Changing Hydraulic Fluid on the Cheapest Excavator

Changing fluids and filters on a 2001 Hitachi EX120 with Chevron Rando 46 HD

[@ericsebina256]

Not to self..put a metalic mesh on a DIY oil bucket.

[@nathanchurchill]

Makes you smarter than me! I didn’t even line up the detent on the socket

[@ericsebina256]

I dont understand why the engineer dont line up the holes straight? But well done

[@nickwustrack9132]

Or use the magnets from that Alu Screwplate

[@patrickjordan7670]

You should have pulled the bar out of where you were putting oil in there's a filter attached to that bar its a metal filter that can be cleaned. You can still do it after you run it for a while it only takes ten minutes clean it with carburettor cleaner we've got a couple of those machines dark oil doesn't mean it's bad oil it the machines slows down when hot it's the bumps that's wore out good luck with it 👍

[@scottfoster2487]

Go thru that machine and get her cleaned up and running top notch and your going to really love having her in the fleet. Think about the fact if get her going good in a few years she will be worth far more then you paid for her. She is sure clean machine for 4khrs.

[@OBeezyNB]

That’s why I ALWAYS keep a magnet on a stick when I change oil. But aye,we live n learn. I’ve been there

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Check charge pressure. All filters are return filters . There are suction screens in tank which supply main pumps which few ever clean until pumps cavitation in cold weather and ruin pumps. Hitachi made pre 1996 Deere excavator s . There are sensors on pump angle sensors that go bad also . Check them if still no power. If you have low power only on one piston pumps are ok the cylinder may have worn piston seal bypassing I just replaced a Linde pump on a 690e. On top of charge pump there are adjustments for charge and feed back pressure from cylinders. No zinc in oil it disolves silver plating in pump wear surfaces.. Go get Oil from CAT it's Mobil aw46 . Change planetary oil in track drives . Grease slewing Ring a lot twice a day. Hitachi excellent machine s .

[@ekeller88]

Flip them buckets over when pouring! Spout at the top will work 10x better.

[@alanragsdale9220]

If you feel ok doing this. On your hydraulic cylinder seal leak. Clean seal. Apply break fluid.. give it some set time overnight. This worked on a Farm tractor seal..

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Yes will swell older rubber packing but new age has synthetic plastic seals .

[@nicksnextproject535]

Its interesting to see how much fluid was in that large of a machine - not as much as id expect. You've probably got $500 into that higher quality fluid. It looks like that machine is definitely worth putting the money into the routine maintenance items like you are doing.

[@nathanchurchill]

It’s really hard to show in video but it certainly made a noticeable difference right away and has continued to stay that way so far. I really trust Chevron fluids in everything

[@dilauroj94]

Hey, I stumbled on your videos last week I think, and this one came up in my suggested videos tonight. I just wanted to mention a few things to you, not to nitpick or criticize or anything like that. I work at a John Deere dealer, and JD and hitachi excavators were one in the same until about a year or so ago. 1. Mixing of oils is not good. We only use the hitachi oil, and when machines come in that people mixed oil it is evident. The oil always turns super dark, and creates almost a sludge like film on all the hydraulic components. With that said, you paid $3500 for the machine, I know you don’t expect to get another 5000 hours out of it so I understand. 2. It was good you let the machine sit before starting it to bleed the pumps a little bit. However, there is a bleeder plug on top of the pump. After the tank is drained, you should loosen that plug and the head pressure of the tank will “flood” the pumps. Obviously everything was fine when you started it, and once again, $3500 machine. I just wanted to mention this if you were to change the hydraulic oil on a newer machine in the future. 3. Changing your hydraulic oil is probably not going to solve your slow hydraulics problem. The hydraulic pumps have clearances between components, and over time these clearances widen. When the machine is cold the oil is thicker and can make up the space in these components. As the oil heats up it thins out. Then that oil is slipping through the clearances and going back to tank instead of creating pressure to move the cylinders and motors on the machine. The video ended before you really got the machine hot, so I’m not sure if it started acting up again. The only way to know if your pumps are worn out is by flow testing them. However, the repair would depend on the results of your oil sample. If there is metal throughout the system, the whole hydraulic system would need to be cleaned and repaired. We call that a catastrophic failure. You’re not there yet because everything still “works”, but the metal is damaging components in the motors and cylinders as well. With all that said, a main relief valve going bad can cause the same issues, but it’s less likely that it’s only losing power when it’s hot. I don’t know specifically what is wrong with the machine from watching the video, I’m just kind of relaying what I know could be wrong. Once again, please don’t think I’m trying to be a keyboard warrior and insult you.

