Why Your Hydraulic Equipment Needs Regular Inspections

There are numerous good reasons to schedule on-time inspections for your hydraulic equipment, and the benefits include:

• Maintaining reliable and efficient operations – Hydraulic pumps, hydraulic cylinders, and other hydraulic accessories function best when kept on an ideal service interval schedule. Consult your hydraulic equipment’s operating manuals to determine when those service intervals are coming up. It’s a good idea to consider tracking equipment maintenance to ensure you don’t miss a round of needed upkeep.

  Every service interval should include a full, thorough inspection of your hydraulic equipment. During this inspection, your hydraulic technician will expertly disassemble the equipment using best practices to ensure contamination isn’t introduced into the system during maintenance.

  While the equipment is cracked open, the hydraulic technician will check for concerning signs of wear and verify that the system is functioning properly while under pressure. This essential form of preventative maintenance often reveals the first signs that something is wrong with your hydraulic assets – which hopefully can be corrected at the same time.

• Troubleshooting hydraulic equipment issues – When hydraulic pumps or cylinders show signs of distress, a full inspection is recommended to troubleshoot and eliminate potential factors. Concerning signs include loss of power or inconsistent power delivery, unusual operating sounds (grinding, whining, gurgling), unusual odors, hydraulic fluid residues on the equipment or pooling on the ground, or signs of hydraulic fluid contamination.

  If any of these signs are present, it’s important to shut down the relevant piece of hydraulic equipment before it experiences a sudden failure and extended downtime. While offline, a hydraulic technician can troubleshoot the problem using diagnostic technology and lab analysis to pinpoint the problem. This will provide an accurate, comprehensive diagnosis that your hydraulic expert can work with to resolve any problems and return your equipment assets to the field.

• Verifying internal components are in good working shape – When hydraulic pumps and cylinders fail, those failures may be isolated to one or two overly worn parts. Bearings, gears and hydraulic seals are sensitive to unusual thermal conditions or contamination and may wear and fail faster if there are issues with the system’s operation.

  During a full hydraulic equipment inspection, your hydraulic technician will give extra attention to high-wear components like seals and bearings in order to prevent them from causing larger problems with your hydraulic system.

• Checking for potential signs of contamination – Contamination is the leading cause of hydraulic system failures and is responsible for the majority of extended downtime-causing breakdowns.

  When contamination intrudes into a hydraulic system, it can cause a variety of serious issues, including aeration and cavitation. Contamination can also affect the hydraulic fluid’s flow characteristics and temperatures, which can exacerbate contamination concerns. Overly soiled hydraulic filters are another primary cause of contamination, as are hydraulic fluid leaks and internal component wear.

  There are many potential causes behind hydraulic fluid contamination, but a full system inspection performed by an experienced hydraulic equipment technician can detect where the contamination is coming from and address the cause.

• Determining whether typical work conditions are threatening your equipment assets – Hydraulic pumps, cylinders and accessories are frequently deployed in rugged work environments where dirt, dust, vibration and moisture are ever-present hazards.

  It’s possible that these hazards are behind any hydraulic system issues your organization is contending with. Regular hydraulic equipment inspections will help determine whether your worksite conditions are causing ongoing problems, or if there are other factors involved. These regular inspections will reveal whether your hydraulic pumps, cylinders and other pieces of hydraulic equipment are failing early due to controllable factors that can be addressed easily and inexpensively.