Excavator Not Tracking Straight Diagnosis, Solved.

[@FarmCraft101]

TIG Welder - s.vevor.com/bfQfkV. More welders and plasma cutter - s.vevor.com/bfQmTb. Discount Code VVSALE5 for 5% off. Have an awesome weekend everybody!

[@mattfleming86]

That's about the kind of welder I need. I have a buddy that does aluminium :-D You get a kick back when we use the code right? Or is it pay-pet-video

[@Hard_Right]

always buy more welder than you think you need , and i can't imagine buying a tig welder that wasn't acdc but maybe if you ONLY ever work with steel i guess

[@jasongarland3165]

I'd like to see a clamp meter on the electrode line to see if puts out the amperage it says it puts out.

[@mattfleming86]

@@Hard_Right For me it would just be for melting shitty old farm equipment back together. I've been looking at cheaper units and this might just do the trick. Plus you have ability to do stick if your gas bottle is out or otherwise not convenient.

[@justkiddin1980]

I just Googled “excavator not tracking straight” have you eliminated friction in the undercarriage?? The website in question said that worn bearings is one of the most common faults that could cause too much friction and tracking issues..

[@DavidVanHelden1]

It is a pleasure watching someone with common sense...a clear and understandable voice...who gets to the point without distraction....we need more like you on KZbin...keep up the great videos my friend...

[@ryanv3751]

Well said!

[@kiiiisu]

agreed big time! this is one of few channels i always wait for new vid

[@savagefirewood]

I totally agree.

[@kodysimpson1]

John, I would really like to see you rebuild the pump. It's not as intimidating as it may seem. I did mine and found that 1 o-ring was missing. Took about a day to take it out of the machine, take it apart, diagnose, fix for 10 cents, put it back together, and reinstall it. Well worth it.

[@tas32engineering]

When a machine has so many hrs on it. Sounds like the best solution.

[@kodysimpson1]

@user-ru9iv9rn9t my machine has just over 4000 hours, and I had to replace nearly every piece of internal rubber at all about the same time.

[@brentcox4561]

To filter the oil you could have just taken one of the return hoses from one of your functions and your extensions and used the pump from the machine to send it through the filter and back into the tank fill or return line path. And if you decide to do the modification, use your existing fittings and hoses you used at the pump outputs to then put a normally closed electric over hydraulic valve attached to a set of micro switches on the travel levers connected in series. This will make it where the valve will open only when you have both levers fully forward. No additional fiddling with controls will be necessary as all controls will work the same.

[@nickcody7257]

You beat me to the comment of putting the filter on one of the functions. However I could guess the filter may no be able to handle that kind of pressure. Otherwise I would have to wonder why I have never heard of such a device.

[@StephanePlaisance]

What about putting the fine filter just before the return to the tank after the 10micron?

[@brentcox4561]

There would be minimum pressure on the return system as it is open to atmosphere at the tank as long as the filter has enough flow for the circuit. If you tried to put it before the tank permanently it would have to take full flow of the entire machine.

[@StephanePlaisance]

@@brentcox4561 thanks, in that case like someone said, add a calve at the tank purge and attach it the 3micron filter for several cycles of emptying the tank. It seems that the oil weight will do it in an hour of so each cycle. If necessary move the excavator to the roof to get more gravity

[@jonnycars]

An effective way to do the filtering is to send it through the auxiliary/breaker lines, basically completing the loop with the spin on filter instead of the auxiliary piece of equipment. To check that your oil is clean enough you can hire a laser particle analyser and you should aim for a NAS class 6 or equivalent.

[@williamwalton2064]

Good day John, Re: travel motor speed control, remove floor plate & cover under the travel levers, then adjust the lever stops to get the desired matching flow rates. Paint one block on each track to check results with the undercarriage raised off the ground.

