make it clear that they can't pour make-up oil into a dusty bucket, or one with a bunch of antifreeze residue still in it, they will do it. You will not reach the hydraulic-component manufacturer's target cleanliness without these measures. Write policies for replacement hoses. Spec them carefully. Make sure the couplings match properly, and the hoses will stand up to your application. Tolerate no weeping seals. As soon as dust starts to cling to cylinder rods, the cylinder is allowing dust into your hydraulic system. You need new seals. Install dessicant reservoir breathers with high-efficiency filters on machines and bulk tanks. Your hydraulic systems, unless they're the sealed type, suck gallons of air off the job site every time the operator runs the boom out. You don't want the dust and humidity in that air in your reservoir. Establish a service interval for those breather filters and follow it. A remarkable number of people I've spoken with about hydraulic-system maintenance use high-efficiency filter carts (filter buggies, kidney-loop filters, dialysis machines, lots of different names) as part of their maintenance program. It's basically a cart with a pump to push oil through some very-high-flow, high-efficiency filters. They use oil analysis to establish an effective interval where they go in and change a machine's hydrualic filters and run the oil in the reservoir through the filter cart. Often it's at that 1,000-hour interval, when the service man's going to be working on the machine for a while anyway and the cart will have time to polish the oil. As long as the oil's not being overheated, and you're maintaining improved oil cleanliness (lack of contaminants AND water), you should see better hydraulic-system reliability. And you should never have to change the oil. Here's one angle on improving hydraulic reliability and component life. Prevent Leaky Hydraulic Systems Here's a story about how Waste Management attacked the problem of poor hydraulic-system life (yes, a very different application from yours, but they are approaching hydraulic system maintenance just as anyone should). Waste Management Cleans Hydraulics To Cut Costs C.J. Miller spends 45% more on maintenance but saves money by reducing maintenance frequency How to Reach Hydraulic Cleanliness Targets Sorry about the diatribe, but this is a subject that I consider to be really crucial to operating equipment cost-effectively, and one that I've studied pretty intensively. Hope this helps, Larry
Usually its rather obvious when hydraulic oil breaks down, it loses its slick composition, it gets bubbly/foamy when it gets too warm or hot. The machines gear drives may tend to make some noise because the oil isn't acting the way its supposed to. In high pressure setups there is usually a required criteria for when it should be changed.
In my experience the most overlooked and most vital oil change is the first one. Most manufacturers suggest changing out the original (break-in) oil at less than 500 hours, some as low as 100. This goes for planetary gears also. It makes me shudder just thinking about all the warranty failures I've seen that could have been prevented by changing out the metal contaminated factory fill. Another thought... flush those replacement hydraulic hoses out before installing there's almost always some rubber cuttings or dirt inside them.
Thanks for the info and links CEwriter. I was reading the article about repairing hydraulic pistons where they say 250 to repair a machine I know the article was done in 2001 originally but 250 goes no where in machine repair. I bet to repair one lift cylinder in my Lull (seal replacement only) would be $1,500 - 2,000. I did one myself in 4 hours with the help of a laborer. I didn't pull it off the machine I just pulled the rod and piston out. I can't get the new pistons for steering cylinders of which some have a ding or two. Only a complete new cylinder assembly is available for $989. New piston rod for lift cylinder is $1895 lus shipping is over two grand. The breather on my hydraulic tanks are a joke they were like wrapped up cardboard under a tin can Can't imagine how much dust gets pulled in that way. I swapped it out to the later oil filter type they now use. When I took out the seal on the lift cylinder it was like a broken Oreo cookie . They looked OK and was not weeping when it just blew out. I replaced it but know now I need to do many cylinders on 4 machines to have reliable machines. I hate leaks and then if I am on a concrete floor it is bad. When I worked in Brookhaven National Labratory they would send out a person to certify the machine had no drips. They would let it in the site only with the tag / cert. I see I have a ton of work to do in the future and need about 200 galons of hydraulic oil . I think I'll pull some oil for kicks and get it checked. Any leads on testing companies? I have used Blackstone Labs for engine oil in the past. Thanks all for the tips!
