Conquer Contamination with Hydraulic Cylinder Repair
Contamination causes many hydraulic system failures. Learn where contamination begins and how it harms your machine. Plus, see how your Cat® dealer offers the right hydraulic cylinder repair options to get your machine back up and running.
Estimated read time: 3 minutes
How do you know your hydraulic system is contaminated? The first sign is leakage.
This traces back to your cylinder rod. One of the most common entry points for contamination is damage on the rod’s surface.
Senior Hydraulics Consultant Jeremy Carter explains that contaminants can get caught in any pitting, scoring, or denting on a rod. As the rod retracts, those contaminants enter the hydraulic system.
Once contamination enters the cylinder, the inside of the cylinder bore and the piston seals get damaged. Internal leaking begins and efficiency starts to erode, eventually leading to catastrophic failure.
Get an inside look at how contamination starts and how to look out for it in this video.
HOW CONTAMINATION AFFECTS YOUR MACHINE
Contamination leads to efficiency loss, and as a result, significant downtime.
As Carter puts it, “We refer to contamination as the invisible thief because many contaminants are too small to be seen with the naked eye.”
Efficiency loss can reach a significant amount before an operator detects a problem with machine performance. That’s time your business can’t afford to lose. Efficiency loss also increases fuel usage, so your machine becomes more expensive to run as it’s less productive.
Ultimately, if your machine gets to the point of catastrophic failure, the remedy will be costly.
REPAIR SOLUTIONS RIGHT FOR YOU
Contaminants can create major failure, frustration, and setbacks on your mine site, but your Cat dealer can offer a repair solution that is designed to accommodate you and your operation’s needs.
Repair options include:
Cylinder light hone and reseal
Dealer rebuild or exchange
Cat Reman
New Cat parts
“[Cat dealers are] equipped to provide repairs, contamination-free, through the use of clean fluids, specialized tooling, and processes in Caterpillar certified clean repair facilities,” Carter says.
Do you have concerns about your hydraulic system? Contact your local Cat dealer for hydraulic cylinder repair options that are right for your mining site. In the meantime, find out more about repair options for mining equipment here.
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