How bad did I screw up???

[tacotory]

So I just got my new skid today (Komatsu SK1020) and it needed fuel. I went to put fill it up and accidentally put 1/4- 1/2 gal of diesel of in the hydraulic tank.:Bangheadointhead A padlock is going on that hydraulic filler asap. It looks way too much like a fuel filler and even has a "D" on it. Man, do I ever feel like an idiot!:duh:duh

So..... a couple of questions.
1- Do I need to drain the hydraulic fluid and start over? Ideally would like to not have to go through effort/ expense, but guessing it will be necessary???
2- Will it damage it to run it a few mins with the diesel in there? I shut it down where it was sitting. I would like to move it a bit and unload some stuff that came in the bucket before I go through a complete service on it. I could service it where it sits and unload the bucket later if the diesel being in there is going to damage it when I run it.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[heavylift]

drain it all

 

[mitch504]

No do not start it! If you haven't started it, you can just drained the tank; once you start the engine, you have to flush all the lines, valves and cylinders, which is at least 10 times more work.

 

[alrman]

I wouldn't be too concerned. A couple of litres of fuel won't do too much to 30lts of oil. Just change your oil & all will be OK.
I've had some customers fill their hyd tank right to the top - & then work the machine for a couple of hrs & then wonder why it ran out of fuel ointhead

All that was ever done to them was drain the oil twice with a little run in between & a new filter - those machines never suffered any problems.

 

[cps]

No do not start it! If you haven't started it, you can just drained the tank; once you start the engine, you have to flush all the lines, valves and cylinders, which is at least 10 times more work.

I agree, its not alot of fuel in there, but i would drain it out anyway since its a new machine! Diesel can damage seals/o-rings etc if left long enough!

 

[tacotory]

Well, it was running when I put it in there, so I didn't have the option to not start it.

I didn't operate the machine at all, so it shouldn't have gotten into any of the cylinders, valves or function hoses. I drained it and filled it up with new.

I might start a new thread to ask this specific question, but I'll ask here too. As I was greasing it, I found several pins that weren't taking grease well. 3 out of 4 of the bucket pivots wouldn't take grease at all and the lift cylinders on both sides took a few pumps easy and then locked up. I took out the bucket pins, which were completely dry but showed no wear, cleaned the gunk out of the grease hole on the pin, greased the pin and put them back in. They all then took grease great. On the lift cylinder pins, when I took them out, they had grease on them and the hole wasn't clogged. As I pushed the pins in, I would give it a few pumps every 1/2" or so. The farther I pushed them in, the harder it got to give it grease. By the time it was all the way it, it didn't want to take grease again. I had the pressure off the pins enough to push them in and out with relative ease, so it doesn't seem like it would be that the cylinder wasn't in a relaxed state. Would drilling another hole for the grease to come out of 90 degrees off the original hole help? Any ideas?

Thanks for all the input- I really appreciate it.

 

[dave esterns]

where do you guys even get komatsu skid steers. i have never seen one in my entire life!! are they popular elsewhere or something? ...and who invented the iso pattern on skid steers? i doubt it was cat but im sure thats who people give the credit to...

 

[tacotory]

where do you guys even get komatsu skid steers. i have never seen one in my entire life!! are they popular elsewhere or something? ...and who invented the iso pattern on skid steers? i doubt it was cat but im sure thats who people give the credit to...

I'm in oregon and they're not very common out here. I saw a tracked machine at the local rental yard a while back, but don't know that I've ever seen one in action on a job. I have a Komatsu mini-ex and love it, so I felt pretty confident with the brand. I bought this one for two reasons- 1) I like their controls and 2) I wanted to try out the VTS system, which this one has on it.

My first skid was a JD325 and it had all hand controls- non ISO pattern. Since then, I have had a Bobcat with foot controls, which I got used to, but never felt that I had the dexterity with my feet as I had with my hands. I guess that's why surgeons use their hands and not their feet to work on people's hearts?? I had a Cat 287b after that with ISO controls. Initially I hated it. Got used to it after a while, but misses the traditional movement controls from the standard skid controls. The Komatsu has a selector that lets you switch between ISO and the standard all-hand controls. Normally I will run with non-ISO, but when running my mower I may switch back to ISO so that I can have one hand free for refreshments . Mainly I just like having the option.

Interesting sideline on the ISO pattern- I was at ConEx this year and was talking with the Cat rep about their skids. I asked him why they don't have a selector on their machines to switch away from ISO and he said some idiotic salesman thing like, "we just don't feel that it's in our best interest to do it and besides, it ads expense to the production cost". I said, "you have thousands and thousands of Bobcat guys that won't even look at your machines because their guys can't use your controls. For a $50-100 valve, you could instantly open up your product line to all the folks that hate the ISO pattern". "Oh, I guess you have a good point there." Excavator manufacturers have figured this out- I can't believe that all the skid manufacturers haven't figured out that people like to run the type of controls that they learned on. So easy to make them universal....