The rams I've had resealed usually run between $600 and $1000 for larger Cat rams. Sometimes the rod needs rechromeing or exchange for a reman. Not cheap but any oil out is dirt in. I usually run the oil 2000 hours with filter changes @ 1000 of course if you drain the tank you only get part of the oil as there is alot left in the rams. I like the filter cart idea, I wonder what micron the filters are? Cat systems are sealed unlike some systems with a vented cap that can breath in dirt. Be clean when changing hoses a little extra time is well spent to blow off flanges or JIC fittings before loosening. Leave the plastic caps on until the hose is in place. All those clamps and brackets are important to hose and hardline life so put them back and order new ones if they are missing. Hose armor can be a lifesaver for your hoses in the right place. The suction lines to the pump can be a source of cavatation, keep them tight and in good condition
What does it cost to re-chrome a piston? Mine is 6' long and 2-2.5 diameter. Do most hydraulic repair places offer this? I'll have to ring a few tomorrow. Local guys would not even give me a price. All kinds of BS excuses like the end cap may be froxen and I said no I loosened it already. I even ask if it goes as good as possible what is the cost? No answer from them. Las time I bought the machine it it was 6800 + - 10% estimate when I left it was 11,900 for their parts changing exercise in my opinion. Took three weeks for the repair and a ton of calls to Lull. I saw on line they can repair pistons on site in the machine but have not found anyone in NY to do that process.
We have a Parker filter cart. It has 2 filters, the first is 40 micron and then it goes through a 10 micron. You can also get filters to remove any moisture, and they have filters for the carts down to 2 microns. If you have enough machines it is well worth having. I think we paid around $1200 for ours.
filter cart Our filter cart uses two 40 micron filters and one 10 micron filter. Ours has a gauge that will tell you when the filters are getting plugged. Ours was bought from Empire cat. If I remember right they build them in-house. The cart is very handy tool we should use it more often than we do.
Speedpup, The piston is what attaches to the end of the rod and is usually made of steel or cast iron. The rod is hardchromed and the cost for that depends on the diameter and length of the rod. It is always expensive! Packing kits are not cheap anymore either. A kit for a medium sized excavator can run you $300 to $500 from the manufacturer. You can get aftermarket kits for some machines but don't complain if they only last weeks instead of years. In costing out the rebuild on a hydraulic cylinder you have to look at all possible aspects of what can go wrong. No one I know has X ray eyes and can possibly know all the problems going on in that cylinder. Put it this way. You can't open and old coffin and expect to find much more than bones. I wouldn't bid that cost either unless the monster is torn down first. Years ago packing glands screwed into the ends of the barrels, some still do, and had to be turned out with a special spanner, usually a one of a kind tool. It could take hours just for that part of the job. Heating and beating, repairing the gland and sometimes replacing the barrel were very common. Now days most bolt in which makes that part of the job easier. Many people think that all that is needed is to slap a packing kit in a cylinder and go back to work and many times they are right. There are the ones though that never seem to quit leaking even with new packing. Maybe someone should have checked the rod for being straight. A check of the bore of the barrel might also have been recommended. Probably the part of the cost of rebuilding a cylinder that is forgotten the most is the labor to remove and reinstall it. I've seen frozen pins in excavator booms that cost more to free up than it cost for the rebuilt cylinder. Just some food for thought next time you have to do one.
hi squizzy, the reason gulf western harvester hydraulic oil came about is some years ago sugar cane farmers running harvesters were having trouble with hydraulic oil running too hot, gulf western did some experimental blends and came up with a hydraulic oil that solved the heat problem in sugar cane harvesters, i use it because i figure less heat means less friction which means less wear.
