Going All Out On The Hitachi Servicing!

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[@davidpatrick3533]

Thanks for the video! I just bought the same machine, with 10,150 hrs. Not sure if you saw it or not, but there's a really important filter/ screen inside the banjo fitting bolt on the inlet side of the water separator. Remove the inlet bolt and inside the bolt is a screen. Mine was full of crud and was an easy one to clean while I had the fuel system valves off. Symptoms would be similar as a clogged filter FYI. Another one I'm working on today is lack of airflow from the hvac system. Blower spins fast but no air. I had to take the seat out to find the condenser coil inlet side was caked full of dirt!

[@janvandenbos7085]

Very good oil and filters changing, hydrolic cilinders getting repacked, clearing up the hydrolic oil from leaking cylinder, painting the scratches on the back, and than the Hitachi is good to go, tinting foil on cab windows, airco working nice job Chris 😎👍👌

[@sammig330]

You should make a video about getting the whole thing cleanned up like paint and and refreshing the plastic on the cabin. Would be cool to see this thing looking brand new. Love the vids by the way

[@jashaw0030]

I see they rough grade and knock trees over with the counterweight and frame rails everywhere...Add to your list--> some things that get overlooked -- Change final drive oil and toss some grease into swing gear cavity-- The grease zerks only grease the ball bearings, not the gear itself--diamond shaped cover with 2 bolts attaching it between boom cylinders or in tool box bottom--If theres lots of water in the cavity, theres a matching cover under track frame to drain it. (remove with caution if lots of water!) toss in 6 tubes, rotate 90 degrees and repeat. May not have the problem there, but where it's cold, the water in there freezes and then breaks up when you swing and destroys the seal on swing drive--then that dipstick on the swing drive reads empty.

[@davidmorse8432]

Glad you mentioned greasing the ring gear on the swing mechanism. Very few people realize that this needs to be done. I use extra heavy open gear grease that comes in a caulk tube, (Lubriplate). Push it into the gear teeth with my fingers rotate a little and do it again. Also drain and refill the oil in the planetary drive on the swing pinion final drive.

[@BennHerr]

On the plus side, the leaks keep it from rusting!

[@barryhansen6854]

Good to see even on an old machine you give it the maximum TLC will pay back in dividends in the future.

[@Mrbink01]

"Seems kind of stupid" Two minutes later "That's actually a pretty nifty design"

[@toddreynolds8875]

There is a little. Wrench. That looks like a tierod fork. To release your lock. When you want to put it down stick your dipper stick straight up and down. Pull on release pin and it will drop. Then put big pin in and slide it with bucket till it falls in hole. Actually a neat set up. Had a couple years ago. Wrench probably in tool box

[@Will7981]

Thanks. I'm sure glad you are working on fixing the door handle bar. It's driving my OCD self crazy looking at it all f'd up sticking straight out like that.👍🏻👍🏻

[@normanbuchanan9710]

I knew you are a master at operating them just didn't know you were nifty at servicing them too👍👍💪💪

[@andybockex]

I've had a lot of these machines. Sold one to a farmer 18500 hours still working great same engine

[@junkman6456]

I crank the engine always a few times with the starter motor and pulled fuel pump fuses. That drains a half litre from the used oil additionally out.

[@Corndogking514]

Sounds not worth it. Just change your oil regularly.

[@danielmarek4609]

I've watched your channel for a while and I am impressed on how well you take care of your equipment.

[@keithdunlap2701]

I was gonna say something about the Tint but , ya beat me to it !! lolol.. But , what about those Scratches across the back !! I know that's gonna drive ya crazy Chris.....You'll get it Pimped Out soon......lolol Have a Good evening Man !

[@howlandexcavating]

Chris, the best thing you can do for that excavator is drain all the hydraulic fluid and replace. And of course the filters as well. Remember, if the cylinders are weeping that bad, they are also taking particles in! We have a little ex60 that needs a pump rebuild because I was lax on resealing my curl cylinder. Eventually the contamination that got by the filters destroyed the main pump.

[@timothyball3144]

Good job sending out the cylinders to be resealed. The Piston nut torque is in the 2000 lb/ft range. The rod guide bolts come out by hand, not an impact. I always use a 3/4 Allen with a 5-6 foot cheater pipe. About 1/4 turn and they should come out by hand. You should have the ability to read basic codes, switches and pressures on the instrument panel. ... I was going to say how to get into the maintenance mode, but I'd have to look at one again to remember. Basically, with the key off, you push and hold two buttons as you turn the key on. Then you can scroll to different items. It's nice to have, but it's not so easy to use. I've plumbed a bunch of thumbs on the Deere 200s with a separate, dedicated hammer circuit. Hydraulic Thumbs are easy, but it's apparently not so needed in your AO.

