I have a 1988 Cat 973 with a hydraulic oil leak that seems impossible to get to. With the belly plates off I can see the leaking hose up near the Hydraulic filter but can get anything on to it. From the top with the cab tilted I cannot see it. any ideas?
Not knowing which hose it is and not being totally familure with the 973 I'll add the following. My buddy has a 953 and has a busted hose which the only way to get to it is pretty much take the back half of the loader apart. His has been sitting for the past 2 years because he is not ready to get into it. I hope you timing works out better but I'm sure it will be a job.
sillaw cat 973 Yes, well thanks very much for the encouragement. I spent a day last week underneath it and found a missing bolt on the hose link, replaced that and it no longer leaks, however a new leak has appeared above it an an even tighter spot. It looks to be coming from around the pump drive filter housing. Is it possible that I have to remove the fuel tank to get at it? And what do you do with 360 litres of fuel?
You likely can get at it with the cab completely over. That is a challenge but you can do it with a come along front and back. Read up on job cab goes over center. Clean everything out of cab or you will break windshield. Later Bob
Thanks Bob, The three linkages you remove to tilt to cab to 27 degrees are ok , but what about all the other bits including the cables that are attached between cab and body? Sounds like a nightmare operation.
Need to unclamp hyd pilot lines. Unplug electric harnesses, disconnect all control linkages. I will say it again, leave nothing in the cab that can fall and break the windshield. Later Bob
apologies for not getting back sooner but the link was down, ok disconnect everything and ease the cab down,with nothing inside it, got it, I will give it a try this week if it ever stops raining here. I am wondering now if the leak is coming out of the filter housing and I will check that out first before I do the full tilt. Thanks Sillaw.
Check the filter housing drain ****. Later Bob
Bob/ I had some success in finding a leak in the seal at the rear of the filter housing. I managed to get to it without tilting the cab, however a new, though more mild leak has appeared about midway underneath that I am yet to identify the source of. I get the feeling that, as the leak is stopped in one section the pressure builds and it finds a weak spot somewhere else, but I guess I will just have to chase it around the machine. I love the 973 but they have some tight corners to get a spanner into.
They are more friendly than a C. Look where the front section of the case joins the main HPCU case, bottom corner. With leaks fix the big ones and the smaller ones become the big ones. Later Bob
Thanks for your help Bob, I wonder if anyone has done figures on the amount of time spent under theses machines compared to the time in them?