Telehandler. What to look for?

[Southside]

Titan has really nice man lifts and they are affordable.  I have their 8' version, very safe, very sturdy, and I don't have to go looking for the "good pallet" any more when I need to get up in the air. 

[customsawyer]

Caveman I'm glad to see you getting the brakes fixed. Every improvement you make on that machine the more you're going to like it. I like many features of my machine but the lift capacity has to be one of the most impressive things about it.

[Peter Drouin]

Caveman I'm glad to see you getting the brakes fixed. Every improvement you make on that machine the more you're going to like it. I like many features of my machine but the lift capacity has to be one of the most impressive things about it.

I have all my stuff work 100 %  lifting 10,000 lb easy is nice too.
Keep after it Caveman.

[Peter Drouin]

The metal cage from an ibc tote makes a great man lift. Cut out a few rungs on one side for easy entry. Strap it to the brick frame. Cheap, easy, safe.  

I like that idea.

[Don P]

Ours came with a 1 man basket but my partner kept watching ads and found a 10' one... which I immediately added more steel to! For working up there it is hard to beat a dance floor.

There,s a little black oil on top of the skidsteer water this morn, that cannot be good.

[caveman]

Since I've given an update on this machine, we have replaced a hydraulic line and today, we replaced an alternator.  It has never charged a battery since we've owned it.  I generally hook up a battery charger for several hours every week.

I tried to get the alternator tested last weekend but all of the local auto parts stores now need the car's specifics for their machine to test.  We had already pulled the alternator from the machine.  That was a two-person job unless one had tool truck wobbly sockets.  Thank you to John for coming over and helping a brother out.  After two failed attempts to get the alternator tested, John took the one we took out to a repair shop in Winter Haven.  They were not open on Monday morning, so I ordered a new one online. After installing the new one and starting the machine, the idiot light was still on.  We traced the biggest wire going to the alternator (nothing was labeled) and it was not hooked up.  We spent the next hour looking online and in the manual we ordered for the machine and did not find a schematic.

We assumed if we screwed up that we would let the magic smoke out of the new alternator, but we went for it anyway.  No smoke, but the idiot light was still on.  After revving the engine, it showed an increase in voltage, the tach worked right for the first time since we've owned it and we nearly did a happy dance.  Small victories.

I ordered new seals for all of the steering cylinders, a pick set and the seal installer doohickey that DonP recommended.  That will be another day's project.  This old machine has been an amazing asset to our rinky dink operation.

I was looking at backhoes, and especially small wheel loaders prior to us purchasing this machine.  I think we made the right decision.  It saves a ton of work and spares my tractor from most of the heavy lifting abuse.  

Thank you for all of the encouragement and help.  I hope the steering cylinder seals fix the steering synchronization issues. If not, we will have gained experience in repacking leaking cylinders.

It has not rained here lately but as soon as I went to work on it last weekend, the rain began.

  

[Southside]

My experience is that fixing the leaky steering cylinder will help with the syncro issue, but as long as others are leaking the issue will continue.  It's a great feeling when you get to the point they are all dry.  That was a great few hours..... :D

[customsawyer]

I've had my steering cylinders all repacked and still have to do the tire alignment from time to time. I think it is part of owning one with a few years on it.

[caveman]

We need to realign ours every few minutes.  I'll save repacking them for another day.  I need to get some caps/plugs for the hydraulic lines before we start on that project.  I also probably need to refill the cooler before that day.  

This afternoon, I pulled the dash out and tried to figure out why the lights have not worked since we've owned the machine.  Turns out that the bulbs were both blown.  Some of the insulation on the wires going to the lights was compromised so I replaced it and added an LED light bar that I had purchased for the JD Gator years ago but have never installed.


 

 

 
Before reinstalling the dash, I used the shop vac and cleaned up a bit and tidied up the wiring.  

[caveman]

I hate to respond to my own post, this afternoon while flat stacking a heart pine floor order for a customer, John mentioned that the backup beeper was working, and the temperature gauge was also working for the first time since we've owned this machine.  If I don't line up a saw job for Saturday, we may be repacking steering cylinders.  

John and I both drove the machine for a few minutes today.  He recalibrated the steering once and I did at least three times.

A year ago, I really wanted a Skytrak (Cummins 4BT) but the one we should have bought got away.  This machine has been good to us so far.  The prices of used telehandlers have been coming down, but I do not regret buying this one.  It is a lot better machine today than when it was dropped off.

I do hope repacking the steering cylinders improves the synchronization of the front and rear.  If not, it is not the end of the world.  I did see the Amazon truck pull off the road earlier in the week when I went for a test drive until I passed.  He must have been new.  

[newoodguy78]

Caveman I'm glad to hear the machine is treating you guys well. A telehander would be my machine of choice for a sawmill operation, countless uses for sure.
Now about that amazon driver that pulled off the road, was there a mini microburst that blew it off the road? I know it's been hot down your way did you get change in the weather that caused icy roads and he slid off?  :D
Either way that's a site to behold, up in this neck of the woods seems like every corner you come around there's one stopped smack in the middle of the road.

[caveman]

Nah, I think the driver was just more comfortable not sharing the narrow road with a large yellow machine that was kind of crabbing his direction.  There is a rumor going around that we may get some rain with some cooler weather to follow.  We'll see.

[caveman]

After we sawed a small order of pine beams this morning, we decided to repack the rear steering cylinders.  They had been into before.  I ordered four rebuild kits, picks, and the seal installer doohickey (I should have bought the smaller one).  They came off without a fuss and we installed the repair parts.  After reinstalling them on the machine, I assumed it would be an easy bleeding process and we would be back in business, but the steering was much worse than before we worked on it. 