[@tcoleman9091]

Andrew Camarata did this in a video. easy peasy

[@mustgetsomesleep7377]

This is very common for ajusting travel speed on tracked plant , this counters hydraulic system wear with a mechanical aid for straight line travel , i do hope you read this john

[@georgehofgren6123]

I'm fairly sure pedal adjustment was the first thing he checked. Be shocked if it wasn't ~

[@mustgetsomesleep7377]

@@georgehofgren6123 i hope it was , in my experiance all this talk about flow control valves etc is not needed . john wants to travel forward straight for some distance on his farm . Simple use the factory pedal limiters , this is the very reason they are there

[@tutekohe1361]

This kind of modification results in much slower travel speeds, as your speed is reduced to the speed of the slower motor, which is exacerbated when using the ‘high speed’ option pedal. If your slower speed motor is a lot slower, then your travel speed will be reduced to an untenable point. I have operated several Excavators with a ‘slow’ side. When you pull back on the ‘fast’ side to match the slow side speed, the machine virtually stops, and on uphill pieces, actually does stop. The modification Jon is suggesting will speed up the slower side to the same as the ‘fast’ side

[@josephperkins4163]

A manual flow valve mounted in the cab can adjust and fine-tune your travel on the go. It’s not going to impede your speed. Your speed will be controlled by your slowest drive motor. I really like your videos. They are packed full of common sense. A commodity that is in short supply in today’s world Cheers

[@indiggioman]

Yeah, I think after installing a flow valve to slow the fast side, which doesn't really seem to be a significant amount, you'd get used to what the "fastest" speed is and also have truer tracking.

[@unitedgray]

​@@indiggiomanAgreed. We're only talking about a few percent difference anyway. A flow control valve is 100% how I would fix this issue.

[@JPost1989]

If you do decide to do this modification, I would suggest not using a pedal. You say you are most bothered by it when moving about longer distances, that would mean you're pressing the pedal for the whole ride there, just for the sake of not turning. I'd suggest a switch, either electrically somewhere on the console, or lead the hose to a place where a valve would be easily accessible to toggle.

[@daviniusb6798]

Maybe a pedal driven switch?

[@warbirdwf]

My vote would be to pull that big pump and rebuild it. You've invested so much time in fixing everything else correctly. That pump is the last component keeping the machine from working w/out the pull while driving. Keep up the good work.

[@Taskarnin]

@farmcraft. I would recommend looking into flow control valves. They work differently than a restriction mechanism you are concerned with and have adjustment to balance the flow. Seems easier than adding another valve and lines to put the pumps in parallel. Source: I used to use flow controls to tune the stroke speeds of high speed hydraulic cylinders on forging presses.

[@brucemccreary769]

I concur. Only a modest difference in flow to be balanced for high speed tracking. This can be used to compensate for motor or pump or control valve variances which do not warrant rebuilds. The amount of flow restriction is very modest and will not affect performance except for tracking.

[@abdorahmanmamlook3684]

Keep this kind of vods...they are entertaining and informative I am a CAT Field Service Engineer and you are making our jobs fun!!

[@jameshayward1223]

Field service engineer sounds so much better than diesel fitter

[@harolddotson4756]

If you don’t mind a suggestion, I worked on a service mining job ( I will it meant my excavator was a whole lot bigger, but it could be done smaller ) , It is a axle that you put one end of your tracks up on turn the bucket round, put in the bed of your dump truck and tow it from one job to the next.

[@gamerjay6624]

yeah but as you know you need the operator in the digger to compensate for boom drift, its not a method we use without a operator in the cab and hes a one man band

[@richardjohnson4226]

My vote on fixing the track is a locking needle valve that can acheive your max flow of the pump. Leave it backed out when your at the job so you have no loss in speed. Turn it in to a marked position when you want to drive long distances in a straight line.

[@SIUDR7202]

Cool stuff! FYI. LOADING YOUR EQUIPMENT… when loading keep your truck in neutral with the emergency brake on. Chuck, the rear wheels of the truck in the front wheels of the trailer. Doing this, you will save your transmission. My friend has the same vehicle as yours and the same excavator. He has gone through two transmissions until the last transmission repair shop. Ask him what he does for a living and if he loads equipment on a trailer like yours and his just a suggestion. See my other comment below on a response

[@miraclo3]

THIS COMMENT IS WORTH GOLD. THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.

[@timderks5960]

I'd not recommend this... The E-brake often only brakes the rear wheels. There's plenty of videos from people loading equipment where they lift the front of the trailer (and thus rear of the truck) when riding up the rear of the trailer. This completely negates the parking brake, ánd the chucks on the rear wheels. If you're on flat ground, and your equipment isn't too heavy, you could do this, but in all other cases: 4WD, lowest gear, parking break on, rearmost trailer wheel chucked. If you're gonna be loading your equipment a couple times per day, you may ruin a gearbox every few years, but in all other cases it's better to put a little wear on the gearbox than to find your entire rig (truck, trailer and equipment) hurling down a hill. Also: don't American trailers have some kind of handbrake on them, so you can pull the brakes on it manually? That would be even better, in that case you don't need the truck brakes.