[@bluethermal]

before fitting a new filter clean the threads as there will usually be metal swarf that will be injested into engine. Marty T taught me this.

[@jimlong527]

The old back yard mechanic doing a good job in your (and our) southern go to church flip flops. Good video

[@dieselfuel6006]

I have a older machine like that and I steamed cleaned it then I tried buffing it one weekend and to my surprise the paint started to cleanup and shine Again!!

[@davidsewell3477]

The engine sounds amazing. Its a tidy machine....well bought that man

[@Graveltrucking]

I would be changing out the hydraulic filter there might be one for the pilot controls. It’s cheap insurance to replace the hyd oil as well. The system is open it’s a good time to do it. When you have wiper seals blown out you are getting dirt into the system.

[@0778drz110]

From the thumbnail i thought you were repainting the boom already, but that was just all the oil on it making it shine lol I like flip flops screw the haters!

[@eddiekilby]

That Isuzu is a very solid engine.

[@sheepdog271]

Nice machine! Those were nice service trucks to!

[@aaronluper6430]

Great video Chris. Very informative. Nice job!

[@bradfordlunt1468]

I really enjoy the maintenance and repair videos Thanks!

[@Chickenman62]

servicing the heavy machinery in flip flops lol

[@gregshearer423]

Dale Smalley health and safety approved 😂😂😂

[@TheGeezzer]

Nothing heavy has dropped on his toes yet, when it does he's gonna yelp real loud and won't be wearing barefoot flip flops again! 💥💨😮💨😝💨🐵 I always wear my steel toe capped timberland boots in workshops etc.🤔

[@silentepsilon888]

those are OSHA certified flip flops. I have them too, they cost $2.95 more than regular ones to get the OSHA certification stamp on the bottom.

[@Chickenman62]

@@TheGeezzer thus the name flip flop came into play when something fell or was dropped on your toes you would flip and then flop lol

[@WhereWasItLastTime]

And did you know that the patent for these safety sandals was taken out by the French inventor Philippe Fellop? It's ok, I'm just leaving . . .

[@clayboist]

Hope you got more of these coming chris! This would be a cool little "rebuild refresh series"

[@denisricher1349]

Dr Chris working on the Hitachi.... Logger Wade would be rolling on the ground laughing at the blue gloves...

[@toddreynolds8875]

Best mechanical thumb ever made. Geith. Slide rail. Top should just be a quick pin instead of a bolt

[@donc81]

Did Hitachi come from the factory with these? Andrew camarata has the exact same setup on his

[@toddreynolds8875]

@@donc81 no. Just a coincidence

[@callumbeaton4012]

Nice clean oli chance the guy knows what hes doing good job

[@djdeaf13]

Andrew Camarata has several machines with that thumb type.

[@prinzeugenvansovoyen732]

i think letsdig is on another level & scale than Andrew andrew makes backyard jobs while letsdig makes large scale land cultivation/larger projects

[@MrPatrick1968]

@@prinzeugenvansovoyen732 Andrew camarata has 130 thousand views for servicing a utv compared to 66thousand views of of this video in the same time period,,

[@MrPatrick1968]

@@prinzeugenvansovoyen732 so what is another level ,,, he operates his machines he fixed his machines as well as anything else that's broken,just cos there not all shiney and new it makes him a lesser person????

[@prinzeugenvansovoyen732]

@@MrPatrick1968 nah you misinterpreted what i say , i just meant you cant compare them all that good bc of project sizes and the size of the maschinery most oftenly used

[@snowblowerman5115]

@@prinzeugenvansovoyen732 yeah but andrew also built his company from nothing. As far as I know Chris works for his uncle. Nothing against Chris at all. Just saying that they are in totally different situations.

[@eliteearthworksllc]

Looks and sounds like a good solid machine. Be like brand new when the cylinders get done

[@hypnolobster]

That upper sprung pin is a stop to keep the thumb from dropping all the way down, and to get you close to the lower hole for the bigger locking pin. The weird shape below it is to register some kind of specialty prybar that pulls on both sides of the rollpin.

[@stephenkeefer3436]

Sure hope you’re staying hydrated young fella !! This doggone heat will flat take a guy out!. Stay safe my friend.

[@jd9946]

My company requires pants and steel toed boots on the job, but if I was on my own time I'd be rockin shorts and flip flops too.