I sent them an e-mail last and stuff me if they didn't ring at 7am this morning . Are people in the East aware that we are in a different time zone???. Now I'm normally on the go at 5ish but today was my day in the office so I thought I'd get one of those rare "sleep-ins" that I've heard about.....:sleeping:sleeping:badidea I'm not sure I fully trust anything to with cane cockies though....I used to live in Cairns. On one trip I got talked into having a few rounds of "Cane Cutters Cordial". Not that "square bear" stuff mind you but the real McCoy......took me about 3 days to see straight and another two to be capable of the drive home:dizzy:eek2 I'll give a call tomorrow....due for a change in a couple of weeks
I used an adjustable pin spanner to remove the piston cap. I told dealer it was loose on machine. Special tool was 350 for piston but not in stock from Lull and date was month away at the best. I understand there can be many things going wrong but to have no base price is crazy to me. Seal kit is not that much and I don't see why the barrel has to be removed unless it is scored. I just think some of these places make as big a deal as they can when the ticket is completely open. Just moving the machine is a 500 dollar bill each way in NY. I am better to do it in my yard in 4-5 hours with a helper. I'll look into rod repair today for the nicks on the one lift piston the others are all good as rar as I can tell visually.
Cylinder Rams: This is just something I'm going to throw in to this topic.... Never, ever weld any where close to an exposed cylinder ram... without using some sort of protective cover!!! There are products you can buy... probably from a welding supply company... we call them welding blankets... could be other names... but the company should know what you are talking about. They are very easy to use and will wrap around most components. If you don't care to buy the above mentioned product... I don't know the cost... I've got an older one that was given to me by a professional welder... At least use some type of protective cover... a board, or a piece of tin...any thing to keep the welding sparks from contacting the ram... I did some welding on my ripper when I installed my winch... and I ruined one of the lift cylinder rams... and the ram was a considerable distance away from where I was welding... but the sparks (slag) was still hot enough to pit the ram... It was only the one ram... but I was very unhappy when I noticed what had happened... and... Also, last year... I bought one new angle cylinder (2 required)... JD 750c... 6 way blade.... Price: $3,500.00... and they are not a very big cylinder. I've also been reading about a new ram material that is supposed to be superior to the standard chrome ones... I can't remember where I was reading about it... but I do remember the the material is black in color. Any one heard of it, or seen it??? OCR
I read about it also when searching for rod repair.
Black nitride is a relatively recent alternative to the hard-chrome plated hydraulic cylinder rod. With reports of achieved service life three times that of conventional chrome, longer seal life and comparable cost, black nitride rods for hydraulic cylinders are an option that all hydraulic equipment users should be aware of. Black nitriding is an atmospheric furnace treatment developed and patented in the early 1980's. It combines the high surface hardness and corrosion resistance of nitriding with additional corrosion resistance gained by oxidation. The process begins with the cleaning and super-polishing of the material to a surface roughness of 6 to 10 Ra. The steel bars or tubes are then fixed vertically, and lowered into an electrically heated pit furnace. The furnace sequence involves nitrocarburizing the steel at temperatures up to 1150ºF in an ammonia atmosphere. The steel's surface is converted to iron nitride to a depth of typically 0.001". Atmospheric oxidizing is employed to produce a black, corrosion resistant surface film. The process generates a thin (0.001") uniform and extremely hard (64 to 71 Rc) iron nitride layer infused with a film of iron oxide. Beneath the iron nitride layer is a nitrogen-enriched, hardened diffusion zone. The diffusion zone functions as a lightly hardened case with a hardness gradient ranging from around 55 Rc just below the iron nitride layer to approximately 40 Rc at a depth of 0.015". Testing has verified that black nitride bar machines and welds as well as hard chrome plated stock. Available in standard diameters up to 5" (127 mm), black nitride hydraulic cylinder rods offer the following benefits over conventional hard chrome: Superior corrosion and wear resistance Better oil retention (longer seal life) Dimensional uniformity Dent resistant - without the need for induction hardening No pitting, flaking or micro-cracking Environmentally friendly process If you enjoyed this article, you'll love Brendan Casey's Inside Hydraulics newsletter. It gives you real-life, how-to-do-it, nuts-and-bolts, hydraulics know-how – information you can use today. Listen to what a few of his subscribers have to say: Can't Put It Down “I get magazines and e-mails like this all the time. I never find time to read them. I decided to read Issue #30 and I couldn't put it down. I'll make time from now on.” Richard A. Shade, CFPS Project Engineer (Hydraulic Design) JLG Industries Inc. So Valuable It Earned Me A Raise “The knowledge I've gained from this newsletter has been so valuable it has earned me a raise!” Jack Bergstrom Heavy Equipment Mechanic Sharpe Equipment Inc. Love It - Keep Them Coming “I just love this newsletter. As a Hydraulics Instructor for Eaton, I make copies and distribute them to my students as I address various topics... Keep 'em coming.” Michael S Lawrence Hydraulics Instructor Eaton Hydraulics Inc. Here's a sample of what's covered in this powerful newsletter: troubleshooting, contamination control, component repair and testing, preventative maintenance, failure analysis, and much, much more! To get a FREE subscription to the Inside Hydraulics newsletter, fill out this form - don't forget to capitalize the first letter of your name - and hit 'SUBSCRIBE NOW!'