Much to my disappointment, the rear wheels keep drifting to the left, even when setting them straight ahead and while in front wheel steer mode.  We followed the manual's air bleeding procedure and still no joy.  The front wheels move as they are supposed to, and the rears get out of sync within a few seconds.  Trying to drive straight in two- or four-wheel steer mode turns into a crabbing situation, with the rears pointing to the left in short order.  

I am wondering if we screwed something up or if there is still air in the lines or the cylinders.  I would appreciate some guidance at this point.  Each steering cylinder has three lines, one is a common line between the rear cylinders.  I assume these are to equalize the pressure between the two of them.  Is there a way to bleed air out of the lines/cylinders similar to the way one bleeds brakes, by loosening the fitting while pressure is applied?  

[chevytaHOE5674]

They shouldn't require any bleeding. Work the cylinder in and out a few times and any air will get worked thru the system.

Wouldn't surprise me if the steering valve itself has some wear causing the drifting. 

[caveman]

Thank you.  I am trying to get my head around why it is worse now after repacking the two rear steering cylinders than it was before.  They are easily accessible so we may pull them back apart and check all of the seals.  The kits I bought do not come with instructions, but I'm fairly certain we put all of the seals and Orings in the right way.  They do extend and contract and don't seem to have any leaks.  

I did not have any time to tinker with it today.  Tomorrow, I'll probably run it around in the pasture switching between the steering modes to see if that makes any difference.  I doubt it will.  Unloading the live edged hickory slabs in the kiln tomorrow afternoon will be a challenging and frustrating undertaking.  

[caveman]

I stopped by a hydraulic shop recommended by a friend last Friday.  The old guy and two sons run the shop.  I felt right at home when I walked in the door.  The older fellow spent 32 years with the Florida Division of Forestry as a mechanic/fabricator.  

I dropped of the steering cylinders on Monday afternoon.  Today I got a call and I stopped by and picked them up after forestry practice.  I spoke to the older son.  He explained what he did and what we had done wrong.  I gladly paid him what was a very reasonable price for his services.  They were installed soon after I got home and the test drive that ensued brought a smile of relief to my face.  This is the best it has steered since we've owned it.  

With an older machine, I know we'll always have some repairs and maintenance to keep up with, but this is one of those tools/machines that is easy to get used to having around.

On another note (maybe it should go to the stupid thread or daily carnage), I bent one of the "ears" on the front of my tractor's skid steer attachment point pretty bad last week when my sloppy fitting fork rack came off of one side while I was uprooting a decent sized oak.  We heated it and bent it back using a 3' pipe wrench and a 4' section of dom tube.  The crack was welded today at school, and I cut off all of the sloppy fitting parts of the rack and fabricated a better fitting lower engagement point.  I could have done this at home but some of the kids in ag mech can learn from my screwups and a few of them were even helpful.

[beenthere]

Would you pass on to us what you found out you did wrong? just curious... tks

Great that you are up and running smooth now. 

[caveman]

Well, prior to these, we have repacked exactly one and it went well.  These had been into previously worked on by someone else.  Seals and Orings were not installed exactly the same from one side to the other.  We tried to reinstall the new parts the same as the ones we took out but evidently got something wrong and fluid was able to get past a seal.  When we pulled these apart, they did not have the locking pins and I was afraid to tighten the nut enough to get the holes to line up.  

It is sometimes good to take things to folks who know their business.  I like to be able to work on a variety of things but even some things I know how to do I'd rather pay someone else to do.

[Southside]

I have learned to take a picture of the glands up close before removing all of the seals, wipers, o rings, etc. for that exact reason.  

[customsawyer]

I'm glad you got it doing better. Pictures don't help if the last one that "fixed" it did it wrong. :D

[caveman]

I hope that this is my last post on this subject for a while.  Just an update.  I used the machine a bit yesterday and after initially syncing the front and rear wheels, I did not have to do so again, and it tracked true.  

Another thing.  After printing the digital manual and reading, I realized that this machine has two hydraulic pumps.  One, on the end of the crankshaft sends fluid to only the steering circuit and the cooling fan hydraulic motor.  Southside mentioned early on in our quest to discover the steering issue that a leak or bypass in any cylinder could cause our problem.  This is one reason we let it go for so long because of the cost and aggravation of repacking the steering cylinders may not have had any improving affect.  Had I read the two pump/hydraulic circuit information earlier, we would have likely tried to repair it earlier on.  

Anyway, I appreciate all of the guidance and suggestions offered on acquiring and fixing this machine.  It is a much better machine now than it was a year ago when we had it delivered.  Since then we have done a few upgrades and had a few repairs to failures when in use.
-Adjusted a non-working parking brake (simple once the mechanism was understood)
-Added mirrors to both sides
-Repacked tilt cylinder
-Replaced a broken hose
-Bought and installed a new alternator
-Hooked up tach, hour meter, temp gauge 
-Rewired lights from a connector onward and added a LED lightbar
-Paid someone competent to rebuild the rear steering cylinders.
So far, this machine has been pretty straightforward to work on and parts have been available and reasonably priced.  We did not saw yesterday, so I took the opportunity to degrease and pressure wash it.  With the leaks and dry, dusty conditions, it needed a little love.

This machine does not have a wheel position sensor to let the operator know when both sets of wheels are centered/pointing straight ahead, so getting them set initially depends on eyeballing them.  

[Andries]

My son and I were working on his loader, to replace a cable control that had worn out. 
We came to the conclusion that you really "own" a machine after you've spent many hours repairing, tinkering and wrenching on it. 
Good to hear that you've got a smile on your face while steering that machine. 

[Peter Drouin]

Good for you, I have to eyeball too  ;D

[customsawyer]

Yup the ole calibrated eyeball here too.