Excavator Hyd Hose at Top of Tank

[lt190b]

I took delivery of a PC160LC7-EO and it worked great for a couple hours.

Then it seems to have lost power. Hyd were sluggish/weak/non-responsive.

Googling around I see that is sometimes caused by fuel starvation resulting from clogged filters.

But I had noticed that the hose that runs from the hyd tank cap down the side of the tank was broken a couple inches off the cap.

When I first noticed it I thought it was just a venting hose and couldn't be the problem.

Then I checked the hyd fluid level and saw that it was way down -- 5 gallons brought it to almost halfway up the glass.

So I'm wondering if that broken hose is more important than I realized.

Can anyone shed any light?

If I need a new one, does anyone have a part number and/or source?

Thank you!

Joseph

Did you check your manual to determine what position your boom, bucket, and blade should be in to check hydraulic fluid level?

 

[josephny]

Did you check your manual to determine what position your boom, bucket, and blade should be in to check hydraulic fluid level?

No, I didn't.

I see now this is the position it needs to be in to check the level.

Did I mess things up?

 

[josephny]

The idea is that if the pump is worn too much it can't load down the engine that is turning it. The pressure and flow will both drop resulting in a slow and weak operation. A good working pump can load the engine enough to be noticeable.


Just a guess at this point but if you are in a cold climate it could have taken two hours to warm and thin the hydraulic oil enough to notice a pump wear problem. You won't see this as an external leak but instead it leaks around the pumps internal parts. I would check the hydraulic pump pressure and see what it does while cold after warming up a little then after it has been operating and seems to slow down check again.

It is very likely to be pump wear or similar parts wear. If it seems to work normally next time you start it up after it is cooled then repeats the problem after warming up you will have a better idea.

But if the oil being 5 gallons low caused it to over heat and thin you would want to know that too.

Sure hope it's not a pump (or similar parts) that is worn.

I'm hoping it's just water in the fuel and some draining and a new filter will do the trick.

Can't get to it until next week, but I will report back.

Thank you all!