If you have reached this page, you will likely have issues with your excavator travel motor.
Excavator travel motor problems can be very annoying and costly to fix. These problems can cause severe damage to the machinery, machinery, and the company’s economy.
Excavator travel motor problems can seriously threaten your safety and may result in possible injury or even death.
In situations where the travel motor of an excavator is not performing optimally, you should look into what could be causing the problem.
Knowing what can be causing problems with your excavator travel motor will help alleviate some of these issues before they become more serious.
There are several problems associated with your excavator travel motor, some of the main issues you may experience more often are as follows:
1. Oil Leakage
The oil leakage in the excavator travel motor is a problem as it could reduce the machine’s efficiency. It also increases the probability of failure. To avoid this situation, you must ensure the oil level is accurate.
Oil leakage in excavator travel motor is a common problem caused by faulty tensioner or wear and tear. Low oil pressure leads to increased friction, which causes hot spots and failure.
Oil leakage can be caused by two reasons one is the gearbox cover, and the second one is from the sprocket.
Engine oil leakage from the gearbox cover is one of the excavators’ most common heads-up problems. The problem may be caused by a non-functioning, worn or damaged grease seal.
When you say oil leaking from behind the sprocket in the excavator travel motor, it refers to the sprocket not being securely attached to the motor. In a final drive, it could be damage to the gearbox mounting bracket or even a problem with the shaft itself.
Oil leakage from behind the sprocket in an excavator’s final drive could be due to the chain or belt being worn or damaged, which results in excessive play or creaking noises.
The other reason for oil leakage from both of these components may be due to the pressure buildup, which may be due to the travel motor or physical damage.
2. Too Much Noise
Excessive noise is a high-pitched, irritating sound that you can hear but shouldn’t be able to. Excessive noise in an excavator travel motor is a vibration or rattle caused when the motor is not running right. This can cause vibrations heard outside the cab and can also result in increased wear on other parts of the machine, such as bearings, gears, and motor mounts.
There are two main reasons for excess noise in an excavator’s final drive. First, insufficient oil leads to excessive friction, which results in excessive noise due to constant wear and tears.
Second, this excessive wear and tear cause debris to be deposited within the ring gear and pinion gears. The almost permanent damage to these components will result in much louder noise than normal usage or repair would warrant.
When your excavator oil is low or contaminated, it tends to bind metals together. This can also lead to excessive noise.
The end of planned service life (EPLS) for a motor usually means that it has reached its useful lifespan and must be retired from the job.
Sometimes, however, excavators and other drive units don’t reach the EPLS mark until after they’ve been in use at full capacity for some time. It’s then that excessive noise starts being introduced into the machine’s final drive.
The problem with these excavators is that they are used mostly in construction and mining industries, where it is normal to overload an excavator at any given time.
Most work follows repetitive tasks; hence, it is no surprise that there will be many occasions when excess loading of the machine reaches beyond its limits. This will also lead to physical damage that results in excessive noise.
3. Heat in Excavator Final Drive
Excessive heat in the excavator’s final drive indicates a poor temperature control system. The engine runs too hot, and the unit can overheat, resulting in premature parts wear.
Excessive heat in an excavator’s final drive can also be defined as mechanical deformations or overheating of the machine’s internal parts due to increased loads or usage.
For example, when one uses an excavator for a long period and its operator does not have to stop for maintenance, this will cause excessive heat in the machine’s final drive.
If the excavator travel motor is not oiled properly or the oil or oil filter is not changed regularly, it may cause excessive heat in the final drive.
The problem is that the oil pump is not working; therefore, oil cannot flow into the final drive, causing excessive heat. The oil pump may have a slow leak or be sticking due to age. Either way, you will need to replace it.
This can be done by using new parts and cleaning out debris with a one-ounce spray lubricant like PB Blaster on the gear gears in the drive train area. After that, apply new oil and allow it to sit for twenty-four hours before turning the engine over.
The final drives of excavators are often over-heating because the torque reduction system on a digger is not designed to handle heavy loads. The break release will cause a delay in the entire process, which could lead to excessive heat problems in the final drive.
