Hitachi EX100-2 hydraulic issues among others

Hi all
Im new to heavy equipment ownership, I recently purchased a really well worn Hitachi EX100-2.
Overall it seems like most of it is there and operates ok. So far I've brazed a hole in the oil cooler and the water radiator with good results. I need to straighten the fuel and hydraulic filler necks, both are a little bent up. eventually it will need a boom seal. I just received a full set of filters and plan to change the engine oil and final drive lube. Also scooped a pound of mouse poop from the cab and a bird nest from one compartment.
My bigger concern apart from all this small stuff is the hydraulics, when I test drove it all was strong and operated smoothly. Immediately after a 2 hour ride to my place the bucket operation was slow, really slow. The bucket speeds up when operated in combination with other functions. I've run it a few times and that seemed to be the only hydraulic ailment but yesterday the stick also got slow (but not as bad as the bucket). Another little issue is the turntable drifts to the right when running and nothing else going on. Boom seems good, tracks seem to pull similarly and strong.
I've read some posts here and I must admit I don't know what yall are talking about when you describe pilot system, control valve, spool valve etc.
Any advice (excavator or otherwise) would be appreciated.
Thanks
Andy

Welcome to HEF Leroy!

LeRoy-Far said:

Also scooped a pound of mouse poop from the cab

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That statement concerns me. First thing I would do is thoroughly inspect all your wiring. Remove panels if you have to from behind the seat. Those suckers like to chew on the wiring which will create all kinds of issues.

mg2361 said:

Welcome to HEF Leroy!



That statement concerns me. First thing I would do is thoroughly inspect all your wiring. Remove panels if you have to from behind the seat. Those suckers like to chew on the wiring which will create all kinds of issues.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the welcome and the advice.

I did a quick inspection of some easily accessible wiring, I didn't see any signs of rodent damage but I did see some suspect repairs from previous owners or operators. Cleaning up the wiring is on my list of things to look at as I move along. I've started in the battery box where things were pretty ugly.

I'll go back and take a harder look at the wiring in the cab. There appears to be a large compartment behind and below the seat that I've not been able to see into yet and several panels that could be looked behind. I was kind of surprised not to see any of the seat foam chewed into nests, that seemed like a common occurrence when I lived in a colder climate.

Hi all

Its been a while and I realized I hadn't updated this post.

I removed all the interior panels and cleaned up another 5lbs of mouse poop and 30 years worth of dirt and trash, I also set a few traps and caught the little booger. I put some irish spring in the cab and moth balls in the outside compartments to discourage his friends. I didn't find any wire damage but I did find a lot of dirt and grime in the fuse block and in a couple of small boxes with printed circuit boards (the computer possibly). I cleaned everything with contact cleaner and nothing changed but I did feel a little better about the condition of the cab and the dead mouse.

I also changed all the filters and motor oil. When I changed the pilot hydraulic filter all the hydraulics began working normally. The sound of the pump changed somewhat, I'm not sure if thats because of new filters or if I may have let some dirt get by while changing the filters? One of the filters is in the bottom of the tanks and I changed it while the tank was full of oil, in hindsight I should have drained the tank first. That filter was filthy.

I've also made several other small repairs; replaced the fuel filler neck (original was mashed out of shape) replaced hydraulic tank filler neck (also mashed out of shape), fashioned a battery hold down to replace the old seat belt holding the batteries down, fashioned a couple of muffler hold down straps (muffler doesn't dance around any longer) straightened several panels top and bottom, patched up the bucket and added leaf spring to the top of the bucket teeth. I still need to fix several small hydraulic leaks, replace a few missing panels, replace the handrail so I don't fall off while climbing up, patch up the engine cover (rusty).

Hi LeRoy and a belated welcome to HEF

Good to hear you're making progress on getting your machine sorted! plenty of threads on here covering most problems you'll no doubt run into while using it... do you still have the slew drifting issue?

Hi Ronsii

Thanks for the reply, the drift has stopped (changed).

Before the filter change it was like the pilot lever was being operated very slightly, always in the same direction. Now it's more like it coasts in the downhill direction.

I'm working on a really steep hill and when I've got a full bucket and try to spin the load uphill it's weak and with I go downhill it doesn't stop very quickly, in my mind it's like the slew motor is weak or has bad seals.

If I'm on flat ground it seems ok.

Slew motors are pretty weak to start with... so any kind of good slope will change how things work. I believe there is a test in the tech manual for slew rates and stopping distances to check the motor and brake systems....