Why Does An Excavator Sometimes Have One Track Faster?

Why Does An Excavator
Sometimes Have One Track

Faster?
There are several reasons why this happens, and conversely of
course, why one excavator travel motor is slow compared to the
other. Here are 8 that are the most relevant.
1. Mechanical restriction at the control levers

The first reason an excavator pulls to one side could be
down to a physical restriction that doesn’t allow the control
spool to open fully and let the drive get the full flow of oil
needed. This could be due to a stretched or unbalanced
link cable between the control lever in the cab and spool, or
simply a build up of debris around the control lever not
allowing it to open fully.
2. Worn undercarriage
Check the condition of the track, rollers and idlers. A seized
or collapsed bearing or tight track links can cause an
enormous amount of friction. This may appear to be an
excavator weak track but it is one track motor working
harder than the other giving a reduction in speed.
3. Worn main hydraulic pump
In smaller excavators there is one main pump that supplies
the oil to both track motors. Although there is one common
pump, the valve plate is effectively ‘split’ so it is perfectly
possible for one side of the valve plate to wear, causing
excessive case drain for one half of the circuit, meaning
one side of the machine will be getting more pressure and
flow than the other side. This causes excavator tracking to
:
one side. Larger excavators use dual pumps, a separate
pump for either side of the machine. A difference in
tracking speed could be down to one of the pumps being
damaged, causing excessive case drain and lack of
pressure/flow.
4. Worn servo pump
The servo pump provides the pressure and flow to release
the brake (if externally controlled) and operate the two
speed tracking. It is possible for a weak servo pump to not
have enough power to allow one brake to release properly
or only have enough power to engage one drive into two
speed.
5. One drive stuck in high speed
The most common style of excavator track motor is the
Axial Piston Motor with swash plate to give the function of
two speed tracking. If the two speed tracking circuit gets
damaged, it is possible for the two speed spool or piston in
one track motor to get stuck in the high speed position.
6. Worn motor
Over time it is inevitable that the track motors will wear.
Most commonly it is down to contaminated oil. Inside the
hydraulic motor there are metal components that have to
rotate against each other. To stop them making contact and
binding against each other there has to be a certain
amount of controlled oil leakage (case drain). If the oil is
contaminated, the debris will scratch the components in
the motor, causing excessive case drain. The oil now being
passed straight to the case drain line isn’t contributing to
the power of the motor, causing a reduction in speed and
excavator tracking problems. An easy check to see if the
track motor is generating too much case drain is to remove
the case drain line, measure the amount generated over
:
one minute and check against manufacturers
specifications.
7. Worn gearbox
A worn gearbox will add extra load to the hydraulic motor
and cause a reduction in speed. Check the condition of the
oil and condition of main bearings etc.
8. Leaking turning/swivel Joint
Between the upper structure and the undercarriage there is
a turning joint. This joint has multiple chambers that allows
the oil to flow from the upper structure to the
undercarriage. There are different pressures in each
chamber (flow/return are high pressure, 2 speed and brake
are servo pressure and case drain is low pressure). The
turning joint can leak internally, allowing the wrong
pressures to be in the wrong chambers. This can cause a
deviation in track speed and even catastrophic motor
failure if not fixed.
It is important to remember that contamination causes 90% of all

hydraulic failures and the majority of excavator tracking problems.
Track motors suffer the most because they are at the very bottom of
the circuit where all the sludge collects. Track motors also put the
greatest demand on the hydraulic pump compared to any other
function on the machine and people confuse the fact that a slow final
drive might be a symptom and not the cause of another problem
somewhere further up the circuit.
Click to find a replacement part and solve your excavator

tracking problems
:

Why Does An Excavator Sometimes Have One Track Faster?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why Does An Excavator Sometimes Have One Track Faster?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why Does An Excavator Sometimes Have One Track Faster?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Why Does An Excavator

Sometimes Have One Track

1. Mechanical restriction at the control levers

It is important to remember that contamination causes 90% of all

Click to find a replacement part and solve your excavator

You might also like