The last thing you want is for your excavator to break down while you are trying to meet a deadline. What’s more, the fact that your excavator is probably the most expensive piece of machinery you own, also means that repair costs can be quite high. Consequently, you need to be aware and able to identify major causes of excavator breakdowns since identifying them could save you a significant amount of money and allow you to maintain your work schedule without having to deal with the frustrations and expenses of downtime.
At Langley Excavator Parts Exchange, excavators have been our business since 1977 and from 1995 onward, we’ve focused exclusively on, sourcing, rebuilding, fixing, and shipping reliable parts for John Deere and Hitachi excavators. We’d like to share with you some valuable information about the causes of excavator breakdowns.
Types of Excavator Breakdowns
The most easily identifiable breakdowns are the ones that occur suddenly without any previous warning. These types of breakdowns are usually diagnosed quickly since the failed part is discernable.
Another category of breakdowns are those that occur intermittently and since they can happen randomly, diagnosing them could be challenging. As a result, these breakdowns can take time to repair and extend your excavator downtime.
The most preventable breakdowns are those that you know are going to occur eventually due to normal wear and tear of parts. These breakdowns can be prevented by sticking to your scheduled maintenance program and, as we often advised, by conducting regular inspections to monitor the condition of your excavator.
Causes of Excavator Breakdowns
Being aware of what contributes to excavator breakdowns will help you avoid unexpected and costly downtime. Often the causes of the breakdowns are easily identifiable and can be repaired relatively quickly. However, in the case of intermittent failure, identifying the cause can be a little challenging and involve longer and costlier delays so it’s important to keep in mind the basic reasons why these breakdowns could occur.
Thermally Induced Failure
One of the basic causes of excavator failures is thermally induced failure. As the name suggests, these failures are caused by fluctuations or extremes in temperature. These conditions can occur in winter when the temperatures are low. Failure can also occur when your excavator is overheated, especially in hot weather. Therefore, you need to take into consideration weather conditions and prepare/protect your excavator accordingly.
Mechanically Induced Failure
Another reason for a breakdown is mechanically induced failure. This type of failure can be easy to identify and prevent as well. If you maintain your excavator properly by replacing failing parts or components and you keep an eye on your fluids and lubrication, for the most part, you can avoid these failures. However, you should also keep in mind that mechanical failures can occur when you overwork your excavator, or due to collisions and improper use.
Erratic Failure
The third and most challenging type of failure is referred to as “erratic failure.” This type of failure can occur at any time, under any condition without warning. However, it has been observed that a large number of these sorts of failures are due to overloading your excavator’s hydraulic or electrical systems. To avoid these failures you need to monitor the software components of your excavator to ensure they are functioning properly and, as we have mentioned numerous times, your should be using your excavator as it was designed to be used. It is also helpful to use diagnostic equipment during your excavator maintenance to help you identify potential issues. Unfortunately, though, these failures cannot always be identified, controlled, or prevented hence their name – erratic failures.
Closing Remarks
Understanding how excavator failures can occur is vital for any excavator owner and/or operator since it can help you avoid failures or deal with them quickly in order to minimize repair costs and downtime. What you should also keep in mind is that by sticking to a proper maintenance program, you can anticipate and prevent failure, or if failure does occur, you will be able to minimize the time needed to repair it and continue on schedule. You should also know that at Langley Excavator Parts Exchange, we have your back when it comes to finding the right parts or components to keep your John Deere and Hitachi excavator running optimally and prolonging its service life. We can offer you parts and components for even the most current excavator models. Our goal is to get you the part you need so you can get back to work quickly.
Call us at 1-888-530-5444 or contact us online. With one of the largest inventories of John Deere and Hitachi components, our experienced and knowledgeable staff is equipped to help you with the part you may need.