 

[Digdeep]

I'm in oregon and they're not very common out here. I saw a tracked machine at the local rental yard a while back, but don't know that I've ever seen one in action on a job. I have a Komatsu mini-ex and love it, so I felt pretty confident with the brand. I bought this one for two reasons- 1) I like their controls and 2) I wanted to try out the VTS system, which this one has on it.

My first skid was a JD325 and it had all hand controls- non ISO pattern. Since then, I have had a Bobcat with foot controls, which I got used to, but never felt that I had the dexterity with my feet as I had with my hands. I guess that's why surgeons use their hands and not their feet to work on people's hearts?? I had a Cat 287b after that with ISO controls. Initially I hated it. Got used to it after a while, but misses the traditional movement controls from the standard skid controls. The Komatsu has a selector that lets you switch between ISO and the standard all-hand controls. Normally I will run with non-ISO, but when running my mower I may switch back to ISO so that I can have one hand free for refreshments . Mainly I just like having the option.

Interesting sideline on the ISO pattern- I was at ConEx this year and was talking with the Cat rep about their skids. I asked him why they don't have a selector on their machines to switch away from ISO and he said some idiotic salesman thing like, "we just don't feel that it's in our best interest to do it and besides, it ads expense to the production cost". I said, "you have thousands and thousands of Bobcat guys that won't even look at your machines because their guys can't use your controls. For a $50-100 valve, you could instantly open up your product line to all the folks that hate the ISO pattern". "Oh, I guess you have a good point there." Excavator manufacturers have figured this out- I can't believe that all the skid manufacturers haven't figured out that people like to run the type of controls that they learned on. So easy to make them universal....

Komatsu is exiting the North American skid steer and CTL market due to poor sales. They will continue to sell mini-excavators.

CAT offers a pattern changing option that allows you to change from ISO to "H" pattern on all of their C series machines, both skid steer and CTL.

 

[tacotory]

CAT offers a pattern changing option that allows you to change from ISO to "H" pattern on all of their C series machines, both skid steer and CTL.

Interesting- apparently their sales force didn't get the memo.

 

[dave esterns]

does cat not offer the pattern changing kit for their b series like case used to?? is it even a kit? or just a hose change... y has komatsu not sold any skid steers? are they not that great? how did cat and deere manage to enter the skid steer market but komatsu didnt? i can understand how cat did, but deere after their first skid steer flop impressively managed to hang on and they seem to have a decent skid steer now....

 

[MXZ]

Back to the fuel in the oil issue: I wouldn't worry about damaging anything with that small amount. All it's going to do is very slightly thin out your hydraulic fluid. Diesel has lubricity to it unlike gasoline, so you're really not going to hurt anything. Would still probably change it at some point, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over the incident.

 

[jason.wright]

Thanks MXZ for getting back to the original question (Dave Esterns). Since it is a new machine I would be worried about the warranty, if any thing goes wrong with it and they find traces of diesel fuel in your hyd. system there could be a chance of an issue with warranty. Not positive but dealerships and the factorys are always trying to find anything that you did wrong so they don't have to pay for it. Good luck.

 

[Reel hip]

Well, it was running when I put it in there, so I didn't have the option to not start it.

I didn't operate the machine at all, so it shouldn't have gotten into any of the cylinders, valves or function hoses. I drained it and filled it up with new.

I might start a new thread to ask this specific question, but I'll ask here too. As I was greasing it, I found several pins that weren't taking grease well. 3 out of 4 of the bucket pivots wouldn't take grease at all and the lift cylinders on both sides took a few pumps easy and then locked up. I took out the bucket pins, which were completely dry but showed no wear, cleaned the gunk out of the grease hole on the pin, greased the pin and put them back in. They all then took grease great. On the lift cylinder pins, when I took them out, they had grease on them and the hole wasn't clogged. As I pushed the pins in, I would give it a few pumps every 1/2" or so. The farther I pushed them in, the harder it got to give it grease. By the time it was all the way it, it didn't want to take grease again. I had the pressure off the pins enough to push them in and out with relative ease, so it doesn't seem like it would be that the cylinder wasn't in a relaxed state. Would drilling another hole for the grease to come out of 90 degrees off the original hole help? Any ideas?

Thanks for all the input- I really appreciate it.

Take the pin out again check to see if it has a ridge on the inside or the bushing, make sure that lines up right. in should take grease. With your other fittings, it seems that the machine must have been sitting fir a while for the grease to get hard like that. It was brand new?

 

[dave esterns]

haha what? i thought we were done discussing the oil issue?? haha, dont worry about it, just change her out when you get a chance.

 

[tacotory]

Take the pin out again check to see if it has a ridge on the inside or the bushing, make sure that lines up right. in should take grease. With your other fittings, it seems that the machine must have been sitting fir a while for the grease to get hard like that. It was brand new?

The machine is new to me, but not new. 2006 model with 790hrs. The pins have a retainer that is welded onto the end of them that makes their orientation unadjustable.

 

[WV earth mover]

Ive got pins on my tag trailer that wont take. I have even gave em a little heat till they take then again every 1/2 hr or so for 4-5 times, everythings fine then 24 hrs later they wont take and its been that way for years so your not alone fighting with pins and fittings, its very frustating i feel your pain.