Hydraulic oil is a lubricant that contains a mixture of mineral oil and additives. It serves as the medium to transmit power from the engine to the ground. However, if its pressure rises, it will produce excessive heat in the excavator’s final drive.
The main cause of excessive heat in the final drive is worn-out bearings. Old bearings will transfer a lot of load to the motor, reducing its life span, especially when they are not maintained properly.
The bearings wear down due to extended use and eventually get lost in the material. This generates heat inside the final drive, causing an increased load on the motor, which leads to overheating.
4. No Power
Low hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic system causes a final drive to be mechanically inefficient and inefficient in terms of power generated. When this happens, the output shaft will not work at optimum speed, and the machine may not be able to operate properly.
High external friction causes low power. A high friction value means that the load has a lot of resistance to moving. This means the load has a lot of force holding it back from moving freely, which creates a demand for a high amount of power from the machine.
The stuck travel motor leads to low power due to the reduction in torque coefficient caused by the stress of continuous heavy loads on the gears and bearings. This can be fixed by replacing the worn-out main shaft and fixing wear and tear parts, lubricating, and maintenance.
To keep your excavator running smoothly, you need to monitor the performance of the final drive by checking for worn-out gears. Inspect these components regularly, lubricate them with an oil specifically engineered for this application, and ensure they are maintained properly using a gear cleaner.
The reason is that worn-out gears do not perform well or transfer the torque as per requirements. This will lead to a lack of driving power for your excavator travel motor.
5. Broken Motor Shaft
A broken motor shaft can lead to problems in the excavator’s final drive. There are three main types of problems that you may encounter with a broken motor shaft: Inability to start or shut down, noise or vibration during usage, and Low load applied.
In layman’s terms, the final drive is a series of gears and pulleys used to transmit mechanical power to the wheels. A broken motor shaft leads to abnormal functioning of these gears and pulleys. It usually leads to a decrease in running speed and Stalling of the machine.
6. Worn Brake Discs
You may have a worn brake disc if you hear noises from the hitch area like screeching, squealing, or grinding.
Wear or damage to the brake discs is the most common reason for the failure of a final drive. The wear and damage can lead to excessive heat from friction in the discs, which will crack and break as they heat up. In extreme cases, this may result in a dangerous situation for your workers or cause breakdowns on your job site.
A worn brake disc is where the brake pads are no longer smooth on the surface. This can happen due to long-time use or, in some cases, if you exceed the safe speed for your current load capacity.
7. Residual Pressure in Circuit
Residual pressure in the circuit in the final excavator drive means the amount of pressure remaining in, or resulting from the flow of, the internal circuit to a motor driving the sheave over which it is rotating. As residual pressure rises within the motor circuit, it can lead to irreversible damage if it reaches a certain point.
If a motor is not running properly due to a lack of lubrication or contamination, it may have developed pressure in its circuit. This can occur when the pump has failed and allows air back into the oil.
The circuits manage this pressure, which can either be set at a certain pressure or shut off completely. If there is residual pressure in the circuit, then this will damage the internal components, which may result in decreased performance and durability.
8. Too Much Vibration
Excessive vibration in the final drive may cause irreversible damage to the engine, transmission, and differential.
Common causes include loose, worn or broken parts, broken or bent driveshafts, struts or suspension springs that have lost their spring strength, excessive wear on components such as clutch plates and friction surfaces in the shafts, and vibrations from road surfaces, heavy loads on loaders or vibrating tipper functions.
A loose sprocket leads to excessive vibration in the excavator’s final drive. The loose sprocket causes vibration, which results in wear and tears on all sorts of machine parts, such as wheels and bearings. This leads to increased maintenance costs at the end of each day.
To avoid this, you must maintain and tighten the bolts at an optimum torque before beginning each operation.
Final Words: Excavator Travel Motor Problems
It is important to look into any malfunctioning parts in your excavator travel motor that may be causing problems so you can get these fixed rights away to prevent further damage. If one or more parts are defective, they will not work properly and create an unsafe situation for you and other people on the job site.