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To prevent personal injury when checks are made while the machine is in operation, make sure only approved personnel are on the machine. Keep other personnel off the machine and in view of the operator. Make sure checks are done in an open area. |
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| NOTICE |
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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. |
If the oil becomes contaminated, premature component failure could result. Contaminated oil can also contribute to overheating. Use the following procedure to sample the oil in the hydraulic system.
- Open the cover for the engine compartment.
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| Illustration 1 | g00785429 |
Right Side of the Machine | |
- Start the engine and run the engine at high idle.
- Actuate all cylinders through a minimum of ten full cycles.
- Lower the felling head to the ground.
- Reduce the engine speed to low idle.
- Shift the hydraulic activation lock control lever into the LOCKED position.
- Locate hydraulic oil sampling port (1). The oil sampling port is located on pilot manifold (3). The pilot manifold is located underneath the step assembly.
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| Illustration 2 | g00785421 |
Location of Hydraulic Oil Sampling Port | |
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| Illustration 3 | g00787210 |
Pilot Manifold (1) Hydraulic oil sampling port. (2) Pressure tap for pilot oil. (3) Pilot manifold. | |
- Purge the hydraulic oil sampling port. Insert an 8T-9208 Probe Assembly into hydraulic oil sampling port (1).
Note: Use approximately 150 mm (6 inch) length of tube on the end of the probe. Drain approximately 100 mL (4 fl oz) of oil into a container for disposal. This will clean out the sampling port so that a good oil sample may be obtained.
- Use a clean tube to draw a 50 mL (2 fl oz) oil sample from the fluid sampling valve. Use an 8T-9190 Fluid Sampling Bottle in order to take the hydraulic oil sample.
- The recommended level of cleanliness for the hydraulic system is ISO Code 18/15. See Table 1 for the maximum allowable particle count.
Show/hide table
Table 1 Hydraulic Oil Contamination ISO Code Particle Size (Microns) Maximum Number of Particles Per 1 mL Sample 18 5 2500 15 15 320 Note: Use the information that is collected from a series of samples. Keep track of the changes in the concentration of particles by size from the oil samples. This information can be used to spot abnormal wear. Also, prevent problems before failure occurs. Use a spectrographic analysis in order to identify the metal particles that are found in the oil samples. This analysis can also point to the probable components that might be failing.