FAE mulcher oil seepage

yellowdogsvc · Jul 31, 2013

I have an FAE 2 speed mulching head. I noticed some oil seepage around the upper part of the hydro motor. I think the main seals are to the right of that area. This mower's motor is new to me but never had a problem in 7+ years with my single speed mower.
Other than the hoses and main seal, does anyone know where it could leak? It's not a lot of oil but I cleaned it off about 15 hours ago and had more wood dust/fluff stuck to the motor when I checked it last night. It looks as if some might have "sprayed" on the front, inside wall of the mower but won't know until I take the covers off and feel around. Not a lot of room to work in there and it's under warranty so I didn't want to mess with it too much. I rather not have to haul it to the dealer if it's something minor. Does anyone know if there are test ports or other fittings that can get loose? I've had that happen on other machines. If it's a small seep, is that a big deal? I've had other hydro motors that have mystery seeping and go years and years but since this is in an abusive application, I'm not sure what to think.

Thanks in advance for any info!
Yellow Dog.

redprospector · Aug 1, 2013

Yellow Dog,
I wish I knew something...anything about the FAE heads so I could maybe help you, and sound really smart at the same time. :laughing: But alas, I know nothing. Since it's still under warranty I'd take it back and let them fix it, I'd hate to see you run into trouble with it after the warranty is over.
How do you like the 2 speed head (other than the seepage)?

Andy

yellowdogsvc · Aug 2, 2013

The two speed is a very big improvement over single speed. The recovery time is very quick and it allows me to really get into to some bigger wood. I'm mulching mostly soft woods (ashe juniper) cedar, but I'm mulching a lot of 8-12" logs and some bigger stumps and chewing them up. I can also take on dry, 6" live oak logs and chew them up without as much stalling.

If I had pressure in the 4,000 psi range and a few more gpm and a little more hp to support my pump, this would be a perfect setup for what I do (brush piles) mostly. I'm almost there but my bobcat s750 is only 36.5 gpm at 3500 psi but my machine weight is only 8000 lbs without the head and that makes it a lot easier to tow out to these rural sites. I also work along a lot of tight fence lines and like to switch between grapple, shear, and mulcher so I'm pretty much stuck with a skid steer.

Robbie Hegwood · Aug 2, 2013

Call Lee Smith @ FAE, ask him to send you a motor diagram. There are many aditional ports on a motor, alternate locations for pressure/return, case drain and test ports. This way you can id what port is leaking and it might just be a loose plug or o-ring. From what you described it is on the pressure side of the motor, you need to find the source before it blows. That could cause motor damage and then there is the possibility of the dealer or manuf. saying lack of "proper" maint. I.E. checking for loose connections.

yellowdogsvc · Aug 2, 2013

A few pics I took today. Blew off most of the wood dust and what's left is a little residue. No dripping and I couldn't get oil on my fingers beyond a residue.

I tried the ports I could reach and didn't find anything loose or glaring like a blown o ring. FAE is supposed to get me more information.

This skid steer mulcher's motor is really robust. The single speed motor I had in the last FAE was about half the size of this one. Not much room in there to work. I'd like to make a hinged door on the front so I can get tools in there. I don't think FAE would like that during warranty period but if it was done right, I don't think it would affect the strength of the body. It's OVER built in my opinion which is good for longevity but it weighs 2650 lbs.

yellowdogsvc · Dec 11, 2013

Update:
I'm still finding the oily residue. I have not had enough down time to take it into the dealer and the head is operating fine. It's just an annoyance to see the motor "dirty". The best way I can describe it is the above pictures and to add that it gets an oily-hairy residue on the lower half of the motor. I see similar residue around some of the hydraulic hose fittings that are crimped. My dealer looked at the pictures and mentioned something about hydraulic motors "sweating". Anyone heard of that? If I blow off the motor it looks clean but I still suspect a little leak somewhere but it's not obvious.