Hi all, I purchased a brand new Tak TL12 1 year ago. It has been a terrific machine. We have just over 500 hours on it. Thus far, the machine has been terrific. We have used it to mainly doze, level and grade post-gravel mining land. The last 200 hours we have also used a Denis Cimaf 180D mulcher on it and cleared approx 15 acres of very densely treed, difficult terrain. So far, we have only had minor issues with the machine. Yesterday, I took care of the 500 hr maintenance and had some questions. 1. The engine oil (last changed at 250 hrs) was extremely dirty. Even after the complete change, it is still dirty and we will need to replace it again. Is this a sign of us using the machine very hard or is there possibly a problem? How frequently should we change it then (the manual says every 500 hrs)? 2. The travel gear oil was also very dirty and we replaced it (last changed at 250 hrs) although the manual says every 500 hrs? How frequenty should we change this? 3. There is a lot of squeaking from the tracks during travel. Is this normal because of the metal-metal contact after the rubber has worn off the inside guides of the tracks? Can anything be done to decrease this? Thank you all for your help.
As to the oil, I would be sure your using oil that meets Takeuchi's requirements. I also change at 250 hours even though the requirements on my machine (CASE TR320) that also specs 500 hours between changes. Other than that and using the appropriate oil filter, I would not worry so much about the color of the oil. The tier 4 interim machines are hard on oil in my view and that is also why some the oem requirements for oil has changed in the last few years to handle the increase demand placed on it. By travel gear I assume you mean planetary gear oil. I also change mine at 250 hours. Both the engine and the drive motors are by far the most expensive components on the machine and I have no problem cutting the recommended intervals in half. As long as you are using the appropriate lube and at least the interval suggested I think you would be fine. However if you think that your machine is somehow malfunctioning or about to, you can send in oil samples for both the engine and the planetaries and see what shows up. The CTL's are louder. It is amplified somewhat in a Takeuchi as the cabs are not insulated very well and are large so you get kind of a 55 gal drum effect in the cabs. I really like Tak machines and have been buying their excavators since 2003, but while the machines run well, the cabs are not as nice as some others are. There is nothing you can do about this, it is the nature of the beast so to speak.