[@erik_dk842]

@@timderks5960 Not if they have electric brakes, which rely on the brake drum rotating, to activate the brake lever via magnetism

[@timderks5960]

@@erik_dk842 That's an odd design... How do you stop it from rolling when you park it then, purely chucks? I'd at least expect a secondary, mechanical way to pull the brakes. Electric brakes never cease to amaze me at how much they suck. The only good thing about them is that you can control them manually.

[@SIUDR7202]

@@timderks5960 that was a good point. I should have clarified that. I guess you could still leave it in park for automatic transmission and First gear on manual transmission and still block the fronts and rear on the truck so the loading does not snap the parking pin. The trailer also should be on level ground and not on any kind of a hill. I would hope the trailer has stabilizer jacks keeping the trailer from lifting the rear of the tow vehicle.

[@rynoopperman5010]

I don’t have an excavator, I will never have an excavator, But that does not mean, it is not essential for me to watch you fix your excavator 😉👍🏻

[@GrowthCurveMarketing]

I just love watching a highly skilled generalist like you solve problems. I'm almost sorry when you solve one, but thankfully, more seem to find you :) Great stuff, John, you are a master SLUETH.

[@mftidwell]

I had been wondering if it was possible or reasonable to filter hydraulic fluid. As I've never seen anyone else do it. Thanks for answering my silent questions :)

[@abc175xd8]

Hey John, I work with these mashines so i know alittle about them. You could just install a stop for the sticks in the cab or just under the floor(I have seen this done on older mashines), this would be way, cheaper and work just as well and could be adjusted if it starts going to one side. Love the videos!

[@tutekohe1361]

What you are suggesting is the equivalent of reducing the flow on the ‘good’ side. An option Jon said he was not interested in doing.

[@Adierit]

No need to install anything, the sticks can literally be adjusted. The one running slower might even be set wrong to begin with.

[@TheBibliofilus]

@@Adierit That was the first thing he looked into.

[@wolfpreist]

Awesome Video. I imagine they paint the bucket teeth so they don't rust on the shelf before they're bought and put into service.

[@av8tore71]

Always learning something on this channel even on a very early video Jon has about his pond on a very rainy day he calculated how much rain was floating over our heads before it ended in his pond. Something like 122 million gallons of rain in 12 hours

[@caribbeanequipmenttraders238]

Hey John, don't use your trailer, just weld up some axles that fit over your tracks then back the excavator on them and place your bucket in your dump truck lift up on the front of the excavator, and use your dump truck to pull the excavator around the farm!

[@jeffallen3382]

Now that would be a cool video to watch!

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

DANG, that is creative! Doesn't need to be road legal.

[@LisaMedeiros-tr2lz]

Sounds sketchy. You would need a way to ANCHOR the bucket in the dump bed, and it would need to be able to SWIVEL and not contact bed sides. The axles would need to be very strong to support the weight of the mini-ex and the wheels/tires the proper weight rating. It would take a lot of steel and would be cost prohibitive, costing as much as another whole trailer (and he already has one).

[@caribbeanequipmenttraders238]

@@LisaMedeiros-tr2lz By your statement here it shows you don't know what you are talking about. This type of towing is done daily in the mining industry. A metal bucket on a metal bed is very very slippery and has no issue swivelling. Again you are wrong with the axles... as they are not supporting the weight of the entire excavator only about half, as the bucket and the truck is supporting the other half. It does not take a lot of material to build. Thanks for your reply, but your statements are pointless!

[@rogerr1296]

I'm having a late-midlife crises and bought 91 acres hoping to eventually move my kids/grandkids out here. Your channel is a wealth of info man and has been, and I'm sure will be, very helpful as my old(er) bones try to make my dreams happen. I was just curious though about you personally, what is your background, is there a video about your farm...what you produce, daily chores..., and what I'm really curious about is your education background. I would guess engineering in some shape or form. Anyway, thanks for wealth of knowledge and information you've shared here man!