[@nathanchurchill]

Thank you for stopping by and giving your advice. I take no insult to someone giving useful information. I’m no expert I’m a dude who videos random things I do, so when people who do this for a living help out it’s always appreciated it. I thought about the zinc vs zinc-free thing for a while and I made that decision against expert opinions because I’m lazy and don’t want to bring 2 5 gallon buckets to every job site both machines are at. Honestly, thinking back on it I should have just bought the hitachi oil but I’m sticking with my choice now just to see what happens and if I do have build up beginning to show in the tank I’ll address that. The dealer stated that they flow tested the machine and did a stress test to make it overheat and said the pump was in fine working order, I don’t know how well it scored in the flow tests, but I’m going to ask the main mechanic that worked on it the next time I’m there. The machine definitely is noticeably snappier when cold or hot but does begin to fade as it warms up, it still performs better than it did so I am happy with the results and I find that it was worth the money to have done the swap. I still haven’t got results back from the oil sample but when I do I will post them. I’m certainly happy with performance for the price, but I wouldn’t be opposed to changing things/investigating the issue further as time goes on because this piece of equipment is now used for work every week so I want to make sure that it’s in good working order. Again, thank you for your insight into this and thank you for taking the time to help me learn more about the machine

[@mikelanglais7493]

I would have thought there were two filters in that tank. Suction and return.

[@nathanchurchill]

Me too, I searched and couldn’t find it

[@jeffreyevans2947]

@@nathanchurchill That threaded rod in the tank is attached to the suction screen, grab it and pull it up. The rod is supposed to be bolted to the cover. That way when you remove cover filter screen comes out with it, clean with brake clean, blow dry, Reinstall... Nut is probably in the tank.

[@Asomesauc]

Should change the final drive and swing oil as well

[@nathanchurchill]

Looking into doing that, and pulling apart the gears for inspection as well

[@darrellroeters4951]

Don’t sweat the little things amount of paint on filter coming off.

[@pushpipe]

check pressure relief spools on valve bank. had similar issues. had some debris stuck in it. took for ever to diagnose, 20 minutes to fix

[@pushpipe]

ours only stuck after working it for a bit

[@nathanchurchill]

I’ll have to check that out! Thanks

[@pushpipe]

you're welcome

[@diggingkentucky8620]

The fluid you drained was tractor hydraulic fluid it has a brown tent and is very common in heavy equipment.

[@nathanchurchill]

Hitachi 46 is what was in the machine which comes clear

[@andrewdirtson1645]

Would you consider other attachments for the hitachi? Like a 6ft grading, 4ft tooth and a rake?

[@nathanchurchill]

I definitely would! I already have a compactor wheel and looking to expand my bucket collection for sure, will make less work in the long run if I have the proper attachments

[@robertspike6611]

Collapsing the cylinders, if the cylinder holds 2 gallons it always has 2 gallons in it regardless where the piston is if it is a double acting cylinder. Single acting cylinders like a hydraulic jack will drain the fluid back but not with a double acting.

[@nathanchurchill]

I agree, both sides have fluid, but when the cylinders are fully collapsed the reservoir has roughly 5 gallons more in it than when they are fully extended and so do most machines. Extending a cylinder still takes more fluid than collapsing

[@buttonmonkey6845]

When the cylinder is collapsed the piston is occupying some of the volume therefore more oil is in the tank when the cylinders are collapsed.😁

[@robertspike6611]

@@buttonmonkey6845 The piston is always in the cylinder and the cylinder is always full of fluid your argument has no merit, put the piston in the center and you have half fluid on either side, place the piston on either end and you still have the same fluid volume just on one side and not in the tank, this is not a hydraulic jack it is a double acting cylinder, you did nothing by moving the piston to retracted except waste time and miss inform people with your logic

[@alanragsdale9220]

Get a fabrication shop to make you some pan covers for bottom of excavator maybe

[@nathanchurchill]

I reached back out to the dealer and they were able to locate the missing pieces

[@brianwynn5081]

get some gauges on the hydraulic system and see where it's at might be a few simple adjustments make it go a lot better

[@nathanchurchill]

Definitely have already started looking into that, thanks for the tip

[@DerekDaily]

What a great deal man! Find me one lol

[@nathanchurchill]

I’ll work on that asap! Thanks for watching

[@danjohnson8170]

17:42 Do I hear a homage to the Drain Addict?

[@nathanchurchill]

You might have 😂

[@S.W.A.T_YT1]

Use a magnet to remove the drain plug

[@nathanchurchill]

I tried with an extending magnet from an auto parts store first but it wasn’t strong enough and the fluid is super thick, that’s what you get when you buy cheap magnets 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@leomason4555]

You do realize there is oil on both sides of the Cylinder

[@nathanchurchill]

I do realize that but it’s substantially less than when they are fully extended

[@malshami20]

good job. Please wash it

[@superwolf28]

Dump the oil in the port a john. No different than it would be by a taco stand.

[@nathanchurchill]

Oil came from the ground, so might as well put it back where it came from

[@alanragsdale9220]

Get parts online maybe Don't give businesses to ripoff dealers. If you don't mind my advice.