My 2006 Volvo 160b LC has 3400 hours currently on the machine. After running the machine for an hour or so, the machine starts to get sluggish in swing speed and bucket curl. The machine never loses power. Always picks the machine up off the ground with no issue. Any ideas on what could be causing the sluggishness of it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Good day PTA Sounds like the pump regulation is not draining or a pump regulation issue suggest you check that the line drains when using bucket & swing. Timing each function may well pin point the issue. Kind regards Uffex
Do you have a pattern change valve?
And is travel unaffected?
Thanks Uffex. Gonna have a mechanic come out next week to help diagnose. I talked to one mechanic and he automatically wanted to change out the pump, $$$$
No sir. It doesn’t have the pattern changer.
Travel seems to be unaffected. It could possibly bit a touch slower but not much more. When you swing with or without a load you can really tell once it starts slowing down. Runs great from start up up until about an hour of running
If your travel left to right are equal, high and low speed, you do NOT have a pump issue. Are you absolutely sure about the pattern change valve. It is located behind the cab. A round valve with a black spring loaded knob. Please look, it could save you a service call
Your swing issue in both directions?
If you have enough real estaste, raise your bucket off the ground 1 meter, full throttle swing the machine excluding the first revolution for start up,, you should obtain 3 revolutions in approx 16 seconds. 18.5 seconds is the desired, and at 19.5 seconds , it is believed that there is a problem. If you are in these guidelines, id leave her be. Bucket, from full curl to full open, should be approx 2.5-3 seconds From full open to full close , 4- 5 seconds, not to exceed 5
Good day You can switch the main pump lines along with the negative drain hose if the problem shifts it will confirm "Pump or pump regulator issue" Its not so difficult and only takes a couple of hours. Kind regards Uffex
Checked it over again, my machine definitely doesn’t have the pattern changer on it.
Yes it swings slower in both direction, also feels like it vibrates the cab really bad when it start getting sluggish while swinging like that. I’m sure that sounds crazy but it there is a definite difference
Are there any prints available on this uffex?? Thanks
So, are all other functions within spec as far as cycle times? Only swing and bucket are affected? As far as swing, you stated it "vibrates" when getting slow. Have you checked your slew box oil level? Also, lets go back a bit. Have you replaced any hydraulic hoses recently? Have you got any implement running off hammer and shear circuit? Has it been used just prior to this problem occurring When was the hydraulic system last serviced? Particularly, the pilot filter and the case drain filter. Have you measured the cycle time against the values i gave you? Do you even start out in spec, or is it "slow" from the start. I understand you say it warms up and slows down. Just trying to establish overall health of machine. Without gauges available to you, the cheapest, quickest thing you can do is change your case drain filter. (Big spin on filter, usually gold anodized) Its in your pump cabinet. Clean the filter before removing. Pour it out into a clean bucket. Your looking for gold or grey sparklies. If you have a filter cutter, open it up. Do the same with the pilot. (Thats the little canister against the back wall) I hope you find nothing. Any material is unacceptable. Especially bronze.
Good day PTA We have made some information for you but the description you have given effects both pumps (Swing is one while bucket is the other see attachment). It could be a simple thing as tank positive pressure suggest you check this at first if you are not so sure go to excatech.org > hydraulics > GI > "Tank positive pressure" its for free. Note this site has an issue will lock up at 70% when uploading PDF files better to get them direct from excatech. Drop an email to the site we will forward these to you. Hope this helps. Kind regards Uffex
God day PTA Well the file decided to upload hope it helps you. KR Uffex
Thanks for the quick responses guys. It means a lot to us. Here’s a run down on the machine history. The hydraulic system was serviced with all new filters and we used shell brand fluid with the correct viscosity. Our Volvo mechanic said it would be perfectly fine. Immediately after on the first job, we noticed some louder moaning and some slower functions. After this issue, we called Volvo back and said all we could do is try their fluid. As we removed the metal filter, the baffle ring it sits on inside the tank had a grease like substance built up on the ring. Please note the tank was completely cleaned out when it was serviced. So once again, we serviced the machine again and removed all gunk from tank and Replaced filters. For some reason or another I don’t think we changed the pilot filter again though. I’ll definitely check those two for contamination again
Case drain filter is the tattle tale of your hydro system. All motor cooling/lube oil returns through case drain filter. So, if your swing motor has an issue or is physically hurt, it will show up in the filter. If you've had sludging in your hydro, i would most definitely change pilot as it runs low pressure, extremely low volume. If the contaminant has entered your servo system, you're going to want to flush it out. Simply changing the oil will not purge the yuck out. Its gonna make a mess, you're gonna lose oil. You can blow clear with compressed air, but that's inefficient. The best way is to remove servo hoses at spool caps, one by one , pull that function in either direction while directing the oil into a bucket. This will purge contaminants out. But you have to preform each function. You may want your volvo tech to perform this operation. Then you will want to remove the inlet fitting at your joysticks. They are filtered fittings which catch solid garbage. Good luck