Conquer Contamination with Hydraulic Cylinder Repair

Contamination causes as much as 85% of hydraulic system failures. Learn where contamination begins and how it harms your machine. Plus, see how your Cat® dealer offers the right hydraulic cylinder repair options to get your machine back up and running.

Estimated read time: 3 minutes

WHERE CONTAMINATION BEGINS

How do you know your hydraulic system is contaminated? The first sign is leakage.

This traces back to your cylinder rod. One of the most common entry points for contamination is damage on the rod’s surface.

Senior Hydraulics Consultant Jeremy Carter explains that contaminants can get caught in any pitting, scoring or denting on a rod. As the rod retracts, those contaminants enter the hydraulic system.

So now what happens inside your hydraulic system? Once contamination enters the cylinder, the inside of the cylinder bore and the piston seals get damaged. Internal leaking begins and efficiency starts to erode — eventually leading to catastrophic failure.

Get an inside look at how contamination starts and signs to look out for in this video.

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HOW CONTAMINATION AFFECTS YOUR MACHINE

Contamination leads to efficiency loss, which leads to significant downtime.

As Carter puts it, “We refer to contamination as the invisible thief because many contaminants are too small to be seen with the naked eye.”

Efficiency loss can reach up to 20% or more before an operator detects a problem with machine performance.

This may not seem like a lot, but a 20% loss of efficiency translates to one entire day in a five-day week. That’s time your business can’t afford to lose. Efficiency loss also increases fuel usage, so your machine becomes more expensive to run as it’s less productive.

If your machine gets to the point of catastrophic failure, there’s no way around it: You’ll be paying a lot of money to fix the problem. And losing more money if you don’t have another machine on hand to sub in for the one that’s out of commission.

REPAIR SOLUTIONS RIGHT FOR YOU

Contaminants too small to see can create major failure, frustration and setback on your mining site. But you can rely on your Cat^® dealer to take care of the hydraulic cylinder repair or replacement that fits your budget and turnaround time.

Is your hydraulic system leaking or broken? Your Cat dealer can offer a repair solution that is designed to accommodate you and your needs.

Repair options include:

Cylinder light hone and reseal
Dealer rebuild or exchange
Cat Reman
Cat New

“[Cat dealers are] equipped to provide repairs, contamination-free, through the use of clean fluids, specialized tooling and processes in Caterpillar certified clean repair facilities,” Carter says.

Think your hydraulic system is contaminated or broken? Contact your local Cat dealer for hydraulic cylinder repair options that are right for your mining site.

KEEP YOUR HYDRAULIC SYSTEM CONTAMINANT FREE

Your Cat^® dealer is equipped with hydraulic cylinder repair options fit for your business needs.

GET THE DETAILS

KEEP YOUR HYDRAULIC SYSTEM CONTAMINANT FREE

CONNECT WITH YOUR CAT^® DEALER

Find out more about how your dealer can support your mining operation and keep your jobsite moving.

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