Cat 315l help

[Jray1979]

Please help Cat 315L. So I’m new to heavy equipment. My father in law recently pasted away and had a 95-96 excavator which don’t know anything about. It will crank right up. The boom, bucket, and cab swing works fine. The tracks will move in a straight line back and forwards. It doesn’t want to move left to right.
Engine bogs down and exhaust gets darker. It acts like it would turn but doesn’t have enough power. Where do I start? Can anybody help?

 

[Nige]

You could start by giving a Serial Number to narrow the field............ there are about 30 different models of 315.

 

[John C.]

Once you provide that information you will need to know how to get into the monitor panel to look for codes and such. Here is a short video.

 

[Jray1979]

The serial number is difficult to read off the plate in the cab. Could I find it somewhere else?

 

[Jray1979]

Once you provide that information you will need to know how to get into the monitor panel to look for codes and such. Here is a short video.

Thanks for the video. I’ll try this. The fiction names are wore off the panel but hopefully it still works.

 

[Jray1979]

Which set of numbers is the serial? 6ym0028 sound like that could be it?

 

[kshansen]

Which set of numbers is the serial? 6ym0028 sound like that could be it?

Had to zoom in on the tag, you left out one "8" our it should be 6YM00828! Thats the number to start with and here attached is some information you might want to save, build date was May 26, 1995 and the file below should give you all the components it left factory with:

 

[Chisumtrail]

Could be the swivel leaking.

 

[Nige]

Judging by the amount of "beach" around the Serial Number plate maybe your first job should be a good cleaning ..........

 

[thepumpguysc]

LOL.!!!! Nige, your starting to sound like me..Lol

 

[Nige]

A guy brought a 950 loader to the shop this morning. We've only had it about 4 months from brand new. Inside the cab was like a sh1t tip. First words out of my mouth to the operator - "If this was my machine you would be looking for other employment round about now"......... I must have embarrassed him because the next thing I knew it was on the wash rack and he was giving it Dixie.

 

[Jray1979]

Could be the swivel leaking.

If this is the case how much would it cost to repair or is it even worth it on the machine this old?

 

[heymccall]

Swivel leaking wouldn't bog the engine, or darken the exhaust.

 

[Chisumtrail]

if you pick one track up off the ground does track turn?

 

[Jray1979]

yeah. I can walk it around with the tracks off the ground.

 

[Chisumtrail]

You can check the swivel for leaking put the sprockets to the rear of the machine. Follow the hoses on top of the swivel back to the control valve, pull 1 hose off at control valve and cap control valve. The front hoses are forward travel and rear hoses are reverse travel. If you pull the right forward travel hose off, put it in a bucket and with tracks on ground push the left forward pedal see if oil comes out in bucket. If it does seals are leaking, had a 325b the other day that would not turn and the only seal in the swivel was the oring in the top.

 

[Nige]

Taken from the OP - "I'm new to heavy equipment". It might just be necessary to help the him with a little bit more info on the "how to" IMHO.
A complete set of new seals for the swivel on this particular model would be $70