Hydraulic Pump & Motor Repair
Fixing the pump is the easy part. Finding what killed it matters more.
A hydraulic pump is usually the victim rather than the culprit. By the time it is making noise and the machine has gone slow, something else has generally been wrong for a while.
Test before you condemn
The symptoms of a worn pump, low pressure and reduced flow, are also the symptoms of several much cheaper faults: a blocked suction strainer, air being drawn in through a suction seal, a low reservoir, oil at the wrong viscosity, or a relief valve lifting early.
A pressure and flow test separates these in half an hour and can save you the cost of a pump you did not need.
Contamination is the real story
Most piston and vane pumps that fail have been killed by particles in the oil. That matters because the debris is still in the system when the pump comes out.
So when we find a contamination failure, the questions are where the dirt came from and where it has gone. Common sources are a breather that has been missing since the machine was last serviced, a filter that has been in bypass for months, a reservoir opened up in a dusty yard, or the aftermath of an earlier hose failure that was never flushed out.
Fit a new pump without answering that and you will be back. Answer it, flush the system and change the filters, and the new pump gets a fair chance.
Motors
Orbital and piston motors on track drives, slew rings, augers and conveyors fail in similar ways and get diagnosed the same: case drain flow tells you a great deal about internal wear, and it is a much better indicator than how the machine feels to the operator.
What is included
- Pressure and flow tested before anything is condemned, so you are not replacing a healthy pump because of a stuck relief valve.
- Gear, vane and piston pumps, plus orbital and piston motors.
- Where a pump has failed from contamination, we find the source before fitting a new one.
- System flushed and filters changed as part of the job, not sold separately afterwards.
Common questions
The machine is slow and noisy. Is the pump finished?
Possibly, but slow and noisy is also what you get from a partially blocked suction strainer, aerated oil, a low reservoir or a relief valve lifting early. All of those are cheap. Testing pressure and flow tells you which one you have before you buy a pump.
Why do you care what caused the failure?
Because most pump failures are contamination, and contamination does not go away when the pump does. Fit a new pump into a dirty system and it will fail too, usually inside a year. Finding the source is what makes the repair worth paying for.
Repair or replace?
It depends on the pump. Many gear pumps are cheaper to replace than to strip. Larger piston pumps are usually worth repairing. We price both where both are realistic.
Do you flush the system?
Yes, where a failure has put debris into the circuit. Fitting clean components into contaminated oil is the most common reason a second failure follows the first.
Can you work on the machine where it stands?
Diagnosis, yes, almost always. A pump change is often possible on site too. A strip and rebuild belongs in a workshop.
Machine down? We can usually be with you the same day.
Tell us the machine, the hose and where you are. We will tell you honestly whether we can reach you and what it will cost before we set off.