[@donaldoryall8916]

john i dont want to sound simplistic but my advice is to adjust your travel linkage to make it travel strait at full stick. some operator adjust there linkage to time two functions to balance together making it easyer like caring grade. the wear in pins and bushings will create enough floe differance to make it walk croked. you have done every thing else. also when you change teeth point the tip of the tooth down and put fine dirt between the tooth and the shank and tap with a hammer and fill up again.this fills the void to make a better fit. sounds silly but it works you will a lot less teeth.Have a great day

[@jamesfletcher279]

I’ve got a 22 year old Kubota with 2854 hours on it it tracks straight I admire your perseverance but I must admit my other Kubota does track to one side I just live with it great videos keep them coming

[@CanDoo321]

I like how you sort your sockets . Putting the deep well right next to the standard Ed socket of the same size.

[@terencemerritt]

4:26 I’m so glad the seal is back John!

[@mwnciboo]

On final drive oil - a while ago on my truck I was told to put 1oz of Sea Foam in my Engine oil 200miles before an oil change - it acts like a solvent on sludgy gloopy oil... Wow it actually works. Might be worth put an oz of Sea foam just before you change it in future - and the gloopy stuff just comes out.

[@HStahlberg]

Sea foam is specifically designed to work with engine lubricants, final drive oil is very different from engine oil, different additives and quite a lot more sulfur content, the viscosity and chemical makeup is also very different, using sea foam in the final drive would have a good chance of killing the drive if hes unlucky.

[@mwnciboo]

@@HStahlberg Fair enough - ignore me - I stand enlightened

[@lloydprunier4415]

I was one of the commenters that suggested flow control valves. The one my friend used on his shrimp boat winch had a small lever that could be adjusted easily and quickly. Depending on where you could install them maybe a cable control would be an option? Hope the excavator has a long and prosperous life! I have purchased a few Vevor products and so far have not been disappointed.

[@donaldbrown9437]

Very interesting. I am no expert but dealing with the left turning may be a lot easier than the fix.

[@tracywagoner4907]

Most older skid steer units suffer the same thing. You have to be careful tinkering with it because you can start causing collateral issues with creeping and such if not very careful when trying to adjust it out. Great video as always sir. I appreciate ya.

[@RichardKindl]

You might consider an inline adjustable flow valve for both pump outlets. Restricting the right side flow a bit would slow that side down.

[@Taskarnin]

I replied with this as well but it deleted my comment for some reason…. Flow control valve is not a restriction though. It has an internal mechanism to regulate flow regardless of the pressure. Depending on conditions it will provide some, a lot, or no restriction (apart from the slight amount from the valve existing).

[@amosbackstrom5366]

Yeah but he can accomplish the same thing by not holding the left lever wide open. The reason he holds them both wide open and re-corrects is because driving slower is slower.

[@HStahlberg]

I don't know if it might be unnecessary but the machines we run at our shop have fittings on the hydraulic tank so we can just hook up a circulation pump with a filter while we perform 500h services, our workshop manuals also tell us to replace the hydraulic oil every 2000h or every 4 years, the oil over time will loose lubricity even if the machine is taken care of, final drive oil should also be changed every 2000h if the machine sees light use. Keep up the good work mate, I'm sure you'll get that thing running just the way you'd like.

[@craigsudman4556]

It all depends on how much real work you need to do. If there is nothing going on and you want to keep yourself busy...then knock yourself out. I love all the videos you produce John, whatever you want to do just tickles me plumb to death. Personally I would live with it and rename the machine "Lefty" or "The keep left" (which is a tribute to anyone who has driven in the B.W.I.) Great video thumbs up.

[@mikemountain3976]

I like watching you bring your machine back to life. But I love my wife all in on getting a brand new one. So my time is used to learn how to operate instead on how to repair òne. New ones become old so I will stay on top of 38:14 the daily maintenance as well as oil an filter changes an hook it can hold up. Great videos

[@jmonsted]

Could you "just" replace the return filter with 3 micron one and run the machine (with restricted flow) for a little bit, then swap back to a new 10 micron one?

[@sharpshorts]

Enjoyable and a learning video, well done! Tracking Straight - some times you just gotta accept stuff... "If it ain't broke, it ain't broke" South Main Auto Repair

[@derekadams729]

Hi Jon. Great video, and very informative. I got a feeling your going to fix that tracking issue because you know what it needs to fix it. You take very good care of your machines doing regular maintenance. Great believer of the saying. Take care of your tools/ machines, and they will take care of you. Thanks for sharing.

