Changing Engine Old in a CAT 345

[Nuggethunting]

Hello All,

I'm glad I found these forums, they are a huge help. We have a CAT345, but never have changed the engine oil as of yet. The unit was purchased from Richie Brothers Aution Site and it looks like the unit might have been sitting for awhile. The filter are all dated about a year ago and also have the hour mileage wrote on them.

I know you can do a test kit to check the oil, but was thinking I will just change it completely so I know it has been done.

Anything I need to know about changing the oil besides just draining it, changing the filters, replacing the filters and oil (besides getting all dirty!)?

Thanks,

Rob in AZ

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Remember a couple of things

Warm the engine up prior to draining the oil so it flows better and takes the crud out with it.

Use good quality oil like Delo or Rotella. Cheap oil will not save you any money, and could hurt the engine.

You can get SOS kits (scheduled oil sampling) at the local Cat dealer. If you follow the directions on collecting the sample, it can give you an indication of the engine condition. If you test it every time, you will be able to tell when something is going wrong, and possible save a lot of $$$

The date the oil was last changed is less important than the hours it has been operated.
250 hrs is a good rule of thumb.

If you also write on the filter the date and hours, you will better be able to follow this.

Good rule for auction machines is to change oil on it right away, unless you know it was recently done, and even then, change it much sooner than reccomended to see if there is any problems. There may be a reason it was in the auction to begin with.

Also, before you throw away the filters, cut them open and spread out the filter material to look for any metal in the filter. Do not use a saw to cut it, as this will put a lot of little pieces into the filter so you can't tell if there is any engine material in there. Use a pipe cutter if you can, or even a good strong knife. (not one you wish to stay in good shape).

Good luck with it.

 

[Nuggethunting]

Hey Jerry,

I appreciate all your help. I have a couple of the SOS Test Kits I purchased from the CAT dealer here in Arizona.

Would you recommend just doing the oil sample and seeing what that tells me, or just go ahead and change the oil and then test later?

I'm not sitting in front of the Trackhoe right now, but it's a 2001 and has about 7300 hours on it if I remember correctly. We have probably operated the unit many 100 hours max since we purchased it.

The unit looks in great shape and seems to run great also.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Rob

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Rob

I would change the oil now, and take the sample from the old oil AS IT IS DRAINING.
Don't take the sample oil from the beginning or the end of the flow. Let it run a litttle, then fill the bottle out of the stream. That will give the best result.

At 7300 hrs if it had decent care it will give you many years of service.