hey guys! This has been a project I had a buddy do for me and was almost ready to test this bad boy out but one thing is stopping us..lol Machine is a mustang 345.not sure what motor it had but it now has a retro-fit Nissan 2.2 diesel. Everything is working great other than not moving anywhere. Bucket and lift mass work great! Very responsive. Today i cracked a line at one of the drives and it was bone dry. The machine did sit outside for id say a couple years anyways in the weather. All of the hydraulic lines were taped off as well as the the two areas where the hydraulic fluid filters srew on. However some of the tape hat rotted and well...you know there was a little debris in the filter housings but not bad. thats not to say nothing worked its way in there i don’t know about. I am asking for help tremendously as my wife and i are putting our house on the market and i have a ton of grading to do!!Lol. Anyways i will take all the help i can get as to where you guys would start on this to find the problem. Thank you in advance!!!
Hi Jay. Just got my 342 going lately, mine primed up shortly, even tho being set up for about 2 years. There is an internal self air bleed on top of the hydro unit, no sure exactly where. Make sure you have oil in the tank to the rear of the machine( there should be a dipstick inside the tube). You could lossen a line passed the pump and pressure the fill tube a little, it should prime the charge pump. You could have an air leak on the suction side of the pump, it has to pull the oil above the tank to work. The suction screen is in this line, it might not be sealed well. Thought I was the only one fixing up something this old, looks like it could give me some good help even tho some would think it is small. Good luck.
hey iron@dirt! thanks for the info!.I'm off work tomorrow due to a storm moving in overnight into tomorrow morning so i am gonna tinker with it and see what i find.i agree with you on the old machine buts thats what i love because there so basic.not to mention its all i can afford supporting two kids my wife and myself.i am 30 years young this april.maybe someday i will be able to afford something newer but this machine should serve me well for many years to come! so you said to crack a line passed the pump.i am assuming do this while the machine is running? if so how long should it take to prime or do i wait until i get fluid at the cracked line? thanks again for chiming in and i hope your 342 serves you well also!
update.i just got done messing with the skid for awhile.i cracked a line at one of the drives and turned the engine over and had fluid gushing out.i then went to the pump and cracked a line and had the same result.i will also add this note.when i bought it the drive motors were in place but loosened in order to move the machine around.when we first tightened up the drive motors in place you could still free wheel the machine then after messing with it it finally grabbed in there and would not move. so when i went to pick it up the other day we did the same thing by loosening the drive motors so i could get it on my trailer.got home tightened them back up and same thing..i can still free wheel the machine.do these motors have a timing mark so to speak that have to go in one way only or just wiggle in place until it feels and looks right? so as of now im not sure where to check next.hydraulic fluid level is above the tank about half way on the fill tube.the drive assembly oil tanks are empty but i dont think that would have anything to do on the moving part.i have new fluid to put in i just wanted to see it move before i filled the tanks and then had a mess for a repair. any thoughts?
another update so i was pretty sure that hydraulic end of things were working as they should so i dug deeper.i removed the inspection covers on the side of the machine to take a look at the drive assembly.as to my surprise both of the drive motor chains had been removed.i am guessing they did this to allow free wheel and somewhere along the lines the chains were misplaced.one side of the drives were holding id say about 2 gallons of water..not good.the other side was clean and had oil in it. i had my oldest son come outside and at a safe distance watch for the drive motor to turn as i slowly moved the t handle forward and backward.the side holding the water moved as it should and the side with the oil did not.i just got off the phone with the dealer and neither the motor or chain are available.i know i can buy the chain elsewhere but just wanted to check.where do you guys go for drive motor repair.are they DIY fixes as i know hydro stat pumps are not. any thoughts?
Told you wrong, the equipment pump, pressures the hydro, at least on 342. There is a charge relief valve near return filter that holds 145 lbs to force oil to the hydro. But you are way passed that now. The side that doesnt pull, did you check the linkage under the seat?
hey iron@dirt! actually i didn't check the linkage.i started a new thread on where to take motors for rebuilding but im glad you said that.i would love to see it just be a adjustment verses bad motor.whats the procedure for checking linkage? thank you
If you didnt see shavings in the filters, could well not be hydro parts. On mine you pull the seat and see if the 2 linkages on each side stroke. There is center spring rig up on one linkage, that might be what you feel when you move the stick instead of the pump stroking.
OK I'll double check that for sure.thanks