[@caseysmith1718]

Jon the gravity pump is a perfect use case for the boom lift! 😂

[@robertkemper7640]

As usual, a GREAT video!! Could the track tension be different, between the two tracks, making one a bit longer, therefore making it travel farther?

[@jeffallen3382]

That's not the problem. He has already swapped the lines and it tracked the other way. The problem is in the pump.

[@jcondon1]

It’s a great idea to filter the oil like that. I do something similar to clean up gasoline that is past its expiration date but not complete junk yet.

[@andresreichardt]

Hello, love your videos. Just a quick thought. do the control levers have a mechanical adjustment? If so you could probably limit the stroke of the valve that goes faster, or maybe the other one is already limited? Is there an hydraulic diagram for this machine?

[@TheBibliofilus]

I think he's already tried that but it's not precise enough with the wear in the levers.

[@swallowinn4410]

John I enjoyed the oil filtering demonstration. Although if you took your 10 gallons of used oil put a couple of magnets in the buckets let them settle for an extended time ( many months) then siphon off the oil down to about 1" above the magnets you could save the cost of your 3micron filter and hoses. If using this used oil cleaning system you can re-use much of your old oil. It just takes a dedicated space to let the oil settle. I would like to see a follow up on straightening out the tracking issue. If not on your unit itself using a working much up model like you did with the boom lift. Looking forward to your next project.

[@Vault57]

36:48 I was thinking that you could just aim for a point off to the side and let the drift bring you back to your desired destination. Sort of like correcting for wind when long range shooting.

[@shuman26V]

Funny idea lol

[@raywebb8215]

I keep watching and now I’m subscribed to videos made by some guy I don’t know, working on equipment I don’t have and have never used, making repairs using process’s and tools I don’t really understand … and yet I can’t stop watching this guy. There are folks in this world that you would listen to them read you the phone book… Jon seems to be one of those guys

[@NICK-uy3nl]

Great effort. Putting an adjustable flow restrictor on the fast side is the only way you can equalize both tracks.

[@Roger-tl2gj]

Just a suggestion, you could add pressure compensating flow valves going to drive motors. (Ie brand fc55). With these valves you could slow the faster one down to match max speed of slower one with no effect otherwise and the pressure comp. Allow full pressure even when restring flow like starting to move on an incline etc. I hope you find this information helpful. Thanks for taking the time to share.

[@DannyCreech]

Jon, right where the hose on the travel motor connects on the side that turns just a little bit faster, put a slight restrictor there. You have a lathe and can machine a fitting. Female on one side to screw into the motor and male on the other side for the for the hose. This would be nothing more than a coupling with a mild physical restriction inside (think hour glass). You have these things in your water faucets in your house to save water. A slight restriction wouldn't effect the pressure any but would effect the flow. Would be supper simple to put inline and should be easy to make. Hope this helps.

[@carsonwashburn1]

I have learned so much from your videos. Thanks for all of the knowledge and tips you give every video!

[@erickwport]

I still say you could install a small shim in spool valve to slightly limit the faster track, the idea is that spool with shim would flow less. Also could add adjustable stops to limit lever travel for tracking

[@ixataxa]

Adjustable stops is a god idea, simple and easy😊

[@DavidVanHelden1]

I remember when I had problems Tracking Straight...then I gave up the drugs......lol......love the channel...keep up the good work ...

[@valdemarw3085]

You should show a compilation in all vehicle repair vids • Purchase price: • Cost of all spare parts, seals etc • Man hours to fix it • And estimated value after everting is done That would be interesting to see!

[@inspector8572]

You have to be very careful with reusing hydraulic oils/fluids, there’s an additive in the fluid that keeps it from foaming/cavitating in the pump. Overtime that additive does break down. now there is a test that you can do to see if the additive is still active in that test can be found on project farm. it’s basically roll of chicken wire in a jar with space around it when you shake it real hard to see if the fluid foams up or not. I believe Lucas oil makes additives that will aid in anti-foaming infection modifying.

[@timderks5960]

I'm pretty sure John's aware of that, I feel like he even mentioned it a few videos ago. He didn't really mention it in this video, but he filtered it because this was very new oil that was only put in recently. It'd be a waste to replace oil that only has a few hours on it because there's metal shavings in it, that's why he filtered it.

