CAT 312 EXCAVATOR HOW TO CHANGE THE HYDRAULIC OIL

WHAT TO USE & FILTER REMOVAL

For farmers in NZ the CAT 312 BL is a strong 13 tonne excavator and the best choice for the work of drains, swamps and lake clearing on the farm. The smaller 312B does not have a greater track wheelbase and long stick as the BL models which are a lot stronger but are also an ideal farm machine. But they were popular and still are in NZ. They are easy to use and comfortable with air condition, heater and lights & sound etc. They do use diesel around 4-5 gallons per hour but there is a warning buzzer that indicates when youre running low on gas to let you know. Overall they are the bext choice for medium size excavators and parts are easy to get via Goughs now called TERRACAT although not cheap?? Goughs told us they have never had a motor blow on these machines which is a good omen but like anything keep up the maintenance and they will serve you will.

FUEL CONSUMPTION

Cat 320 for 7 hours average 6 gallons per hour consumption

Cat 311- 312 - 315 Excavator On full throttle uses about 4 gallons per hour depending on the work which is 30-35 gallons in 8 hours on the hour meter.

CL on a cat excavator? is a Model designator. The C is generally stands for the the 3rd generation of that particular model machine. The L usually designates that machine as having a longer (than normal) set of crawler tracks. An example would be Cat 320CL Excavator or the 312 BL

The 312B has a 3064 turbo diesel engine producing 84 flywheel HP (FWHP). It comes standard with a power and work mode selector including a new user mode, and very good operator seat and console with longer stick.

WHERE TO BUY PARTS IN NZ:

# Mufflers made Waitara: 06 8256351

# Doors & parts Lakeland:07 3470765   0274945886  info@heavy-machinery.co.nz

Lakeland Heavy Machinery 126-136 View Rd, P.O.Box 1976 Rotorua

# Excavator World Hokitika. : 483B Hau Hau Rd, Hokitika 7811 Tel: 03-756 8020

http://www.excavatorworld.co.nz/dismantling.html

# After Market Parts & used CAT or Komatsu Parts try Machinery Specialists in Palmerston North as they import all the time & can decant Valvolene Hudraulic W10 C4 oil for you. Approx $160NZ + GST. Tel: 063568459

FILTERS ARE EXPENSIVE SO TRY

www.transmax.co.nz Tel 0800 548035 for after market parts

EXCAVATOR WRECKERS

# Porter Group in Hamilton wreck many excavators as well. Tel: 07-849 3956

www.portergroup.co.nz

OVERSEAS PARTS:

http://www.vankeppelusedparts.com/dismantled.htm

ARE WRECKING: 2004 Cat 330cl

HYDRAULIC OIL FOR CAT 312

1/. Always ring Castrol for the right hydraulic oil to use in your CAT or any other machine. Terracat use 10w hydraulic oil but it pays to check an equivalent and for our 2001 CAT 312 BL we are told to use Castrol Transmax Offroad 10 oil as this has zinc & emulsifier in the mix. You can also use Valvoline C4 10W & there are other W10s.

Do not use Castrol AWS46 for complete oil change. Ok for adding if you break a hose or topup

For Hydraulic oil try PartsDirect

Hydraulic tank bung

WATER IN YOUR HYDRAULIC SYSTEM

You can tell if your view sight glass in your right side hydraulic cabinet shows a whitish colour & then the lines will need to be flushed. To do this you need to stretch the boom and stick as far out as possible to crack the hydraulic lines at your bucket. You then need to change your 3 filters. The big return filter in your tank as well as the 2x filters in your right compartment. The cost from Terracat is around $360NZ just for the 3 filters but dont worry 1.9 Kubota filters are just as dear??.

Before you drain the oil from the tank, extend the stick, curl the bucket as far as it will go until the teeth are away from the excavator, then lower the boom until the teeth/front bucket touch the ground. Set the excavator a 1/4 turn so you can put a big container undeer the drain plug [eg. rubbisn bin ]. or you can syphon into a 44 gallon 200 litre tank. If you have the right terrain drop the boom over the edge of a bank until the boom cylinders are as far down as they will go, if they bottom out even better.

Once you have drained as well as the lines and refilled the oil to the max mark on the sight gauge in the hydraulic tank, raise the boom, put the stick so it's hanging vertical towards the ground at a 45 degree angle, and curl the bucket back towards the machine until when you lower the boom the base edge of the bucket & teeth are parallel to the ground. This is the correct position of the equipment to do the daily check of hydraulic fluid level.

Note the cloudy oil--water in the system

At this point check the oil level again, you will find it will be well low. Top up to max mark and you're good to go. The hydraulic tank will not be pressurized when the oil is cold, only when warm. Obviously with any tank like that that builds pressure during operation be careful when you first crack the cap even with cold oil.

