Druidic exploits of a various nature!!

[v8druid]

We are with baited breath................................

Better give you some more then I 'spose .......... Dearg

[v8druid]

well the " 'sposed to be nice tomorrow " was the usual met. office bull shit very soggy start to the week ... that horrible wetting drizzle ..... again that makes everything slick as goose sh1t including machine panels, hoses, etc. !!

But ........ it did clear up about 12 ..... just around the time Pam got back !!

so 'twere a bit of a late start, interspersed with the odd "can you justs" at the most inopportune moments, but progress was made ...... eventually!!

a gynecological qualification would be more suited to this little task ...





'cept you don't see many gynecologists trying to wield a 30mm spanner in their theatre of combat !!





looks relatively spacious in the pix .... believe me it weren't!!


but it came out .... after I'd laid a bed of rags to cover every possible avenue of escape for any errant Zeberdees that might want to make good their exit, or hopefully any lumps of crap that had taken up residence ... I wanted to see 'em .... and see 'em land within easy recovery distance/reach, too!!





regrettably, sod all in the way of bits of crap came cascading out. (The entire oil content of the valve block did though), but at the same time, thankfully, no fleeing Zeberdees either!!


3/4" ISO A QC female plug came in handy for filling an un-occupied hole, whilst I dealt with the previous occupant.


I believe this is what's known as a cartridge valve ...... a very clean one!!





and one that I now had the numbers for too !! ..... God only knows what one'd cost though? !!!!!!!!

a spectacularly nicely made assembly ......





with some exceptionally expensive looking parts .....





that hole is drilled at an angle to the centre axis of the part and emerges obliquely to the circumference !!!! ****ing serious engineering!!





'bout the only thing I could see wrong with it was this .......





the first 'shuttle' (?) seemed a little sticky on its armature (?) ... came apart easily enough with little effort, but was a hell of a lot more free moving after I'd finished cleaning it all .... carb cleaner is the dog's danglies for removing stale oil shite and lacquer.


Looked like a new 'un, all bar a few witness mark stains, which resolutely refused to be removed, no matter how much rubbing with a soft clean cotton rag they got!!
That was as abrasive as I was prepared to get with these machined, honed, polished, mate faces !!

[v8druid]

a little 'taken aback' with the size of the springs in this lil' beasty!!





Considering it's holding back 355bar .... I've seen bigger springs in some ball point pens!!!


must be some very clever porting in the block to allow these to cope with the job they're doing.


back together and suitably protectively wrapped, I gave this ....





as good a clean as I could manage and it came up remarkably well ..... considering ...





Set, capped and wire tie sealed, this component has never seen the protective cossetting of a few coats of paint, like the rest of it and has had approaching 20 years of weather assailing it !!


And yes the allen key is twisted .... from a previous encounter with something of serious tightness, but it was the best fit I had from dozens, without breaking into a new set, which I'd happily do if the need arises!!


re-installed, you can just about see what came out with the oil, caught in the clean white cloth, after the oil has soaked away through it, into the waiting tray, below 'the pit' this lot lives in, in the arse end of her.





discovered the zoom on the phone's camera .... very useful !!


...... the paint ain't quite what it was and deffo no longer virginal ..... this valve has most definitely been out o' the block .... probably for the first time since it was fitted in there !!






Got the gauge where I could see it .... and be able to connect it to the various ports available.


dropped the small adapter, out of the new kit, into the LS line at a tee point that'd been installed, when the breaker circuit had been plumbed in...... with BSP fittings !!! .........





apologies for the pic quality!!


and connected up the gauge to a Stauf point in the QH valve line, straight out the pump .....





that's the port next to M1 in the drg, page 10 ...... and wound her up.
this is not what I expected to see ........ ????





I'd understood QHs run full pressures, but remained rock steady at 50 bar!! ??

[v8druid]

So knocked her off, connected the gauge up to the Stauf I'd tee-ed into the LS line and ran her up again.
Zero on the dial ???????? Until I did something ..... picked the boom a bit and up came the LS to 200 bar


dead ended the crowd at full dump and the LS went to 320bar and dropped off as it relieved.


repeated this with a few motions and all did the same, but all motions functioned at circa 200 bar ... relieved when dead ended at 320 bar !!


Knocked her off and swapped the gauge to M1 port, for the main pressure .....


all motions seemed to run around the 200 bar and dead end at 350 bar.
I was getting somewhat confused at the low motion reading so decided to bang a bucket on and work her a little and especially wanted to see how she'd lift herself .... difficult with the dipper sat on a sleeper block ... much easier with a bucket on the hitch.


