I purchased this machine back in May, running ok at the time (engine fired right up, hydraulics worked and seemed to have proper power, etc). Finally got it moved home a week ago and that's changed - the big obvious issue is there's essentially no hydraulic power. If you hold the bucket control stick for awhile (a minute or so) things will twitch a few inches but that's about all. The oil pressure light blinks and beeps on the control panel until the engine fires up then stops, but I think that's a bad wire somewhere - pulled the plug at the sensor, shorted it, and it continued to beep. I don't remember that beeping back in May, but I can't be positive. Engine oil dipstick shows proper oil amount. Removing the round cover over the hydraulic filter, the oil comes a little over halfway up the filter, mechanic said it had enough, but I've not found a sight glass to check if its in the proper range. I've not tried a new filter yet, but given it had hydraulic power last time I saw it run, seems likely the filter would be at fault after sitting for several months? Mechanic spent most of a day looking at it while it was being loaded up, not sure what all he checked, but his best guess at that point was the coupler between pump and engine. Before I go pulling the pump off I wanted to see if anyone had alternate things I should check first? Thanks
The list will be long; Fuel strainer in the banjo bolt on the hand priming pump. Fuel filters plugged Plugged fuel line Air filters Muffler plugged up Computer dead, there is a green and a red LED in the birds eye on the front of the box. there is a bypass switch in the computer compartment Wiring to the computer Wires on the solenoid on top of the pump Damper case between the engine and the pump is full of oil Plugged hydraulic pump suction strainer Here is a video showing Dash 5 machines and their maintenance. The Dash three models of machine are very similar. The electronics are different. Let us know what you find.
Thanks for the vid link - I'll give it a pass on all the filters and whatnot tomorrow. Given the engine sounds smooth and seems to be running strong, wouldn't that indicate the issue is somewhere beyond the engine? Though with that said, I'm sure all the filters are due for replacement. Wiring would definitely seem a potential cause. I'm still trying to trace things out to confirm if all the important bits are connected properly, but its obvious someone in the past has worked on the wiring and probably jury rigged a few bits. Are there any ports that should be in place that I could attach a pressure gauge to, to see if the pump is putting any pressure out?
On the Dash 3 machines there is an eight inch pipe plug on the outlet ports of each pump section. It is BSP but a US fitting is close enough to work.
I just pulled the strainer basket out from the top, and I suspect this has a lot to do with it, but I'm wondering if this indicates a bigger issue... The basket is totally covered in a thick black sludge, seems very similar to used motor oil but a bit thicker perhaps? I've attached a photo showing it. How concerned should I be about this?
It's from setting, clean screen change oil and filter ,keep your fingers crossed. Bob
I just cleaned off the outside of the strainer good, fired it up briefly, and hydraulics responded right away, so clearly that was the primary cause of no hydraulic power. Hopefully like Bluox said it was just gunked up from sitting. I do know this machine had been sitting in that yard pretty much unused for at least a year or two before I bought it, so with any luck it just needs a fluid swap and I'm back in business. Any tricks for cleaning out whatever residual sludge is in the tank after I drain the old oil out?
Most will drain with oil then rags and long arms or I use a piece of round stock with a hook on it, the black stuff is likely water based algae. Bob
Last one on my list. Nice work on your part. As I recall there is a plug on the bottom of the tank that you can remove and drain the oil into a drum. I seem to remember the reservoir holding about 45 gallons when at the proper level. I would probably blow some diesel into the tank with a syphon sprayer to try and clean some of the gunk out.
Yep, good call, thanks a lot for that list John. I'm a bit surprised the mechanic that spent a day troubleshooting it apparently didn't check something so basic, but at least it turned out to be a cheap and easy fix. I just got thinking, I've got a fairly strong little steamer unit for cleaning, may give that a try once the tank is drained, see if it can pump out enough steam to melt whatever gunk is in the tank.
If you are using water I'd probably take the hose off between the tank and the pump. The suction side pipe is the low point where water can collect. Water in a high pressure piston pump is a real bad thing.
Good point, I'll be sure to watch out for that, thanks.
Water is what caused that slime in the first place so you might not want to steam your tank. While you have the covers off the bottom of the tanks you should open the drain on the fuel tank sump and see what comes out you may find more slime. While your in the maintenance mode change your fuel filters and blow the lines out. I would get 2 hyd. return filters ,run the machine a few hours and change it again. You should get a bottle of diesel fuel conditioner with bug juice and dose your fuel tank. Good luck Bob
Looking over it a bit more today, and of course new issues found, though not really unexpected ones. The two boom and the arm cylinders all have a slow leak (steady dripping trickle, but not gushing) from the bolt plate end, not entirely unexpected given the seals there looked rough, so I'll get to try rebuilding them I suppose. Any idea on approximate weight for them? I'm thinking my best bet is going to be my 1 ton gantry crane to help take the weight as things are removed? I've not yet found a video on resealing these, but I'm assuming it's similar to smaller cylinders, just bigger and heavier? No way to reseal without removing the piston from the cylinder? The swing also doesnt want to swing. I can hear the pump trying to work in one direction, quieter in the other, but not even a shudder of movement. The swing lock pin looks to be in the unlocked state - lever near the floor on the right side of the cab with an upside down J path is in the upper locked position, and looking under the pin that would go into the bracket is out of the bracket. All parts of the boom and bucket movement are working currently, so seems both pumps are running ok at least, though I haven't done any pressure testing yet to confirm I'm getting full power.