[@videodistro]

Listen to what he said. He will only do it to newer oil. He's not reusing old oil. Listen closer.

[@jonestd64]

Your explanations and the discussion about strait travel are exciting and thorough (I've come to expect nothing less, thank you). Your willingness to explore solutions adds the color and depth I have come to enjoy most about your channel. Based on the information you presented, I agree it's counterintuitive, given all the other incredible complexity you've already explained with your excavator that the design didn't allow for precise strait travel. I recall your comment many episodes ago that you're a farmer, and perfection is necessarily needed or appropriate for the farmer's application. Doesn't have to be pretty, only effective (or something to that effect). I'm I'm excited to see the work you accomplish now that you've reset your excavator.

[@MrTarfu]

For the modification, My idea would be to use a couple of break light switches that get pressed when you go forward, as long as both are pressed you would activate your valve (possibly with a relay in between). This way it isn't a separate control you have to think about, as long as you are going forward at speed you would go straight.

[@TheBibliofilus]

That's actually pretty ingenious and seems very in the spirit of John!

[@georgeloose5309]

Good morning John the reason your machine is not tracking straight is the flow is higher on on side of the pump this is controlled by servo to the swash plate in the pump. You should be able to adjust the position which will allow you to make it travel straight

[@stephenellis3430]

Hi John. Very much enjoying your repairs on the Excavator. It would also drive me mad a machine not tracking straight. So definitely for a modification to help with the issue. Looking forward to your next projects. Regards from uk 🇬🇧

[@brendanbarker2095]

Jon are you ok?

[@markd6777]

Try to always keep your filler rod in the gas stream when you pull it out of the puddle. This is REALLY important if you want to attempt any Stainless. Love your videos John, keep it up.

[@HazItMade]

John, I have to say how impressed I am that you held up so well regarding the filtering of the hydraulic oil. You did very well, considering the gravity of the situation. I'm sorry. I've fallen and can't reach my good jokes! Entertaining and informative as always.

[@adenihil]

I’m glad you did not choose to mc-giver the whole thing with joints & valves and whatnot… that would have been such a pita to setup and to use. You made the right choice! …And if you decide to fix the pump : I’ll enjoy that too! 😉 Good job!

[@WatchWesWork]

At least it moves under its own power and you don't have to pull it around with an old Oliver tractor!

[@FarmCraft101]

There is that!

[@johnjr3870]

Another good video. As stated before, Im happy with the Vevor products for my use.

[@oleinik1975]

About the excavator: we need to decrease the oil flow a little in the fastest motor. So for that it makes sense to shorten input and output motors lines with thin pipe. So a tiny amount of oil will bypass the motor which should be fixed excavator issue. Also makes sense to put a valve on this pipe for precise flow tuning.

[@bigsmoke6189]

that will just generate heat and not solve the problem

[@woodlandwrench]

That would definitely not help because the more torque is required to turn the motor, the more will leak over through the bypass. And since the torque required is a variable, this would just be an inconsistent headache.

[@oleinik1975]

​@@bigsmoke6189I think that you are talking about a heat pump principle, but I think that it is not our case...

[@IAmTheShaz]

The next time you get fed up with the tracking, and want to do the modification to the machine, I'd be interested in seeing it! 😄 Great video!

[@chrislewis6050]

I would still suggest adjustable bump-stops, in front of the control arms. Limit the travel of the faster track, so when both are pressed forward, to the tuned limits, the tracks will travel at the same speed. Not a permanent solution, but a cheap one.

[@tylerbarrett6652]

Okay... Looks like you got a good plan. I am COMPLETELY ignorant when it comes to hydraulic oil. Years ago I had an engine hoist that used it... but my question is whether it can be contaminated with water, which of course would go thru a 3 micron filter... and then viscosity breakdown. I'd imagine you could recycle the oil many many times before either of these things become a problem, but I'm wondering what conclusion you came to when you thought of this.