Only thing I could get at was me 7 footer, but it was gonna do!


She'd pick herself then die off initially, but ..... and I'm guessing there may still have been air floating about somewhere, things got better and she'd have the front 10ft in the air, without hesitation .... gauge all the time reading 200 bar ???


travel was now working and ran her back and fore a bit in 1st and 1st crawler.
full pedal in 1st is reasonably nippy, so crawler gave me more time to observe.


continued to 'work her', but unable to load her other than picking the front up.


having gotten her up to 40C, she was deffo a hell of a lot better .... but not as she was???? not as sharp, harsh even?


Now here's a n other of my left of centre ideas on the problem .......


supposing the MRV has been stuck, since I've had her ... dead ending any motion always resulted in a grunt/complaint and got used to avoiding doing it, (which one should anyway, realistically). She has always been harsh/sharp and would/could bite yer arse, if not careful.
she seemed 'softer' and have to say grading an inch off the deck, was smooth / much smoother, than was?
really needed to load her digging, or forking some weight about and was gonna try that in the morrow, once I'd sorted the pin out on the VA-r ... shouldn't take long and TBH I really know how she performs, with that, the forks on her and a tonne on 'em. was going to be a good comparitor for me.


The LS and main pressure figures certainly seem to correspond with each other, but here was a Q for anyone who knows ....


the variable pumps .... do they vary flow rate and pressure?????? and presumably that is subject to load exerted on the machine? hard digging/lifting/whatever, results in greater pressure being produced.
How relative is that to engine speed .... I generally run her at 1400rpm as running on the next notch up (1700rpm) only seems to increase speed of operation ... she has/had plenty of umph at the lower revs




I realise that the idea is to maintain the optimum output at given input from the motor and maintain max efficiency, with out taking the motor to a stall point


One last thing .... for now anyway .... the only Stauf point I didn't connect up to was M2 the Z line .. cross sensing line between the two pumps ...... no idea what to expect from it??


So ..... she was working ... sort of, I thought but was a very different feel


here's the test port choices in the engine bay ...... M2 is bottom right corner-ish in the pic ..... M1 is virtually centre, ... bottom left is LS and top centre is the QH line, straight out the second pump port, beside M1 port!!




Was not convinced I was out o' the woods yet!
She 'felt' very different !
I really needed to work her, as I say to get a proper feel, but I got the feeling that she was not the razor sharp item she was ... merest touch before had an instant reaction ..... too sharp at times
Very hard to describe.
Everything seems to come in much more gently, rather than with the 'bang-it's there ', that it was.


Needed to spend some time on her and see what's what

[v8druid]

...... had a very 'close encounter'......with the bonnet that night, tidying up!!


Bent over the motor last thing feeding the gauge pipe back out of the engine bay and heard a 'ping' !


Odd thought I and was getting down to investigate ..... just as there was a second ping and yon bonnet came down where I'd been stood/bent over ... bloody lucky !!


bonnet stay stopped it coming all the way, but bent the bugger .... front hinge bolts had let go ... skt hd c/s,s and had sheared around the socket in the head.





Only M6s and asking a lot of 'em TBH, but as fitted from new (I've replaced em once) as t'others were too knackered to retighten!!


Might 'up 'em' to M8s .... lot of weight/tension on them .....
ended up faffing about with a torch, trying to sort it last night, so's I could close it down


next day started well with not a cloud in the sky ....... until .......






me lake's back .... was shrinking well too




forecast was:- "hot and sunny .... possibly the warmest day of the year" !! Right!!!!

did eventually stop for a few minutes, 'bout 4 o'clock .... had half an hour trying to persuade some check valves into the spaghetti maze that is the VA-r's plumbing ...managed to re-route the P feed with a few fittings and some juggling.














not so much luck with the T line .... gonna have to get a.n.other pipe made up, to get that one in !!!!


should hopefully cure the occasional back flow issues I'm getting with the Hill!


Sky cleared to blue, just in time for me to have to go in ..... alternate Tuesdays are 'treatment nights' ..... guess who was getting yelled on to get his arse indoors!!!


Hopefully it would be a drier day tomorrow !!

[Muz]

You surprise me druid.. That's the basic gauge set i recommend everyone gets how have you survived without one

[v8druid]

You surprise me druid.. That's the basic gauge set i recommend everyone gets how have you survived without one

Not had cause to require one.........'til now Muz!!

