Common Fixes for Hydraulic Equipment in the Field

If your hydraulic equipment assets are operated in tough settings, under heavy loads and with frequent cycling, the occasional failure is expected. The goal is to minimize the impact of those failures on your operations. Here’s how to do that, depending on the issues your operators are facing:

• • Hydraulic fluid leaks – Fluid leaks can spring externally or internally. External leaks are obviously easier to spot, though it may be tough to pinpoint where the actual leak is, as hydraulic fluid can flow and run from the originating point. Check around the hydraulic pump’s drive shaft, any hydraulic connectors, hydraulic hoses and hydraulic seals. These represent the most common failure points in a hydraulic system.

    Internal leaks may not provide any visual tells, but they frequently cause problems with power delivery or contamination, so if either are present with your system, a detailed inspection is in order.

    Leaks typically result from component failures – such as connectors or seals – somewhere in the system. Replacing the worn part and ensuring a proper seal will resolve most hydraulic fluid leaks. If such a failure occurs in the field, it will be helpful to have an inventory of replacement hydraulic parts on hand.

• • Inconsistent power delivery – Weak or inconsistent power delivery is often a sign of a hydraulic fluid leak, but it can also be a sign of improper system calibration, a damaged hydraulic cylinder, a valve malfunction or changing flow dynamics (resulting from overheating, for example).
    
    

    As power delivery issues can pose major safety risks, it’s recommended that operators shut down the hydraulic pump and first verify that it is calibrated properly – particularly the control valve. Also verify that hydraulic fluid levels are sufficient. If the issue is a malfunctioning valve or hydraulic cylinder, they will need to be removed and serviced before being returned to the field. Keep replacements on hand and trust your component maintenance to an experienced hydraulic technician.

• • Hydraulic system overheating – Overheating hydraulic fluid will affect the pump’s ability to maintain flow, accelerate component wear, and potentially lead to contamination. Overheating can be caused by already present contamination trapped in the system, due to flow restrictions inside the system (a malfunctioning valve or overly soiled hydraulic filter), or excessive environmental heat.

    Take your temperature readings with a thermal gun aimed at various test points in the hydraulic system. Target the heat exchanger and use the same test points whenever you’re comparing data. To rule out environmental heat, develop a baseline set of temperatures taken in a controlled setting at normal temperatures. If there is a major discrepancy here, try to position your equipment out of the sun and ensure your hydraulic fluid is in good condition.

    If the hydraulic equipment is overheating in controlled conditions, perform a full system inspection to uncover the root cause.

• • Hydraulic fluid contamination – Hydraulic fluid contamination is the leading cause of system failures, by far, but failures can also be caused by many factors, including component wear, system temperature, environmental dust and moisture, and hydraulic fluid quality.

    In most cases, you’ll need to be in a controlled setting to test for contamination. You won’t want to diagnose the problem in the field. If hydraulic fluid contamination is an ongoing issue in the field, your operators can protect the system by storing equipment properly, maintaining adequate fluid levels and cleaning the system frequently – including the hydraulic pump reservoir.

• • Hydraulic seal failures – In most hydraulic systems, the hydraulic seals represent the weakest and most exploitable parts of the system. And when a seal does fail, it can expose the system to contamination, affect hydraulic fluid flows and adversely influence power delivery. Fortunately, the fix is simple when a hydraulic seal fails – replace the worn seal with a new one. Given their relatively short lifespan, companies that rely on hydraulic equipment tend to keep an inventory of various seals on hand, for different parts of the system and for different working conditions.