When taking a sample of the hydraulic oil what is the best method on my Lull? Should I run the machine and at the end of the day pull the filter assembly to access the tank and just take some from the hydraulic tank?
have not heard of cane cutters cordial, i suspect it may be similar to a questionable liquid that italian concretors make and drink, it is called grappa,i used to be in the concrete supply business for many years and have tried grappa a few times early in the morning (around 6am) many concretors need a big swig of grappa to get going in the morning, it smells like rocket fuel, tastes like what i imagine rocket fuel tastes like and tends to make you feel like the top of your head is detaching itself from the rest of your head, i suspect it is more powerful than rocket fuel, i could never manage more than one (small) mouthfull.
Cane Cutters Cordial is just molassess made from Sugar Cane......and slightly more refined From blurred memory there was a vow of silence and secret handshake before entrance into the "inner sanctum"...otherwise known as a distillery in a shed. I also have the misfortune of working with a lot of Italians and Croatians......Squizzy's Tip for Life No7 Reads: "Always sniff coffee before drinking when proferred by Italian Stonemason"....I have other pearls of wisdom ointhead Back to the Hydraulic Fluid rather than Diabolic Fluid. I rang the local dealer toady of the mob you put me onto. Cut to the skinny...they reckon I wont get any better than the HVI oil I'm using and even admit to buying/stocking that product themselves. They said the only thing they could do better for me was a slightly better price. So there you go...the dealer was on the money all along.
Speedpup. The local lab that I use for samples advise to take your sample as warm as you can handle from the same place your pump is going to take its oil from. As the pickup is at or near the bottom of the tank I always open the drain and take a sample when its free flowing...say a few seconds after you let it go. I figure as long as I always do it the same I'm going to get consistent results. Many modern machines have sample points and the oil can be taken whilst running. A good guide is - at or near operating temperature - always at the end of the service change interval, not the start - take from the same place in the same manner each time. Your manual may specify where to take from. Some labs will even give you a proper oil sample kit with a little suction pump. I use the containers from Cat......because I'm cheap and the dealer always throws a few my way.
Although great on grease and engine oil my hydraulic intervals are in years Now I just need to get back to work after the cold to pull some extra money in my masonry businees to attack the hydraulic seals and oil changes. Thanks for the tips.
I was on a job with a bunch of Portuguese laborers which ran through the Thanksgiving holiday and on Thanksgiving eve we worked a half day and partied the afternoon away. They broke out a couple gallon jugs they called Grappa and started swigging away. Your description of Grappa is very accurate Pete!! We were working outside and they poured a bit onto a plate and put a match to it, we huddled around the plate to warm our hands, lol!!! I do believe it could be used as a paint stripper as well!
it is dangerous stuff, no doubt about that.
[Cane Cutters Cordial is just molassess made from Sugar Cane......and slightly more refined From blurred memory there was a vow of silence and secret handshake before entrance into the "inner sanctum"...otherwise known as a distillery in a shed. I also have the misfortune of working with a lot of Italians and Croatians......Squizzy's Tip for Life No7 Reads: "Always sniff coffee before drinking when proferred by Italian Stonemason"....I have other pearls of wisdom im sticking to light (low alchohol ) beer. need to conserve my brain (what's left of it ) and my sanity.