[Ukjay]

Hey Graham,

Do you know what kind of rock that is you are digging out of your land, and does it retain its red colour - or is that just the mud on the outside that washes off?

Jay

[v8druid]

Hey Graham,

Do you know what kind of rock that is you are digging out of your land, and does it retain its red colour - or is that just the mud on the outside that washes off?

Jay

That's mostly the muddy surface Jay ...... tend to be a greeny grey .... the triangular one stood at the bottom is brown ..... would love to know WTF it is ...... pm me an addy and I'll send you a bit

[v8druid]

so..... where was I???

Got teh busted pin out the following morning .....





for sorting .....





then back in ....





and got it on .....







together with some forks, for some lump lugging


500kgs of VA-r and 300 kgs of forks, plus a dumpy full of 3/4 to dust and another couple of hundred kgs of cement sat on top, all on a pallet. The 'Robber Price' one, on the bank in the background!!


She'd lift it .... sort of, but she wasn't what she was ....


Pre 'incident' she'd have had it away, no sweat, no effort ... or pick the wheels off the floor .... now, she was dumping 'under strain'/serious load.


I was more convinced than ever that she had had a stuck RV since I'd had her and'd consequently tackle anything I put in front of/on her, or have her toes off the deck.


I was also concerned/considering that the RV is 'leaking' / bypassing !!

so went looking for info .........

Fill your boots gentlemen


My MRV
Balanced, Pilot Operated Relief Valve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gHjNwOWtJk






REXROTH LOAD SENSING DRF DFR PUMP CONTROL EXPLAINED


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LlFzZY1OuU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb8o-9b4Mrc






Pressure Compensated Pump Adjustments


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcCG6yJw1FY


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eeHmE-dHPk






pump operation


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdib6XwxNuc




Some great videos ..... "every day's a school day"

I watched 'em all several times and will need a few more viewings to get the best of some of 'em.
One of the guys on Maskinisten gave me the link for my MRV and ..... it kinda snowballed from there ..... Jac's a Swedish Tim (t'other forum's 'oracle' ... who sadly passed away recently) and seemed to know his sh*t on things oily/squashy


had an hour in her the following day, shifting stuff about and getting gear in reach, while the ground was 'dry' enough to get me wheels on, without spreading it everywhere, when I came back off it


Still wasn't what she were though ..... but did seem to be 'getting better' ... sort of ??
Very hard to describe and didn't make sense at times? ...... dumped picking the blade up ???? .... but she'd just picked herself up on the blade ?? full reach over the side and picked it ... just .. with a bit of a balancing act!! Doesn't take a huge amount to have her up, over the side though, full stretch, 'specially with 800Ks of VA-r and forks on the end.


One thing was for sure .... I knew a hell of a lot more about her and her systems in general, than I did a few weeks ago! Steep ol' learning curve, but ........ richer for it, knowledge-wise at least .... hair's greyer though and thinner in places from all the barnet scratching!!

[v8druid]

forgot this one ........another to completely fry you heads with


http://www.parker.com/parkerimages/h...latebasics.pdf


Mine was rapidly approaching shot at this point!!!!!

[v8druid]

She had a few hours work out the following evening ..... grab on and up the ramp to tidy up all the lumps of rubble lying about, then picked out some large lumps of tree from behind those 12" perf. pipes, that I couldn't get at/handle manually.
Then back down, grabbed the 3ft Geith, which was full of yet more rubble, back up and tipped it on the heap, back down and parked the Geith where I can get at it from the 'hard'.


Grabbed a small boulder and stuck it beside the boulder heap .... and lost the boom a couple of times .... wait a few seconds and it's back, but the first time it did it all evening???


Dropped the grab off and 5 ft grader onto the Hill, back up the ramp for a square up and fill the ruts she'd created, up and down .... still soft but not claggy ... least it didn't stick to the wheels.


Performed fine ?? Boulder wasn't heavy .. maybe half a tonne max.??


Anyway ..... Sunday or not, I was gonna have a shufty the next morning at the ground up at the tank site and if it was drive-able it was gonna have to have it.
Couldn't see it getting any drier under foot than it was then. Hopefully she would not let me down again and I could get all done that needed doing .... It was 'sposed to pee down the following night !!!








shot down for 500ltrs cherry the day before, at lunchtime and got back to find me one drum weeping !!!!!!


