I recently bought an older New Holland e18sr as my first mini digger. It didn't come with a service manual and the seller is not being very communicative. Can anyone tell me where the cap for the hydraulic oil is on one of these things? I've tried looking and poking everywhere I can think of, maybe I just don't know what it looks like.
Look for an elongated site tube with fluid in it and a ball to see how much fluid is in it. Lift open the rear door, the side panels, the seat likely lifts up, and behind where when you're sitting on the machine your legs are. Close by will be a large nut sticking out to which you would need a large wrench to undo. Best to purchase owners manuals, parts manuals, and service manuals. See if any of your filters (Oil, fuel, and hydraulic filters) have dates and hours written on them. Serial number and year of your machine would help with searching. Post some images of your machine.
Thank you for the detailed response! I already tried looking behind the plates under and behind your legs, as you sit in the cab. There are plenty of valves and hydraulic lines, but no caps or nuts (as far as I can tell). You can see the hydraulic oil level just under the left hand joystick and my poking around confirms that the tank/reservoir is a square box directly behind it. I just cannot seem to find a likely looking cap or nut. The seat is on rails, bolted to the cab and doesn't look like it lifts up. The e18 versions with no cab seem to fill their oil just behind the left hand joystick, in the body of the excavator. Near as I can tell, the machine is from some time between 2007 and 2010. The original importer bought it used however and there is no New Holland dealership in the country. So no easy access to service manuals. I have sent a request to the global office, but haven't had a reply.
The image of your seat, shows the site glass showing the hydraulic fluid level which is the tank. Check again to see if the seat tilts up towards the front window. Also look behind and under the armrest. The cap is likely pretty big. My Takeuchi TB016 machine (similar size) uses a 41mm open end wrench to loosen the huge nut.
There is also the possibility that, that site gauge is the fuel gauge, but that would be rather short. Do you have a site tube fuel gauge, or is it on the gauge with temperature etc. ?
The fuel gauge is in the instrument cluster and the tank is on the opposite side from where this indicator is. I can see a big round cover behind the armrest, in the floor partially under the seat, which could be for a hydraulic oil filter? Or is it the plug I'm looking for? It doesn't look very handy to access. I'll try prying on stuff some more and get back to you. Maybe there is a tilt function somewhere I haven't noticed, I just can't see any kind of hinge that would allow anything to swing towards the front. Thanks again for all the advice!
Here is the Takeuchi diagram. Not sure if your machine is similar, but your sight gauge is in the same place. On the Takeuchi TB016 it shows the nut to add fluid is under a cover. Image also shows the seat lifted up and the access cover underneath. That's also where the battery is.
That does look nearly identical! I'll get right on it in the morning, thanks!
Found it! It was behind the outside side-cover. Had to undo 5 bolts to get at it and its jammed right in under the cab, where your diagram said it should be. You just can't get at it from the cab. Now to find/build a suitable funnel.. Thanks again for the help!
Great! Can you post some images of the location and access? That will help people in the future with a similar machine. Did you figure out where the battery is? Does seat lift up or move out of the way?