[@amosbackstrom5366]

It would have been pretty awesome to see you install a giant copper-graphite swivel ring complete with isolated "electrical lanes", commutators and brushes. I imagine that's how you'd have to do it... Only other way is to put the electrical swivel 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 the hydraulic swivel, which is a complete redesign straight outta hell😂

[@MuntyScruntFundle]

Personally, I’d like to see the pump rebuilt. If that’s the issue it would be nice to see it fixed. Would also be interesting. And I’d love to see you throw your hat on the floor when it turns out not to be the problem!! 🤣

[@PaulRansonArt]

Hi John - I admire your dogged determination to solve the tracking issue. If it all comes down to hydraulic pressure then is it not possible to fit an inline pressure regulator? A little fine tuning would balance the pressure going to the travel motors without the complications of cross over valves, pipes et al. BTW I'm not a hydraulic specialist so feel free to have the laughing men ready and have the bad seal bit me 🦁

[@tutekohe1361]

What you are suggesting is the equivalent of reducing the flow on the ‘good’ side. An option Jon was not interested in doing.

[@PaulRansonArt]

@@tutekohe1361 Thank you. I missed that vital bit of info. 😃😃

[@99rkrouse]

I really appreciate the way you diagnose problems and explain your logic.

[@Mr.Engineer.]

It is always fun watching you work on, modify and troubleshoot your equipment, so yeah, would like to see you modify your excavator for straight "fast speed" tracking :D How are your ROI for the solar system going? On track or going even faster than expected?

[@handymanshan]

Hey John, long time listener first time caller. I saw a video of Tony Beets using a homemade excavator dolly behind a dump truck to move long distances faster. You might be able to move it around with the tractor. Just an interesting project idea. Thanks for the videos! Im an engineer and I do a ton of complex troubleshooting in my career. Your methodical approach is always clear and concise.

[@jussiroukka9664]

We had a simiar problem in Finland. After many reparations we found a hydraulic hose Broken inside, thus making the flow slower.

[@charlesmoore456]

I would love to see you do a pump rebuild, but not until it NEEDS it.

[@andrewbrenneman9592]

There are straight travel pedals available. However such pedal is used mostly on larger machines for road construction.

[@gamerjay6624]

Are you my doppelganger?

[@rustyriley51]

The company I work for does about 300M a year and we primarily run Cat equipment and they all track dead straight from brand new to 20,000+ hrs. I seen Ho’s walked 2 miles or more and you can look at their trails never see a corse correction. Once in my 8 years in working here I remember someone was dealing with a tracking problem which was the a travel motor on a 336d. We rent others brands frequently and tracking isn’t a problem I really ever come across. I like the Yanmar’s sorry that one is fighting you, really like watching your process!!

[@DavidVanHelden1]

This may be a stupid question but....would unequal tread depth on a rubber track make the machine not track straight on a hard surface ? ....

[@TheBibliofilus]

At first the machine had one old and one new track when displaying the tacking issue, then he replaced the old bad track with a new one and the problem still's there and shifts side then moving hoses so it's a hydraulic problem.

[@2098723]

I'm in excavations, and definitely wouldn't just settle for it not tracking straight, my excavators are similar age and some way more hours, and its not normal for them to be far off tracking perfectly straight. My 3 ton komatsu excavator is a 2001 model, it has tracking deviation adjustment valve, ive never used it, but noticed it in the workshop manual, im guessing you must not have one for your yanmar. I'd be really interested in seeing you rebuild the pump. I'm sure it would be a bit of a job, but good content.

[@supertrooper7403]

Jon! Hey Jon! You home? Where ya been? Just checkin on ya brother. Hope all is well. Matt

[@bebo5558]

Just adjust the linkage on the foot control levers to sync the track speeds!

[@Jon.S]

I’m surprised that rebuilding the pump isn’t the easier option. Seems like the modification is a lot of work as well as introducing more complexity to an already complex setup.

[@jeffallen3382]

That's what I'm thinking.

[@TheBibliofilus]

Problem is that he's found that it's got wear in both pump and travel motor and if he rebuilds the pump, it might not solve it either, worst case the other side might become the slow side..

[@insane569]

Shout out vevor. I have their 4 gallon slush machine. Love using it for horchata and lemonade on a hot weekend. Also used it with margarita mix and some alcohol. Its a fantastic machine and very sturdy and well built. I was impressed. Definitely gonna buy more of their products.

[@nckmackay]

John don’t forget just like you said the hydraulic oil does do a lot of different jobs. so it is important to change the oil and not just filter it because the oil itself will break down overtime and become less effective at doing his job.

[@MA603lfod]

Good stuff Jon. Can’t wait to see the job you are getting these rigs ready for.

