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Cat 320 overheating
- Thread starter mflah87
- Start date
nedly05
Senior Member
Our Kobelco 70SR's overheat alarm kept going off and the light would come on. The machine never actually was overheating, just a stupid little $40 sensor needed replacement. Any chance yours could be so simple? hope so, good luck
mflah87
Well-Known Member
i know its not the sensor because the first time it happened i said "oh maybe thats what it is." But it wasn't. I bought the machine brand new from Cat. I had them out a million times to figure it out they did the radiator, water pump, airfilters are clean and then when it went out of warranty and it still wasn't fixed it was my problem. I was thinking about trading it in, but it heats up so fast. I have a weird feeling its the head gasket and I don't like that feeling at all.
Squizzy246B
Administrator
The problem pre-dated your warranty expiry and wasn't adequatley adressed therefore Cat must fix it....if the dealer gives you the brush off then go over their heads.
excavator
Senior Member
With the engine running, remove the radiator cap. If it's a head gasket problem you will get bubbles in the water. How many hours are on the machine? A weak hydraulic pump will create heat and this can cause engine overheating.(The hydraulic cooler is in front of the radiator, thus transfering the heat to the engine) Many excavators have check valves in the cooler circuit lines, if one of these sticks you will get overheating. I've found that many heating problems in excavators are caused by hydraulic problems.
dayexco
Senior Member
you have an air restriction? clogged filter? rubber hose where inner ply has sucked shut? if that doesn't work, trade it in for a 210 hyundai or kobelco. no more problems
biggixxerjim
Senior Member
Sounds like someone hates CATS
dayexco
Senior Member
i don't hate cat equipment, i've just run them all....and in my opinion, cat equipment doesn't dollar out in ownership value, or production. were you to take a new 320 cat, 210 kobelco, hitachi, 200 deere, 210 hyundai, all set at factory specs. consider initial purchase price, overall maintenance costs, production rates, resale value after 10k hours, cat will lose. cat, no longer in the excavator market, can say they have it cornered.
mflah87, In my experience a head gasket will get progressively worse until the problem is obvious with severe coolant overpressurization, coolant loss etc. so hopefully it could be something less serious and here's a few comments and suggestions in no specific order...
An infra-red heat gun is great for checking for hot spots confirming overheat condition (when the warning is operating shoot the heat soaked metal around the sensor) and they are very affordable now. You can pin point surface temperatures in the upper and lower tank and thermostat housing very easily. There should be a distinct difference in temp between the coolant going in and the coolant being recirculated back into the engine at the bottom hose - Cat can tell you what the differential should be. Check the routing of the heater hoses and bypasses to ensure that they are routed and connected properly.
Is the overheating related to local ambient temperature - overheats in Summer, Ok in Winter?
Does it overheat when under heavier load cycles, heavy digging and baling etc or just under normal load?
How fast does it cool down when overheat occurs by removing the load and running at fast idle?
Does the hydraulic system get hot as well - the hyd pump inlet oil temperature should be around 55 to 60 degrees celsius when checked with the heat gun.
If you can elaborate more on the history of the machine, which type of 320 is it, is it modified in any way, how many hours, exactly when it started and hours today.
In the past I've known a couple of machines that will mysteriously run cool or overheat, on excavators, airflow is critical, hopefully the fan is the right one and is facing the right way - pushing or pulling as designed. There are rubber and foam strips that will control airflow to move the air to the right places, some will be attached to the hood maybe and can fall off - overlook none of them because they can cause trouble.
Hopefully coolant is no more than 50% glycol, don't overlook this as too high a concentration can result in overheating.
Another rogue for engines heating up is fuel timing, hopefully your dealer will have spill timed the engine to ensure its set up properly.
Hydraulic pump settings will cause problems too. Over relief or in compound operations, the engine will lug down (droop) to a specified speed, Cat should have checked this to ensure that the hydraulic system is absorbing as much as the HP and torque as the engine is designed to produce in that excavator. If the engine pulls down towards stall, it may be trying to overload the engine.
Try and let us know more and you may trigger a cause of failure or maybe someone here really does know a thing or two about Cat's
An infra-red heat gun is great for checking for hot spots confirming overheat condition (when the warning is operating shoot the heat soaked metal around the sensor) and they are very affordable now. You can pin point surface temperatures in the upper and lower tank and thermostat housing very easily. There should be a distinct difference in temp between the coolant going in and the coolant being recirculated back into the engine at the bottom hose - Cat can tell you what the differential should be. Check the routing of the heater hoses and bypasses to ensure that they are routed and connected properly.
Is the overheating related to local ambient temperature - overheats in Summer, Ok in Winter?
