what would be good practice to do, i just bought the PC 50uu-1. Should i change all the fluids and grease everything. It has a new battery. What do you do when you get a used mini x. Thanks
Sounds to me like you ought to get an owner's manual and look it over. Everything you need to know should be spelled out in it. They're available from the dealer or some online sources, quite a few of our members have good sources for these.
they had a shop manual , but no service manual. This is my first used machine, ive bought new before, sorry for the elementary question
You say the machine has 5500 hours on it. Usually mini excavators have either 250 or 500 hour engine oil and oil filter service intervals. So in theory your machine should be due a service if it has not had one by the seller - check the condition of the engine oil to see what has/has not been done!! As for more major things such as hydraulic oil and coolant changes these are usually due at 1000 hour intervals so you could leave them until 6000 hours have been clocked up! As you say a service manual would be very very helpful!!!! At least then you will know what should be done and when!!!!
Im thinking just to be on the safe side, is to just change all the fluids , its not very expensive to do that for the security of knowing it right.
Without having a record of past maintenance to be on the safe side consider this to be day one and change all the fluids, filters including air filter. Greasing it will help you get to see the wear points and check those out as well. Also look at the welds on the boom area for any visible cracks and check all the bolts for looseness or just plain missing. Check track tension and adjust if required. Look for any signs of leaks or hose chaffing that may leak soon. Other than that if the machine works use it.
I looked over the boom and there aren't any welds or cracks, its a very heavy duty boom from what i can tell, it seems like all the wear points are tight. I haven't found any leaks yet, is there a good test to find the leaks in the hyd. system?
Park it on pavement or concrete after you use it. Any drips will show on the ground. Also dirt accumualtion around a fitting or seal usually indicates wet with oil. Be careful hydraulic oil under pressure can cause serious injury. Pin hole leaks should be best found by holding a piece of cardboard where you suspect the leak rather than your hand. Failing all that check your hydraulic fluid level daily. If there is a leak you'll notice it dropping. Any internal leaks such as a solenoid valve or check valve may show up as the boom dropping over time if you leave it parked a foot off the ground. Good luck
Thanks for all the help , What fluids do you say would be good to use?
Good question, without the manual it would be a stab in the dark on the hydraulic fluid...probably some 46 weight hydraulic oil. As for the engine a diesel rated 15W40 or 10/30 most likely. Try giving a dealer a call and see if they will help you. If it is a grey market machine though you may be out of luck for help there. Cheers
What do people mean about "grey Market"?
one thing you might want to do if you change all the filters is to cut them and inspect them for any metal....This would be a good way to know how everything is holding up. also SOS (scheduled oil sample) samples are a very good thing to do as well as they analyze the oil and can detect fine particles that the filter would miss...
"Grey" market machines are units that were built for any market other than North America. The are imported here usually coming from Asia. They may look the same as the ones here but some of the dealers I hear will not support them and parts may be difficult to obtain. Take your serial number to the dealer and he'll tell you right away.
Since you did not mentioned it guess asking the previous owner about the maintance is not possible. If you have not tried that would be a good start. If they had a mechanic maybe you can ask him.
I've allways changed fluids on anything used I bought, better to be safe then sorry. I also like to get down and dirty looking in all the odd places up underneath etc...