Caterpillar 287 need help with hydraulics- machine moves very slow

[92U 3406]

We just did a couple from major failures. Something like 40+ hours worth of labour on each. Not quick, not cheap. Most components were removed and cleaned, lines pigged etc.

 

[Williamsmith]

So the drive pump was determined to be bad
I will be draining and flushing all pumps to rid of contamination. What is best way to refill fluid to all pumps to avoid starting machine dry and pumping fluid to them? and is there bleeders I need to open to bleed system of air?

 

[ih100]

If the pump is “bad” something has failed internally, such as the slipper plate. If the pump isn’t stroking up it won’t be cavitation, so the noise may not be what you think. If the strainer in the tank is clear, it’s a clear path from the tank to the pump, especially as the tank is above the pump. Have you cut the filter open yet? If there’s brass in there, chances are it is a pump failure, as the hystat and implement pumps are about the only place in the system (apart from the motors) with brass components.

 

[Nige]

As IH says, first steps - cut the filter open and look for particles in it. Take photos pf whatever you find.
Next, remove the screen (#5) from the hydraulic tank and inspect for particles. Again post photos of whatever you find.

 

[Williamsmith]

No photos but lots and lots of brass. Handfuls!
Determined my hystat pump is bad. Have new, flushed system,
Is there a proper way to refill system other than fluid in the tank and starting the machine to get it into all pumps

 

[Nige]

If you want the replacement pump to live I think you're going to need to do "a bit more" disassembly.
Have you removed, disassembled, & cleaned: -
1. Drive motors
2. Lift & tilt cylinders
3. Control valves
4. All the hoses

Because everything will be empty on the first start I suggest that you ignore the sight glass on the hydraulic tank and instead fill the tank right to the neck. When you first crank up the engine the oil will disappear from the the tank in the blink of an eye. Filling it right to the top gives you at least a bit of a head start.

 

[92U 3406]

We just did a couple from major failures. Something like 40+ hours worth of labour on each. Not quick, not cheap. Most components were removed and cleaned, lines pigged etc.

To build off this, the machines we cleaned out went through a filter and a hydraulic oil change after a couple hours of running around the yard and there was still some small pieces of brass and metal in the filter.

What we did:
-Cleaned lift cylinders
-Cleaned tilt cylinders
-Removed and flushed the reservoir
-Removed, disassembled and cleaned out the main implement valve
-Replaced cooler
-Removed, disassembled and cleaned the ride control valve
-Pigged out and cleaned out dang near every line on the machine
-Cleaned out pumps.
-ISO particle count to verify system cleanliness

We were in the neighbourhood of 40-45 hours in on each machine.

 

[Nige]

All the above - with bells on...........
That's the most complete description I've seen of how to decontaminate the hydraulic system on a SSL

 

[Williamsmith]

Can I use a Traveller iso 46 hydraulic fluid to run through my cat 287b? It says not recommended for final drives. I will be running it for a little while and then changing it to cat hydraulic fluid

 

[heymccall]

Were the travel motors also disassembled?

To build off this, the machines we cleaned out went through a filter and a hydraulic oil change after a couple hours of running around the yard and there was still some small pieces of brass and metal in the filter.

What we did:
-Cleaned lift cylinders
-Cleaned tilt cylinders
-Removed and flushed the reservoir
-Removed, disassembled and cleaned out the main implement valve
-Replaced cooler
-Removed, disassembled and cleaned the ride control valve
-Pigged out and cleaned out dang near every line on the machine
-Cleaned out pumps.
-ISO particle count to verify system cleanliness

We were in the neighbourhood of 40-45 hours in on each machine.

 

[92U 3406]

Were the travel motors also disassembled?

Hard to say. There were multiple machines with the same failure. I got pulled off my machine mid-job for something else and another guy completed it. The original plan we weren't. The higher ups reviewed the schematics and determined that since charge flow goes through the filter before entering the hystat system that it was unneccessary. There was nothing in the histogram on that particular machine indicating that the filter had plugged and bypassed.