Digger engine service interval

[ProDave]

My digger is probably the oldest one in use on here. Also unusual for having a Peugeot diesel car engine powering it. It of course came with no serrvice history or service information.

I serviced the engine when I got it, and on checking the engine before using it today, noted It has done 140 hours since the service (I also fitted a new hour meter)

Now most of the time the engine is barely above idle, so if that was in a car pottering about town at 30mph it would have done just over 4000 miles and be some way off it's next service.  If it had spent that 140 hours belting down the motorway at the speed limit, it would be overdue a service.

For those with "posh" diggers that come with a manual and service schedule, what's the typical service interval?  (I'm talking mainly oil and filter change interval)

 

[Declan52]

Gearbox oil is usually every 1000 hrs. Depends on machine but they take about 1 to 1.5 litres of oil.

Hydraulic oil every 3000 as its a full drain but maybe as yours is an older machine it might need changing more often if it gets cloudy.

Check your filters and see how dirty they are. 140 hrs isn't a lot of work and as you say it hasnt been abused either.

Give it a good few tubs of grease esp on the track tensioner and it should keep it going.

[ProDave]

Mine doesn't have a gearbox. Direct drive from the engine to the hydraulic pump. I am sure the hydraulic fluid is okay, it certainly loks clear.

It was just the engine I was wondering about and what the typical oil and filter change interval is measured in working hours.

[ToughButterCup]

500 hours, Dave. Greased once a fortnight (five pumps per time)

[ProDave]

Thanks.  On that basis I will probably be finished with it and sold it before it needs an oil change then.

[ToughButterCup]

Change the oil anyway: knowing less than nothing about diggers - and a bit about engines- ,  it was  the first thing I checked, the oil was clean and clear. And so I was just that little bit more confident about buying it. Cost £10 (?)

Edited June 28, 2016 by recoveringacademic
grammar

[PeterW]

Usually chuck half a bottle of injector cleaner in now and again as it certainly makes them smoke less. 

If it's got a paper drum filter on the air intake they are best changed fairly frequently - not expensive. 

[Vijay]

what other maintenance is needed on a digger?

[joe90]

Well mine is 1967 !!!, don't need to change the hydraulic oil as it leaks so much it's alsmost a constant loss system :). I Grease a fair bit ( but must change some grease nipples as some are blocked. The King post has loads of wear in it but I am getting used to the general " slack" in all the controls. 

[ToughButterCup]

4 hours ago, Vijay said:

what other maintenance is needed on a digger?

General Daily:

Check oil, fuel, coolant, front end buckets (squeeze of grease if you're going to use it all day) V belt and water-in-fuel indicator.

General Weekly ( one week = 50 hours on the instrument panel)

Cast an eye on the tracks ... splits? grease swivel gear ( for my Kubota three nipples, 5 pumps each) general quick check ; nuts tight, pitch bearing. Quick look at the battery every month. Same for the air filter if very dusty. Check track tension most weeks (i.e. 50 hours; sag >= 15mm).

Every 500 hours full service (Fixed cost at Kubota - a couple of hundred quid)

Not too onerous: most of the stuff can be done during a simple walk-around.

Ian

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

I'd suggest that engine oil changes should be more frequent on something like a digger than they would be on a car, as diggers spend a lot of time with a very load load on the engine and probably end up with more oil contamination as a consequence.  Diesels tend to suffer from slight oil dilution from unburned fuel, which can fool some into thinking they aren't burning oil, as the unburned fuel can keep the oil level constant, or even make it rise.  They also tend to produce acidic combustion products at low operating temperatures and these collect in the oil, too.

500 hours sounds about right for a nice modern diesel, but IIRC, the PSA group diesels of the vintage that's in Dave's digger needed either 5000 mile or 6000 mile oil changes when fitted to cars.  At an average of 30mph that's around 200 hours, rather than 500 hours.

[SteamyTea]

I had two old PSA diesels, one an 1905 XUD that needed servicing every 5000 miles and the other a turbo 1769 that was every 6000 miles.

I changed the oil pretty religiously and the turbo one had done over 300,000 miles when I sold it, and I saw it about for a few years more.

[ProDave]

I'll probably end up changing it twice then. Once very soon after I have finished the present bit of drainage andf before I start on Landscaping, and again just before I sell it so it's fresh and clean.

I know one of my track tensioners leaks and the track goes slack, that needs pumping up now, but the other side remains rock solid.

Mine loses ramarkably little hydraulic fluid. I bought 5 litres to top it up when I got it and only used a fraction of that.

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

[...] the PSA group diesels of the vintage that's in Dave's digger needed either 5000 mile or 6000 mile oil changes [...]

 

PSA group = ? please. Ian

 

[Jeremy Harris]

15 minutes ago, recoveringacademic said:

 

PSA group = ? please. Ian

 

It's the French car maker: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupe_PSA

Some might argue that the level of French government investment/guarantees in the group for decades amounts to a foul under EU rules...............

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, JSHarris said:

Some might argue that the level of French government investment/guarantees in the group for decades amounts to a foul under EU rules...............

Boeuf! Cela ne me concerne pas!  (Gallic Shrug)

La vie, pour moi elle est magnifique, faux pas que tu la compliques avec ces petits details. Bon, on fait la greve maintenant non? Allons les citoyens, aux barricades!

Si tu veux pas, j'en ferrais une maladie, hein!

[Jeremy Harris]

You have to admire the French and the way they ignore any rule they don't like, and the way they accept that massive strikes that cause total disruption are perfectly valid ways of showing displeasure, and almost seem to have state support (at least it seems unusual for the gendarmes to do much about the!).

On the other hand, they can apply some rules so zealously that one cannot help but wonder how they decide which laws to enforce and which to ignore.  Until a couple of years ago we had some friends who lived in the Loire, and we used to fly or drive down to see them quite a bit (he ran a flying school at a nearby airfield).  In that department, speeding was rigorously enforced, with hidden cameras and speed traps all over the place.  Yet a significant number of cars on the roads were clearly un-roadworthy, and a look around showed that many weren't insured (the little green ticket in the window).  I remember being stopped there once and the gendarme making a great show of checking that I had a hi vis vest, a proper set of spare light bulbs and a warning triangle in the car (which was a pain, as it was a Mercedes SLK230 and the roof was folded down, so access to the tiny boot area was hampered, and he wouldn't let me start the engine to raise the roof...........).  He didn't check my driving licence or insurance, though, and neither did he even look around at the tyres, lights etc.