Does it overheat when under heavier load cycles, heavy digging and baling etc or just under normal load?
How fast does it cool down when overheat occurs by removing the load and running at fast idle?
Does the hydraulic system get hot as well - the hyd pump inlet oil temperature should be around 55 to 60 degrees celsius when checked with the heat gun.
If you can elaborate more on the history of the machine, which type of 320 is it, is it modified in any way, how many hours, exactly when it started and hours today.
In the past I've known a couple of machines that will mysteriously run cool or overheat, on excavators, airflow is critical, hopefully the fan is the right one and is facing the right way - pushing or pulling as designed. There are rubber and foam strips that will control airflow to move the air to the right places, some will be attached to the hood maybe and can fall off - overlook none of them because they can cause trouble.
Hopefully coolant is no more than 50% glycol, don't overlook this as too high a concentration can result in overheating.
Another rogue for engines heating up is fuel timing, hopefully your dealer will have spill timed the engine to ensure its set up properly.
Hydraulic pump settings will cause problems too. Over relief or in compound operations, the engine will lug down (droop) to a specified speed, Cat should have checked this to ensure that the hydraulic system is absorbing as much as the HP and torque as the engine is designed to produce in that excavator. If the engine pulls down towards stall, it may be trying to overload the engine.
Try and let us know more and you may trigger a cause of failure or maybe someone here really does know a thing or two about Cat's
mflah87
Well-Known Member
It overheated this winter at 15 degrees. I bought the machine 7 years ago and I parked it and used it strictly for demo which I don't do to much. But I had a demo job this winter to use it on and I got so aggravated with it. I know all the screens are clean and everything so I'm thinking its the hydraulic cooler. I might trade it in for a John Deere 240. I can't make any money with the machin ebecause I have to stop, shut it off let it cool down then start working again. Such a pain in the neck. Its a 320 BL with 6000 hours on it. I havent done anything, but install a grapple. I have a mechanic coming out to look at it tomorrow I'll let you know.
Last edited:
dug1016
Member
What series 320? The Cat C's and D's use a stacked cooler design so the hydraulic oil cooler, charge air cooler and radiator are actually three deep. As air moves through the coolers, it gets progressively hotter. In addition, there's two screens to remove to clean the coolers. I would venture a guess that if you've eliminated everything else, those coolers are clogged. The C-series should have a swing-out oil cooler to get access to the secondary screen and radiator. It is not odd to find a bunch of debris lodged behind the swing-out oil cooler and radiator. GOOD LUCK!
dug1016
Member
Sorry. Missed that you said it was a B-Series:Banghead
dayexco
Senior Member
you've totally eliminated the possibility of a combustion air intake restriction? filters, screens, intake tubes, collapsed inner plies on hoses, etc etc.
RollOver Pete
Senior Member
Could the radiator be clogged inside? Hard water deposits will do that.
One trick I've used for years is adding some liquid Calgon water softener to the cooling system. It is a water softener which breaks up hard water deposits without harming any of the gaskets, o rings or aluminum cores and pumps. One or two bottles in the system and run it for a week or two. Calgon wont harm anything so you could go longer if needed. After a few days, you will notice the coolant looking dirty. Thats OK. The Calgon is doing what its supposed to to.... break up all the crud inside the core and block. When you cant stand it anymore, drain the system, flush, refill, run, drain again, change thermostat(s) and fill with fresh coolant. Your heating problems should be fixed and your radiator will now smell nice and fresh.
One trick I've used for years is adding some liquid Calgon water softener to the cooling system. It is a water softener which breaks up hard water deposits without harming any of the gaskets, o rings or aluminum cores and pumps. One or two bottles in the system and run it for a week or two. Calgon wont harm anything so you could go longer if needed. After a few days, you will notice the coolant looking dirty. Thats OK. The Calgon is doing what its supposed to to.... break up all the crud inside the core and block. When you cant stand it anymore, drain the system, flush, refill, run, drain again, change thermostat(s) and fill with fresh coolant. Your heating problems should be fixed and your radiator will now smell nice and fresh.
mflah87
Well-Known Member
The mechanic came out with baddddd news. The hydraulic cooler needs to be replaced AND when we overheated it we blew the headgasket. So I'm going to fix it up use it for another year and trade it in. I have a big building to tear down in a few months. Once I'm done with that if I have no more demo I'll trade itin for John Deere and give them a try. Anyone run a John Deere 240? And thanks for all your help to bad it wasn't sometihng stupid.
Byaku
Member
My friend i have Cat 320D its overheating ,Hydraulic and Coolant system i have been checked Radiator,and Fan belt all are OK but machine still overheating any one please with experienced same problem can assist me .our weather is about 42C temperature