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Escaping fluid under pressure, even a pinhole size leak, can penetrate body tissue, causing serious injury, and possible death. If fluid is injected into your skin, it must be treated immediately by a doctor familiar with this type of injury. Always use a board or cardboard when checking for a leak. |
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Care must be taken to ensure that fluids are contained during performance of inspection, maintenance, testing, adjusting and repair of the product. Be prepared to collect the fluid with suitable containers before opening any compartment or disassembling any component containing fluids. Refer to Special Publication, NENG2500, "Caterpillar Tools and Shop Products Guide" for tools and supplies suitable to collect and contain fluids on Caterpillar products. Dispose of all fluids according to local regulations and mandates. |
Perform visual checks of the hydrostatic system first when you are troubleshooting a problem. Then perform the operational checks and last perform the instrument tests.
- Check the hydraulic oil level in the sight glass for the hydraulic tank.
- Look for air bubbles in the oil. Look for water in the oil. Many problems in the hydrostatic system are caused by a low oil level or by air in the oil. Add oil to the hydraulic system, if necessary.
Reference: Refer to the Operation and Maintenance Manual for the recommended oil and for the correct procedure.
Air bubbles may be caused by a fitting that is loose or damaged. A loose fitting or a damaged fitting allows air to enter the suction side of the system. This causes the oil to leak.
- Check all oil lines, all hoses, and all connections for damage and for leaks. Look for oil on the ground under the machine.
Note: If oil can leak out of a fitting or out of a connection, air can leak into the system. Air in the system is as harmful as having too little oil.
- Open the hydraulic tank drain in order to drain the hydraulic oil. Inspect the oil for foreign material. Remove the hydraulic oil filter and inspect the filter for foreign material. A magnet will separate ferrous particles from nonferrous particles.
Note: There is an oil filter bypass valve on the inlet side of the hydraulic oil filter. Whenever the pressure difference between the inlet oil and the outlet oil is more than 172 kPa (25 psi), the bypass valve will open and oil will be allowed to bypass the oil filter element. Any oil that does not flow through the oil filter element flows directly into the hydrostatic system. This dirty oil can cause valves to become stuck. Valve orifices could become restricted.