330 Volvo

[coalburner]

The first pic was on June 19 right after the tires were put on, after a quick steam cleaning it looks like new again. Our coal is high in sulfur and really acidic and it does do a number on paint jobs.

 

[Lashlander]

Thanks for the clarification on this, The hours in a month weren't quite adding up. You would have been runnin her 66 hours a day. Shoot I can't even run em that hard. :bouncegri

 

[komatsukid]

i ran a volvo L220E last summer. that loader felt like it was made of the highest quality. i wished we would have bought it. but after the things i have heard, i dont know now. volvo has a reputation for building high quality cars, trucks, and heavy equipment. i figured their equipment better than that.

 

[Wulf]

i ran a volvo L220E last summer. that loader felt like it was made of the highest quality. i wished we would have bought it. but after the things i have heard, i dont know now. volvo has a reputation for building high quality cars, trucks, and heavy equipment. i figured their equipment better than that.

It surprised me too komatsukid

coalburner, just a thought... you mentioned about multiple hydraulic leaks way down earlier in the thread and I was wondering whether anyone had cranked the main hydraulic and steering pressure up to cope with that large bucket and to compete with your Cats?

 

[komatsukid]

ya know the hydraluic leaks suprised me. i thought their quality control would be alot better, just for the simple fact that their name is on the line for something as ignorant as a leak.

 

[coalburner]

The mechanics ran all the checks they could in the field. He says the pressure is not set hi, but on the low side. I'm meeting with the dealer Wednesday to find out what the options are. We run 95% of the time out of a soft pile feeding a underground hopper, its not like we are digging rocks and loading dump trucks.

 

[komatsukid]

i dont think the task should matter. the loader should not have failed this early in its service life. seems like volvo has butt kissing to do.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

i wished we would have bought it. but after the things i have heard, i dont know now.

Guys, I know which manufacturer's horn I usually toot, but this instance doesn't necessarily implicate Volvo of having a poor product. The L330E has faced issues, especially with its powertrain, and is undergoing the change to the L350F (in part to address those issues). While it's unfortunate that such a new machine isn't really hitting reliability or uptime targets, every manufacturer may have such issues.

I'm not trying to tell you that you should always buy Volvo and that oh, gee whiz, every other product will come out on top, but I'd bet I can dig up a thread or two that'll make you guys scratch heads on whether to buy any brand. Just don't give up on Volvo yet!

(Not meant to be offensive -- the "Gee whiz" comment was just there for emphasis. It's early for me -- 7AM in IL -- and I haven't quite recovered from winter break yet!)

(PPS: I really am sorry your L330E isn't working so well, coalburner... I'm not trying to underplay the severity of the issue.)

 

[digger242j]

...but I'd bet I can dig up a thread or two that'll make you guys scratch heads on whether to buy any brand.

That comment is right on target, but I feel the need to expound on that, since Tigerotor has gone to such great lengths to qualify his statements.

There's a lot to be said, when formulating your own opinion, for collecting all the available information and experiences/opinions of others, and weighing and considering them, before reaching any conclusion.

This is in the forum rules: "This site is designed for the exchange of information. It is not however, intended to provide members with a forum to trash one manufacturer over another. Third party experiences are discouraged, unless you were on hand to witness any problem the third party may have had with a particular machine."

I, for one, think everybody is doing a really great job sticking to that one, without ever having to be reminded of it.

That has several benefits. One, it gives those, who are the end users of the equipment, an honest peer-to-peer type review of particular manufacturers, equipment models, dealer support, etc. For another, it gives the manufacturers, dealers, etc. an opportunity to eavesdrop on what is being said about them and their equipment, by those who make the purchasing decisions, and those who use them in the field, (and even respond, if they so choose). That should help them to know where their weaknesses and strengths are, and help them to improve those products and services.

A classic win-win scenario.

Sorry to digress. Back to the Volvo discussion...

 

[komatsukid]

i am sorry if ofended anyone. i got out of hand with the issue.