[@jimclasquin]

I appreciate your approach to problems and your skill sets. I too struggle with welding, but primarily because my helmet and lens suck. Can you do a comparison of welding helmets and lenses?

[@frankfleck3353]

Do you have a pilot pump, if so try resetting the pressure up on the side that is slow I hope that helps from a link belt dealer mechanic frank

[@jimclasquin]

@@frankfleck3353 ?

[@bryancunningham1095]

I dont know much about hydraulics but there should be a way to restrict the flow down at the tract where it wouldn't effect the other functions with some sort of an adjustable regulator. I do enjoy watching your videos and learn alot about your problem solving and general education on different things.

[@paulmace7910]

I would not do the mod you are contemplating. The juice ain’t worth the squeeze. I think a flow control (needle) valve on the fast side would be the ticket. The machine speed is limited to the slow side anyway so you are just limiting both to the slower side. It’s not that much anyway. Just get a big enough valve to not limit the wide open flow. Industrial applications use a filter cart with an electric pump and filter that sucks the oil out, filters it and then returns it to the tank. IMHO you are introducing more dirt by draining and refilling than you are removing by filtering.

[@shuman26V]

Jon, I'm very invested in this and hope you get it figured out. 1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the lines at the pump were ever swapped. Would that narrow down the issue between pump vs spool? 2. This may be a DUMB suggestion -- but could the spool be "over" corrected? As you push the left lever down, is the output completely linear, or does it actually output more at say, 75% of the way down? Good luck! Very jealous of your machine

[@Squibbleses]

Mod-i-fi-cation! *pounds mug on table* mod-i-fi-cation!! Modification!

[@PatrickKQ4HBD]

Regarding filtering, can you plumb a 3 micron filter housing from one of those test ports and find a return line to tie it back into? It only needs a little bit of flow running all the time to keep the fluid in pristine condition.

[@inkman996]

You could slightly adjust the hard stop on the travel levers, the side going faster. Of course that will only help when the levers are at full throw but thats kind what you would be doing anyways while traveling some distance.

[@artstudio9673]

John, I just love you channel and how you trouble shoot and explain things! You Diesel Creek and AVE are just the best things on KZbin!!!!!!! learn so much from you guys!!!!!!! Thank you for all that you do....

[@aaronpreston47]

Unless you already have, I would check to see if the Pressure Relief Valves on the spool controls are set for the same relief pressure. If one is adjusted lower then the other it would release pressure back to the tank and both controls would be at different pressures. In that case one drive motor would be getting less pressure than the other.

[@nicholasbryant6122]

I run a Linkbelt 290 x2 with a Waratah 624 super on it. The Linkbelts excavators and log loaders all have a third peddle for traveling straight forward and back, I suspect that extra peddle works exactly like the idea you presented.

[@davidbarnes5953]

Use the filter on a pressure tap and loop it back to the holding tank. No need for the rig and you're using the pump of the machine to move the oil through the loop.

[@videodistro]

My suggestion was similar. He already has lots of hoses and pumps going. Tap into k e and use it.

[@timberterra]

I am one of those suffering from non-straight-excavator-travel syndrome (or is it a disorder?). Glad you did the work to conclude I'm simply normal. Appreciate your efforts and teaching.

[@leveretth]

31:18 See? Right there! It's all in the tongue. Get that tongue action right, and everything falls into place! 😉

[@Goalsplus]

A compass and a range finder, Jon. Point the excavator 90 degrees to the line you want to travel have your target site on your left. Put your foot down and let the machine go "straight" ahead. Once you have done a 180-degree arc, repeat until you get where you want to go. Easy and relaxing.

[@daniellassander]

How is John, i am beginning to get a little worried over here, 2 weeks since his last upload and he has been uploading regularly every single week, i hope he is well and have either taken a break or is working on a larger project whichever is perfectly fine with me personally. I just want to know if he is well, thats really all.

[@BjornV78]

Regarding the hydraulic oil filtering, i saw that you have a Vevor oil extractor tank, if you buy a second one, you can keep that tank only for oil filtering. Fill the tank, then add compressed air to it like you normal do to empty the tank, but push the hydraulic oil through the filter on the output, straight into clean buckets / containers to hold the filtered oil.

[@hillppari]

i guess thats why they use excavators with wheels when they need to travel some distances

[@davedunn4285]

Glad to see your problem was fixed The welding on the other hand needs a little work