If you have water in the lines OK you can crack the end lines to get the water/oil out down by the bucket but if just changing oil you do not need to open any lines. When you open the tank nut always open when cold not hot & even then open gentle in case of pressure. Some nuts are very tight. Normally there will be a housing plate with 4 bolts underneath to access the drain plug. If water then water is denser than oil so will sit on the bottom. Make sure you have some containers ready as theres around 98 litres in the tank but a rubbish bin is cheap-- aplastic rubbish bin 70litre from Warehouse is only $15. If you have other contaminants then you have to clean out everything/lines etc & this is a huge job.

To take your return filter out theres a nack in doing it.

The return filter you need to take off 4 bolts. Make sure the outside housing is clean. Check & take off pressure of the vent nut on the filter case—don’t tighten hard as its aluminium. Read instructions if any. Raise slightly with the handle –you will see a holding wire dog circlip around the inside lip but don’t take this off until after you take the cylinder out of the machine holding tank on later models. Then turn left 90 degrees left or anti clockwise then another 90 degrees then raise the canister—it will be in a slot so note this as you need to put the cylonder back exactly the same way in reverse. On earlier models you need to take circlip off in the process & remove the old cleaner. These are around $140 each so try to buy after market. Then drain your front lines on the hoses by your bucket to empty the lines.

Remove the cartridge and change the filter--this is when you take the circlip off. You close off 2 valves when you take the canister out so all the dirt is inside the canister when you clean it and change the filter. Change filter then return same way with the slot lined up turn 180 degrees then at the end pushing down the canister to home it. Check O rings to make sure they are not flat & clean.

When you load say 4x 20 litre containers of new W10 oil it will just show on the inspection glass. But once you raise your boom to the 45 degree angle you will need to top up to the correct level.

In the hydraulic compartment change the 2 filters and have a drain container to catch the oil. You do not need to fill the new filters with oil and place back. They say just hand tight?? Once you have loaded the oil then start the machine and put in the upright position and recheck the oil level on your inspection glass in the compartment. Add oil then reattach the cover plate and all done. If you cant get the bung out underneath then undo the 4 blots on the plate. Torque back when you replace and check for leaks.If you have water in th tank this will come out first.

Transmax Offroad 10

Powershift Transmission FluidDescriptionCastrol Transmax Offroad 10 is a transmission lubricant using highly refined mineral oil, designed for use in powershifttransmissions, direct drive transmissions, wet disc brakes, final drives and differentials in off road machinery whereCaterpillar TO-4 is required. It is approved against ZF TE ML 03C and recommended for use in Komatsu & CAT off roadmachinery drivetrain and hydraulics.

AdvantagesGood oxidation stability maintains high temperature performance and transmission cleanliness during servicelife.Stable friction characteristics eliminate slippage and reduce brake noise.Excellent friction performance with a wide range of friction materials ensures smooth positive changes andenhanced friction material durability.Improved wear performance extends component life.

Only use AWS 46 for topping up if you break a hydraulic line as this oil is widely available but not when changing your oil always use Tansmax offroad 10 Castrol oil or Vectron 15W 40 C14 plus oil or Dynatrans ACX W10 oil or Valvoline C4 W10 oil..

WHAT TO USE OLD HYDRAULIC OIL FOR

mix with kerosene to make penetrating oil

The 311 with swamp tracks

WEDGELOCK in Lower Hutt Toll-free: 0800 424 482 NZ are the main Kiwi Leaders in the design and manufacture of world-class excavator attachments, solving some of the toughest earthmoving challenges on the planet! These guys make rakes,rippers, rollers, lock tilt buckets any buckets, thumbs,grabs,couplings etc http://www.wedgelock.com. However we also have made in Thailand & China to your specs and can import CAT after market parts. We are having made rakes and grab rakes for these excavators.

When buying parts always quote your model and serial number as there are many variations. If you need parts etc for the 311 please ask us as we have a parts book and service manual for this model. A workshop manual can cost up to $650??? so not cheap.

If you need help check the costs for a diagnosis as not cheap:

Goughs & Mobile Solutions charge around $500NZ for an outcall and then once they return to do the work the bill rises so if you can do a lot yourself then better. Most cases ask for a quote first as its not cheap for the work and can cost 1000s.

We are preparing more pages to help farmers in NZ with maintenance & servicing etc.

CAT 311-312 [ CAB view & monitoring Spec pics ] [ CAT handy hints ] [ CAT 312 cab info ] [ CAT 311& 312 info views ] [ CAT 312 engine ]

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