[@hahah2804]

Lmfao right bro, I’d be rocking socks inside on the excavator

[@wtwoffroad]

Damn, those older machines don’t look much different at all from the ones i build at Deere-hitachi everyday. Main frame welding technician. Know you don’t run our machines really but you should definitely try to go on one of the plant tours.

[@carsons6519]

The two small pins are a latch when you go to fold down there is a tool from geith to stick in there to pop the latch loose..

[@mjlmbl]

Did you cosult honest cams used equipment appraisals prior to purchase?

[@johnm.evangelis693]

The oil Chris looks like black gold!!!

[@kerrygleeson4409]

Hitachi 200LC specifications sheet www.hitachiconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ZX200-3_specs.pdf

[@jg413]

The best operators usually don’t have to leave the cab and flip flops are to comfortable to leave behind!! Nice work and enjoy your vidjeas! I see you eyeballing them scratches on counter weight:-)

[@tomwold5366]

I liked how Volvo uses a hose u thread on to drop the oil...No mess

[@arkansas1336]

I see paint, wash and a shine in the future.

[@primus108]

By the time you are done, the Hitachi will sparkle like a new tooth.

[@ROTTK9]

4 hours into the 2nd job for that machine " getting a hydraulic thumb "

[@silentepsilon888]

.... if the machine's hydraulics and electrics are wired for a hydraulic thumb. It can't just be bolted on, it needs the systems to run and support it too.

[@prinzeugenvansovoyen732]

@@silentepsilon888 you can easily lay a line and make a extra foot pedal or lever with a solenoid valve switch but thats then annoying to switch between levers every minute or so

[@chriswatts4145]

I was going to say something about power washing the machine while it was stripped of the hydraulics, but I understand that you can't move it and you mentioned leaving the belly plate off for washing it later. Paint would be nice but a waste if it's going to be a farm machine.

[@truckwizard101kenworth2]

Love the new hitachi my dad has one they are a very good machine

[@miltonhurd1016]

Is there a schedule for swapping out the hydraulic lines?

[@gangesexcavating]

Again, good work Chris. Looks like you got yourself a banger of an excavator there.

[@cliffmorain7215]

Just an idea Chris, put a 18" wide plywood across the trax to sit you drain pan on.

[@grahamefreestone5309]

I've never been close to a decent size excavator, only the mini ones and at 5:32 it actually surprised me how big this one is.. That thumb is as big as Chris. Lol. 👍

[@sonsrc1326]

I’m marine engineer I just love watching your videos u always got plenty to do 👍👊🏼🤜🏼

[@PatrickKelly-lz3pv]

Enjoyed the video thumbs up.

[@joemiller5527]

Chris Geith has a special little pry tool that moves those roll pin locks with forks on it.

[@davestinson5691]

I hope it's a good tractor 4 u. Thought about 1 of ur old vids today. I was n my 320 w no shoes on lol. So much more comfy

[@timcavazos]

Don't worry I won't say oh no run it's GODZILLA! 😂😅😅😂👍. I swear when you first loaded it that's what it looked looked like coming through the dirt cloud.

[@noc8076]

Put one or two IBC toted on a trailer, fill them with water and bring a pressure washer. You could do that on every job to clean off equipment. And get some polishing compound and touch up paint. It will make the machine look like new getting rid of all that oxidation.

[@clydeacor1911]

That's what I use for water for my pressure washer.

[@jamesshanks2614]

IBC totes come in two sizes, 275 or 330 gallons. Make sure when you buy a couple that they were food grade products instead of chemicals as the chemical ones can have nasty side effects.

[@craigsmith8217]

Old man told me that it don't matter what brand of oil you use. It's all slicky.

[@michaelleidheisl8079]

Hey there Chris, my wife and I enjoy your show by the way. Not a night goes by that she's not asking is there a new show on with Chris tonight. About that thing a majig, my wife suggest you look it up on KZbin.

[@jimlong527]

Did you bypass the top pin hole ? The pin is now setting and rubbing on the boom. I maybe wrong but it’s the way I see it.

[@letsdig18]

it looks like the thumb would smash into the boom if you locked it in that top hole

[@Big_John_C]

The locking pin for the thumb should pull out and turn a bit, locking it open. Always money in your pocket when you can service your own equipment.

[@vhostovich]

Thanks for taking the time to move camera.

[@bradfordlunt1468]

Wow that cyl was really leaking bad! Hope all the sealing areas are good!

[@SuperiorHealthNC]

Uncle sure is gonna miss you bro!