 

[digger242j]

I wasn't aiming that at you, komatsukid.

the loader should not have failed this early in its service life. seems like volvo has butt kissing to do.

I didn't consider that comment as out of line. If that's your honest opinion, after having read what's been posted, and any real life experiences, then that's fine. Actually, that's part of what I was referring to when I said the manufacturers and dealers have a chance to eavesdrop.

The nuts and bolts facts of equipment quality is one thing, but what people think about the equipment, and what they're willing to say about it to others, is what determines how it will sell. If you have a product on the market, and your quality and/or support isn't getting you good word of mouth, you'd be foolish to ignore that.

 

[komatsukid]

I agree 100 percent. im sorry for the confusion.

 

[coalburner]

I want to add, Volvo is working to fix all the issues with this machine. Our dealer is bending over back wards to fix it when ever we call. The leak yesterday was called in at 4:45 PM and they had a truck there and we were back in business with in the hour. (loose fitting) Yes I do have serious concerns about this machine when the warranty is out.

There are a lot of things I really like about Volvo to.


One thing that is for sure if it is man made it will break!!

 

[komatsukid]

thats the truth! what kind of warrenty does volvo have for their machines? (if you dont mind me asking?)

 

[Tigerotor77W]

i am sorry if ofended anyone. i got out of hand with the issue.

My hard drive crashed a few days ago... I had been using a school computer. Hence few replies from me.

komatsukid, you certainly didn't offend me -- and it looks like my comment killed this thread -- I was just saying that one runty Volvo doesn't mean the company or all its products are bad.

digger, it was my fault... feel free to delete that post. I wasn't trying to ram this thread clear out of the park.

 

[digger242j]

digger, it was my fault... feel free to delete that post.

GEEZ! I must look like some kind of ogre!

I wasn't trying to fault anybody for anything that was said. I saw an opportunity to reinforce that which I believe to be true--that we have a good exchange of honest opinions from well informed members that goes on here, and everybody benefits from knowing the kind of results that people are getting in the field. The only reason I mentioned the rule was to point out that that's the way we do operate. Nothing more than that, and nothing less...

:thumbsup

 

[MetalDragon_boy]

Shame on your new machine. Was it completly new or was it used?

Oh and that machine isnt very dirty compare to the machines in the locan steelmill I used to work. You always got surprised when you washed one and discovered yellow paint! LOL

 

[coalburner]

One thing is for sure Volvo has a really good warranty! I was thinking that the new Axel would be just the case and all the internal hardware would be changed out, wrong Volvo is sending a complete new front Axel, everything. If they weren't changing the transmission it would be fixed in a day or so.

 

[komatsukid]

I was tought on power shift transmissions. When I ran the L220E It was really hard to let the machine shift it self, With out my imput. I have heard that Volvo has had a hard time developing their automatic transmissions. If they can refine this I think it would be a great asset to the operator. As for their axels they seem to use the same design as Komatsu and Cat, with the wet clutch brakes..ect. Even after what I have seen on this thread I am still a PRO volvo guy. The experence I had in a Volvo loader was top notch everything in the cab was where I would have put it as a operator. I think Volvo builds a high quality machine.

 

[farm_boy]

The T-III L220E that I ran a few months back had the best shifting transmission I have ever felt in a Volvo loader. They have come a long way with there transmissions. :thumbsup

The problem I have with Volvo is that they don't seem to address problems that they know they have. For instance....I have experience with a medium sized redi-mix and aggregate operation that used Volvo loaders. You could set your watch to every 2,500 hours on the L90C needing a turbo charger. When was time to trade that machine off for a L90D this problem was said to be fixed, but behold....at ~2,500 hours a failed turbo. By 12K hours the "new and improved" D series machine had consumed 4 turbos again.

Another beef I have with Volvo as a whole is that the parts prices are high $$$$ when compared to the other major players in the market. Sure, ok everyone's parts prices seem high at some point, but across the board, apples to apples the boys in Asheville seem to sell their machines cheap and make up the difference on the parts. That is in my humble opinion anyway .:wink2