CTX100 Hydraulic Problems

[ironpirate]

I have a CTX100 that we bought new in 2018. Around 350-370 hrs the hydraulic pump grenaded.Fortunately it was under warrany. Vermeer at first thought it was a hydraulic fitting that failed and replaced the fitting (apparently these fittings are a common failure in this machine). However, after replacing the fitting they discovered it did not solve the problem. I had zero power to the tracks but did have bucket controls...tilt, up and down etc. After the fitting did not work they checked hydraulic filter and found metal in the fluid prompting them to replace the hydraulic pump, drive motors and flush system. I got the machine back and operated it on approximately 6-8 jobs. During that time it feltasifthe controls were sloppy. notastightaswhen machine was delivered to us new. The machine seemed to lack power in turns especially if going up a hill. In order to turn with a load, the machine would almost have to be stopped and all power thrown to the track on the side you wish to turn toward...a very herky jerky way to operate. I also noticed that if you wanted to execute a stationary turn (a 180 or 90 degree) the machine only wants to spin one track...it would spin both track after holding control lever over for a bit and finding a sweet spot. It just seemed miscalibrated. Today while on the job the machine hydraulics have completely quit again. No power to either track, no tilt function and no up and down....completely done. It's the same symtoms we had last time only worse because we have lost all hydraulic control for grapple and main lift arms. This machine is not abused, I own it and operate it and have done nothing to it....currently it has 399.2 hrs on it and I'm afraid I may be into another pump and hydraulic motors. The machine is still under warranty but my concern is what is causing the issue, and how much does this repair cost if it wasn't covered by warranty. Has anyone out there experienced these kind of issues with their CTX100? Any advice you could lend some knowledge on would be appreciated.

I have a call in to Vermeer already so we will see how it goes, but I am completely dead in the water right now.

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[74inchshovel]

Major hydraulic meltdowns like what you had require disassembly of the entire hydraulic system, every hose, all valves torn apart and cleaned, all pumps torn down, motors torn down because there is metal everywhere. Miss one thing and if it has metal in it in a few hours your back to a very bad place. Take it back to the dealer. Have them check filter for metal, and do a fluid analysis. If it’s under warranty, I would push really hard for a new machine, cause this is really tough to fix properly. Don’t let them do another patch job just to get you through warranty. If they do repair it, change your fluid at 25, 50 hours and do an analysis.

 

[ironpirate]

Thanks for the response. I am wondering how hard I would have to fight to get a new machine? My confidence in this one right now is not too great. The problem I have to address is twofold
1. What caused the catastrophic failure of the hydraulic system in the first place.

2. Why was Vermeer not able to complete a repair that brought the machine back to a like new condition.

Either way my confidence is shaken at this point. I'm not sure what the repair bill is on something like this but if done properly but I'm assuming around $10,000. Especially by the time you replace all those parts plus the labor to do it.

If we were outside the warranty period on this particular machine those two repair Bill's back to back would have sunk me.....smh.

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[74inchshovel]

Keep me/us posted as to how this shakes out. If indeed this had another major meltdown, I would fight like hell for a new machine. Good luck.

 

[gorman]

Major hydraulic meltdowns like what you had require disassembly of the entire hydraulic system, every hose, all valves torn apart and cleaned, all pumps torn down, motors torn down because there is metal everywhere. Miss one thing and if it has metal in it in a few hours your back to a very bad place. Take it back to the dealer. Have them check filter for metal, and do a fluid analysis. If it’s under warranty, I would push really hard for a new machine, cause this is really tough to fix properly. Don’t let them do another patch job just to get you through warranty. If they do repair it, change your fluid at 25, 50 hours and do an analysis.

Is this even a feasible course of action? Seems like it would take days for a small machine.

 

[iowagold]

yup as a former inspector for a large hyd equipment mfg company.

a catastrophic failure on a machine is a hard Bullitt to bite for any company!!

the right thing is to replace the whole hyd system or a total rebuild of the machine with brand new parts.

now from an engineering stand point they could have an issue with air in the system. we see this in the colder temps.
so a hyd tank heater is a good idea if the temps are below zero...
they can also have an issue with bad parts from a vender... like a bad spec on a pump or drive motor..
filter change out is a real big deal on older machines not like your low hour machine..
but the first change outs on the filters help with trash that might be left over from mfg of hoses and hardline pipes.
at least on the return side...

but if you have trash right out of the pump to the valve body, then the valves can be full or scored bad..
then maybe trash after the valve body to the drive motors...
most good hyd systems have 2 filters on the hyd system a feed to the valve body and a return filter to the main hyd tank as well as a suction screen for the main pump suction feed.

normal if you have a catastrophic failure is a total system inspection...