PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-627
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 627
FEBRUARY 2005
PS 627
FEB 05
23
DEUCE…
O
perators, there’s one grease fitting on the earthmover that’s sorely neglected. It’s
the one that lubes the swing (shaft) arm for the vehicle’s front recoil suspension.
Without lube, the swing arm seizes up, causing the suspension to break apart. In
Iraq, several earthmovers have met their demise that way. Their suspension fell apart
and crumbled like a house of cards.
The grease fitting is a little tricky to find. It’s located behind the bogie cylinder
accumulator on the swing arm, facing toward the front of the vehicle. There’s one
on each side of the vehicle.
So, lube the swing arm weekly or every 50 hours of operation. You’ll find this
info on Page 104 in TM 5-2430-200-10.
PS 627
FEB 05
22
SEE…
M
echanics, when you flush or bleed the brake fluid from the excavator, keep the
air pressure between 14.5 and 29 psi. That’s the word on Page 4-263 of TM 5-2420-
224-20-2.
Air pressure above this will crack the brake fluid reservoirs. A cracked reservoir
means brake fluid leaks out.
Enough fluid loss means you have to replace the reservoir(s), or worse yet, no
brakes!
o
perating in rocky soil plays
havoc with the excavator’s tire
pressure. Small rocks get stuck
between the tire and wheel rim.
This causes the tire to leak slowly.
Get down on your hands and
knees and eyeball the wheel
assembly for rocks wedged
between the tire and rim. If you
see small rocks stuck behind the
rim, let your mechanic know.
That way, he can let some air
out of the tire. He can
remove the rocks carefully
with a dull object like a stick
or open-end wrench.
Check that the tire is re-inflated
to 40 psi before heading out.
Keep the swing (shaft) arm lubed
you’ll find the
grease fitting back
and down here.
ohhh…
my
suspension
has collapsed
like a
house
of cards!
Like I was
saying, keep
the psi
between
14.5 and 29
during a
brake flush.
tell that
to our
mechanic!
look for
rocks wedged
between the
tire and rim.
627.22-23 (C)
12/24/04
2:41 PM
Page 1
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