Rushing round trying to get it off and emptied, I walked straight into the Hill at head level .... bloody peaked cap ... can't see anything just above eye level !!!
After I'd picked me self up off the deck, having had a five minute rub of the rapidly growing egg on me head, while I was down there and cursed my stupidity, I thought " that was a bloody stupid thing to do "


Had a pounding head for days after and possibly a slight dose of concussion, as didn't feel right ..... was like getting whacked with an iron bar ..... or a Hill QH!!!!


One hell of a thud .... good job I had the hat on, or would've split me head open, but if I hadn't had it on, I'd have seen the bloody Hill ..... chicken and egg !!!!! LOL!!


Was hoping she behaved herself tthe next day, but at least I had a much better idea of what /why, if she gave me trouble again and wouldn't be such an OMG / moment !!!!


She was deffo 'different' though!!??


Whereas before, if you, for example, full stick-ed her, and came up against the dead end, she would load the pump, now she didn't complain, just dumped, but didin't lose services ???? ....
inadvertently 'full sticking' her would always cause her to grunt/complain ... same with full extension on the VA cylinder or the lift rams ...... now it didn't sometimes, but not every time ???? ..... more often it didn't grunt/complain ?


It was a VERY different drive!! ??????????

well it pee-ed down that night ....


but the ground was not the greatest anyway, so the Sunday morning, I didn't get to do anything .....


plus, ..... I wasn't feeling the greatest either, since head butting yon Hill ...


Was gonna have to have my shit together in the morning though ... promised the neighbour I'd go lift some bits for him.


Gave him my old gas compound, when I cleared the yard out ... better than skipping it, for what it was ultimately worth in the bin and he'd finally gotten around to putting some pads in for it, to stand it on, the previous week.


Going to create a traccy/machinery shed with it and a few extra poles and roof sheets ..


So was really hoping the 'Drema behaved itself ....... and his field wasn't too wet !!

[v8druid]

well I had my shit together ... pity the 'Drema hadn't followed suit !!


More to follow on that subject .... after I've had a n other investigation session!!


A few pix for yer's in the meantime, from the day.







run in was soft, shall we say ..... well softer than usual ... could certainly see where I'd been..





But TBH, firmer than I'd expected it to be after the Sunday night's deluge





the two local builder lads he'd had come and do the pads had returned to assist in erecting it and were good boys, fairplay ....




the fact that I'd made this originally, damned near 17 years ago helped too!!
Plus I'd been careful taking it down when I cleared my yard ... went back together a treat.





just left the lid left to go back on .....





which was on, welded and cleared up by 5 o'clock ... Not bad for a 1 o'clock start


He's gonna put a pole 'goal post' 4 m, in front of it, a few purlins from that to the compound, then sheet the whole lot ..... will give him a 7m wide and 8m deep traccy/implement shed, for next to sod all ... other than the cladding and the builder boys couple of days ... bit of cladding to the sides .... job done !!


Oh and the doors'll be swung out to form the sides between the pole goal-post and it, once they're clad

[v8druid]

sooooo ....... First job the next morning ...... LS line off at the pump, drained the main valve block with it, got it off and blew the bugger out, then got the union out of the MVB and was hopeing to find two orifices in the union




reckoned two of 'em had to be in this hex nipple ... third might've be in the end of the LS line at the pump ..... it's a queer looking male end on the line


T'was fine for an hour that morning, getting ready to go down next door, to stand up me old gas bottle compound ....
squared a few things out the way, VA-r off, straight/big forks on and the 3 ft Geith hung on 'em .... (never forget Massa Yoda's words ..... go nowhere without a bucket to hand ... never know when you might need it to get you out the shit) ..... extra chains, slings, welder, etc. onboard and set off ..... only to have the bloody drive fade out .. stop, go, fade ..... FFS


Switched her over from digging mode to travel (isolates all exc. functions) and seemed 'better', so set off again .... got there and switched back to exc. mode ...... OK 95% of the time, but still losing it occassionally.


With me new found 'insights' into 'the system's intricacies' and knowing a little more of what to listen for ..... I was 99% willing to bet me right nut (I'd already bet the left one on t'other the previous evening), that it was an LS system blockage .....
pump is not loading the motor at all ..


fades out as LS pressure droppeds off and then, until you release whatever motion you're using and dump the residual LS pressure in the MVB, presumably behind the blockage, to allow it to shift, then 'go again', .. there's now't and no load on the pump as it's been down-stroked, by the lack of LS pressure to upstroke it!!


bloody clever these pumps are


Hopefully a step closer to finding it ..... those youtube videos were bloody good !!

[AndrewMawson]

How goes the diagnosis of this peculiar fault Graham, not heard from you in a few days ?