The main cause Iv'e fund in slugish hydraulic systems, is either a dirty pilot filter or main hydraulic filter, you usualy change both when changing the oil so you could feel a marked improvement in performance when first operating the machine, if the filters were cloged badly enough.
I subscribed to the following news letter and it looks good.
Personally I would change oil at recommended intervals, and also have oil analysis done to. check this link out for more info. Have any of you used any Amsoil products?
I never used amsoil I just buy what the local truck parts guy has.
Sorry forgot to post link. http://www.stinkysoil.com
A persistent Amsoil salesmen talked me into trying Amsoil in the engine of a diesel pickup that i bought new. I ran regular oil in the truck for the first year or so, (long enough that the warranty had run out) and then switched to Amsoil. Until then the truck had not burned oil, but after that it needed a quart after about 500 miles. I was on a trip and did not have spare Amsoil with me, which became a problem. Many places do not sell Amsoil. The truck kept on burning oil even after switching away from Amsoil at the next oil change. What caused the engine problem? You tell me. Anyway, I haven't used Amsoil since.
Well me being an amsoil dealer I have to say that I am sorry for hearing that you were pushed into buying the oil. That is not good salesmanship. He should have given you more info. on the product and listened to any and all your question's. Personally I know that amsoil is a great oil to use. As far as the leaks he should have informed you that amsoil has a higher detergent concentrate than any other oil out there that I know of. This means as the oil is circulating through the engine it is loosening up and sludge that may be plugging any small cracks or holes in any of your gaskets. So know that you have switched back to another oil it will probably stop leaking at some point when the slug gets thick enough to plug those cracks. He should have also informed you that you should have those leaks corrected then switch to amsoil. I am sorry you had a bad experience with amsoil. I hope that you found this a little informative. If you have any other question's please feel free to ask and I will answer them to the best I can. If I do not know the answer I can direct you to someone who knows. Thanks again Sal.:usa
hi swamp dog, warrior seems to be saying your engine was using oil because it was leaking out of the gaskets, was it leaking or just burning the oil? it seems unusual for an engine a year or two old to have cracked and leaking gaskets . my experience has been that if a gasket is leaking oil it only gets worse, never better.
With my experience's (not saying I am the most experienced) because god knows that I am not. But I have had a truck that had a oil leak and over time it stopped. I never put amsoil in it because I know that it would have made the leak worse. Now I only made those comments because that is they way I understood Swampdog's rely to the post. Again I do not claim to know everything and I hope that I did not come off as doing so. If I had I am sorry. As far as the truck burning the oil, there may have been a gasket internally that was damged when the truck was put together. There may be a hundred different sceneriours as to why the truck was burning oil. I can not honestly answer that question.
It wasn't leaking oil externally. It just went from not using oil to becoming an oil burner. The change happened at the same time that I switched from conventional oil to Amsoil. After that, I just kept on adding oil. The truck only had about 30,000 km on it when the problem began.
swampdog, was this pickup a Ford? Oil consumption is why I won't switch to synthetic oil with my PowerStrokes, all of them burn a few quarts between changes. I've called Detroit on this and they say a quart in 500 miles is "within normal parameters". Oil consumption and leaking are two different animals. I did a lot of research on synthetic oils when they first started becoming popular in the 80s and was warned that synthetics could cause leaks not from a higher detergent level but an increased "slipperiness" that allowed it to slide past small voids that were characteristic of gasket materials used in that time period that dino oil could not. Gasketing methods have changed to accommodate synthetics as many manufacturers now use them and new vehicles and machinery are delivered with synthetic oil products installed.
My Cummins goes 10,000 between oil changes on my Dodge 3500 and it has 120,000 on it. I use Valvoline 15-40 dino oil. Blackstone Labs say they don't see any extended engine life from synthetics if they are both maintained.
No, it was a Toyota diesel 4x4. They sold them in Canada for mine applications, and dealers also received a few for sale to the public. I loved the truck, other than the aforementioned oil burning and body rust problems.
Thanks Steve I just learned something about the powerstrokes. :thumbsup