Winter maintenance tips for caterpillar excavators

Whether you’re going to store your machines or use them to work through the winter, you want to make sure that when you’re ready to use a machine…it’s ready to go. Failing to follow recommended winter maintenance can result in damaged components and unexpected repair bills. Check out these tips for winter operation to make sure you’ve got your fleet covered.

A: How should medium and large excavators in mines be maintained in winter?

Q：Affected by the low outside temperature in winter, the equipment has problems such as difficulty in starting under low temperature conditions. During maintenance, oil of appropriate viscosity can be selected based on the outside temperature. The selection of engine oil, hydraulic oil, gear oil, and grease can be based on the relevant recommendations in the maintenance manual. Verify and ensure that the engine antifreeze can withstand low temperatures.

A: How to clean and replace the filters of the excavator?

Q: All cleaning and replacement must be strictly in accordance with the requirements of the operation and maintenance manual.

Replacement of air filter element: It is not recommended to clean the coarse air filter element by liquid cleaning or beating and vibration. You can use clean compressed air to clean the dust in the coarse filter element. The number of cleanings should not exceed 3 times, and the cleaning air pressure should not exceed 207KPA (30PSI); be careful to avoid damaging the filter paper. If the filter paper is found to be damaged, it must be replaced.

At the same time, the filter element replacement time should also be shortened according to the working conditions and environmental pollution level.

For the replacement of engine oil filter element, hydraulic oil filter element, and diesel filter element, it is necessary to check the old filter element and housing for metal debris. If metal debris is found, please contact the agent to check the source or SOS inspection.

When installing a new filter element, do not pour oil into the filter cup to avoid system contamination.