Hydraulic Oil

[Quantum]

I'm rebuilding a burnout Cat 299d2 XHP, and have been studying oil.

Seems like there is mineral oil, synthetic oil, and soy-based bio-oil.

Is there anything wrong with using bio-oil in this machine, given operating temps and pressures, and longevity? Any problem in Winter with bio?

 

[Nige]

What are the possible fluid options listed in the manual for the machine? Does it make any comments about the use of certain types of oil e.g bio..?

 

[kshansen]

All I can add is below is what Cat says about hydraulic oils:

 

[Quantum]

Ok, it's good to know that bio-oils can last every bit as long as synthetic and have the heat tolerance as well.

It seems that regular synthetic costs twice as much as mineral oil, and bio costs about the same as synthetic, at least at Grainger.

For bio, the Cat manual says to mix it with less than 3% other oil... how is that even possible? My machine is a burnout, and I asked the local Cat service manager how to flush the system, and he said about the only option is to fill and run it, then drain the oil, change filters, and fill again. There must be gallons in the lines alone, and I'd rather not run burned chunks through the cylinders or ports of the controls and valves. I'm thinking do a run with cheap mineral oil first, then the permanent oil. But is there any other way to flush and evacuate?

Also, I'm suspicious of Cat consumables. I should have expected their paints to be 2-part catalyzing, but it says right there on the can that it's "Standard Grade", and it's one-part. And my 2 year old 299D2 has paint oxidization all over such that I have to tear it down, sandblast, and repaint. So I can not trust that their synthetic or bio-oil is any better than low-average. I'd just as soon buy from another source like Grainger, or someplace else. Suggestions?

 

[kshansen]

Not knowing the conditions where this machine burned but it it was running while on fire I would be wondering how one could be sure that there is not major contamination throughout all fluid systems. Don't know a safe way to clean unless everything and I mean every little thing is disassembled. Guess that is why insurance companies like to "total" and not repair burned equipment!

Guess it all depends on how much you value your time and how lucky you feel!

I know I would run fast from a machine that I knew was a fire recovered machine too many things to be worried about for my money.

It's your money and if you want to roll the dice good luck!

 

[Nige]

In the scenario of the OPs machine the only way I would personally do it is to remove each and every component on the machine and strip it right to the last but and bolt. Clean, rebuild with new seals, etc, etc. All hyd fittings would come off and get cleaned. Hoses would be either replaced if fire-damaged or at the very least run through with a sponge gun to make sure they were clean inside.
Only after all that (which BTW solves the issue of oil ‘cos there ain’t none of the original left anywhere) would I consider putting fresh oil in it.

 

[kshansen]

In the scenario of the OPs machine the only way I would personally do it is to remove each and every component on the machine and strip it right to the last nut and bolt........

Yes! and depending on how hot the fire got I would still be wondering about structural integrity of major structures.

 

[Quantum]

I asked the junkyard guy why so many fires in construction equipment and not any other heavy equipment. He said that it's what's done when the engine seizes or throws a rod, to collect on insurance. In this case it spent most of its life next to the Atlantic and has some corrosion on electrical connections. No big deal.

I know fire is a hazard. In this case it was between the cab and engine bulkhead. All wiring and hoses there are melted. And everything in the cab above the belt is melted. But the engine compartment is great, undercarriage is great, lift structure as well. I paid $7,000 for it plus $3,000 for transport across the country. Then $16,700 to Cat for all the parts I could think of I'll need. (I looked for parts in junkyards nationwide but all similar machines have the same damage) And I end up with a loaded 2016 299D2 XHP, hopefully. I'm a pretty good engineer and I'll make it work. I've begun tearing it down and will wetblast and completely paint it to begin with.

The cylinders don't have any fine ports, and I'm replacing many hoses. Rebuilding the worktool controller and replacing the accumulator, all solenoids, and other affected parts. Yes it'd been parted out to some extent but I found those parts at another junkyard.

I'm just going to do the best I can. I will do this rather than pay $90k for this fine machine.

 

[Fog]

Looks like a fun project. Hope to see pictures of it when you are finished.

 

[kshansen]

Any idea of the hours on that machine? Looks too clean, well other than the burned out part! Do you know if it was running when the fire started or was it just an electrical problem that shorted out and started burning?

 

[Quantum]

Oh I'm having fun alright. So much fun I could almost shoot myself in the head.

I've created a new thread.

Junkyard said about 960 hours. They also said they'd turned over the engine manually, but I haven't tried that myself yet. I see lots of corroded electrical in the engine compartment, no doubt because it spent most of its life on the Atlantic coast. I'm hoping that unreliable operation due to this was why it was torched.

At heavy equipment junkyards all over the US, all the construction equipment is burned --all brands-- and none of the garbage trucks, semis, fire engines, street sweepers, etc are burned, only wrecked. I found it hard to believe that all construction equipment manufacturers are so bad at wiring, and I asked here but only got opinions from those who don't really know. But the junkyard man confirmed that the reason is the operator runs it out of oil, or damages it in some other way, so torches it to collect insurance. This makes the most sense given what I've seen.