For some time now, my Mustang MTL16 has to warm up before the hydraulics will be gin to work. I originally thought it was a safety switch, which I replaced, but that is not it. It has to run for some time before any of the hydraulics will work or it will move. I can tell it is that something has to warm up, in part, because as it gets colder, it has to run longer before it will operate. Once it gets going, it is fine. One theory has been that it is a loose electrical connection that starts to work once the rig heats up, but I can't find it. Does anyone else have any ideas on trouble shooting this?
If it works fine once everything is warmed up have you considered the possibility that it could be related to the hydraulic oil.? What's in it right now.?
30W. I had a recent maintenance and have to find out if it was changed, but the issue pre-dates the maintenance.
Your symptoms sound very much oil-related. For your climate in Oregon I think an SAE 30 oil for hydraulics would be far too heavy. My first thought would be an SAE10W or ISO AW32 hydraulic oil. Hotter climates might specify an ISO AW46. (SAE30 is equivalent to an ISO AW68.) I don't know whether Mustang specify an engine oil as an alternative for the hydraulic system but if they do then the most logical choice would be an SAE10W/30.
The Mustang MTL16 is a Takeuchi TL130 Compact track loader clone. As Nige says it's a hydraulic thing and maybe a sensor. Lot's of threads on this site about a machine not moving well until the hydraulic fluid is warmed up. On my Takeuchi TL130, one track would not back up until the machine warmed up for 10-15 minutes. Then it would work perfectly and be fine all day. I doubt it's the hydraulic oil. The Takeuchi Technical help in the US told me to just use Diesel engine oil. We used Mobile Delvac 1300 15-40 Diesel engine oil. Not sure if that's the best or worse hydraulic fluid to use, but it works fine. At one point I replaced the hydraulic fluid with ISO VG46 and changed all the hydraulic filters, but the machine ran the same and still needed warm up time. From a post from the heavy Equipment Forum Heymccall, the forums "best Takeuchi Expert" he says: Takeuchi has always called for 10w30 motor oil for their hydraulic systems. "Here, I only have 8 Takeuchis, only some with 10k hours or more, and ever since the first change, I've run 10W TO-4 Hydraulic oil in them. Never an oil related issue" Google Takeuchi TL130 hydraulic oil to get lot's of info and opinions.
I wonder if the hydraulic filter is getting full ?
Check the pilot filter
Yup. The biggest reason I switched to TO4 10W instead of 10w30. But, IIRC, the filter light on the dash flashes until the machine is good and warm.
So, I missed some replies here. The other day it finally would not move even after fully warming up. Turns out it was the safety relay. My mechanic figured it out. Pulled the relay and refreshed all the solders on the relay board and it works fine.
The problem with running "oddball" oils in them is it's going to cross contaminate other machines sharing attachments.
The problem with running "oddball" oils in them is it's going to cross contaminate other machines sharing attachments I can't think of anything in TO-4 speced oil that a good AW32 wouldn't do better in hydraulic system. We only recommend it if it's a shared system with drivetrain and even then THF is often more correct. But I'm not a CAT expert.