[@xtort1077777]

😄 my thinkin' too, he likes the Volvo tho.

[@samson1200]

Pink would be an outstanding color to paint it! lol.

[@bebo5558]

Noel Martin. Don't forget the polka dots!

[@JayJay-de8vq]

Chris for machine service! MHGA! Make Hitachi Great Again!

[@jamesshanks2614]

Got an extra valve body on that machine so you could add another cylinder for a hydraulic thumb? As you know from other machines it is the easy and safe way to go..

[@DavidD-qr2vn]

Looked like a smaller belly panel missing while you were under there. Might want to make one to replace it so you don't get mud and dirt up in the engine bay.

[@aaronox1649]

Doing his thing in flip flops 🤘

[@froggleggers1805]

You should be able to find a pdf format manual online for this beast.

[@firethunderd]

Got to paint it grey and slap your logo on it!

[@The_blindpizzaguy1300]

It sounds like it runs nicely.

[@larrymccready6778]

Really enjoy watching you working on the equipment. A lot of upkeep.

[@csnelling4]

Nice work Chris👍🇬🇧 Make sure the radiator core is clean (both sides) if you already haven’t , used to get a few plant vehicles in our workshops with overheating problems and usually it was the rad. Core clogged with oily dirt .

[@Fireman9ify]

Looks like a geith thumb, they are manufactured in Ireland. Thumbs aren't very popular in Ireland. Geith stuff is generally well made, they produce buckets and quick hitches etc

[@seanmcglynn452]

I live in donegal

[@toddreynolds8875]

@@seanmcglynn452 we loved Ireland finally went last October. Loved donegal. We had little rental car. Drove 2000 km in 6 days. Drove all over. Stayed in castles (groupon) lough eske was one. We drove a ton of bag roads up above killabeg. Beautiful country will return for sure

[@nickbongiovanni1572]

That little thing you said you got twice on the side it keeps a dog bone in place when you got the thumb up

[@leol1682]

Like the service your doing have good weekend man .

[@ajc7166]

Whats the worse that can happen you said, at this point I paused the vid and started to make a list. Cracking those welds were about 3rd on the list just after ripping them right off and just before taking the side window out. Great stuff keep them coming.

[@pootmahgoots8482]

Fills oil without funnel. Funnel is sitting next to the jugs of oil a feet away. 😂

[@tomwold5366]

Changing swing gear oil, planetary oil, hydraulic filters ,air & cab filters ???

[@damarkushammond8775]

I've been waiting for this video I can't wait to see when you finally put it on a job an put it to work

[@xtort1077777]

@daniel bean he's got some jobs lined up for it, it won't take him long to make it full time Hitachi, just you watch.

[@davidclitheroe4532]

You need a mirror for the door side?

[@joehlavacek5280]

How u do the shot when your filling the oil back up looking down ?

[@master_vator]

Man he must make some good dough, no hate, good for u

[@bobglenn1476]

Keep an eye on those oil filter lines !! They don't last as long as all the hydraulic lines do !! If they leak make sure to get the lines that Hitachi used on that thing !! Ask me how I know about that !!

[@oneemptymag]

Check the swing gear oil and make sure it’s not full of water. It would sure make a good video of it being changed if need be.

[@russellheaton4930]

Nice work Chris

[@mikefightmaster]

Maintenance is everything.

[@tray8411]

How do you like the Hitachi overall?

[@toddreynolds8875]

Wow. Big money war bucks. We re do our own rams.

[@mikehornsby599]

Great job enjoyed that!!!!

[@jimlong527]

You are probably are right but I am sure you will make it right. Great video we all learn something.

[@tazmun]

How does your Hitachi stack up to size compared to one of your Volvos?

[@DarqeDestroyer]

At 14:54 I checked my phone, and there was nothing there. Then I rewound five seconds, watched again, and felt like an idiot.

[@KPearce57]

Maybe the cabin air filter is un-maintained as the rest of the machine, might help the AC if it was gut un clean. :)

[@timmyfrierson2684]

K.D. Pearce more than likely inter and outer AC filters need to be changed

[@prinzeugenvansovoyen732]

@@timmyfrierson2684 and the AC system disinfected

[@brianrobson3183]

Do u guys ever take oil samples

[@jamesbond9873]

Enjoying this video. Thanks

[@petewood2350]

If you choose to, it would not be hard to make tha a hydraulic thumb, just pick up a suitable ram from a machinery wrecker, and run a couple of accessory lines.

[@MrSuperBrite]

Seems like you noticed people are interested to see the maintenance part of the job too.