Download PDF version - Masonry Construction

Forklift maintenance guide
Follow proper preventive maintenance procedures to maximize
the durability, efficiency, and safety of your telescopic-boom material handlers
By Carolyn Schierhorn
T
ypically costing more than
$80,000, a rough-terrain
forklift represents a substantial investment to the masonry contractor. To ensure that
the material handler performs efficiently for many years, following proper maintenance procedures is essential.
At various intervals, a multitude of moving parts must be
greased, fluid reservoirs must be
replenished, and components
must be inspected and replaced
if necessary. Adhering to a rigid
maintenance schedule will promote machine safety and productivity, as well as minimize costly
future repairs.
Contractors can save money by
doing some repairs themselves.
But before servicing a telescopic
handler, always consult the operator’s manual to see what parts
and systems are still under warranty. Any warranty work must
be performed by the dealer or a
factory representative.
Most rough-terrain forklifts
come with a separate engine manual in addition to the operator’s
manual. Be sure to read the appropriate manuals prior to doing
repair or maintenance work. Not
a complete list, the guidelines
that follow are general recommendations. All rough-terrain
forklifts are not the same. Boom,
carriage, and steering system designs vary, so servicing instructions will differ from model to
model. And some masonry contractors may prefer to perform
Observing daily, weekly, monthly, semiannual, and annual maintenance procedures
will help ensure forklift longevity.
certain maintenance tasks even
more frequently than suggested
by the manufacturer.
Remember to dispose of all oils
and other fluids in accordance
with local regulations. Do not
pour them on the ground or into
a drain.
Daily maintenance
At the start of every day, the
forklift operator should:
■ Check the engine oil, adding
more if necessary to maintain
the oil level at the full mark on
the dipstick
■ Examine the radiator coolant
level, first loosening the radiator
cap to release system pressure
■ Look at the hydraulic oil level
(Many machines have an easyto-read gauge)
■ Grease any fittings and joints
designated by the manufacturer for daily lubrication
■ L o o kf o rl o o s e w h e e ln u t s ;t i g h ten anything found loose
■ Check the tire pressure and fill
any low tires; if the tires contain calcium chloride and water (hydrofill) for ballast, position the valve stem at the top
of the wheel to prevent loss of
hydrofill (Ref. 1)
■ Inspect the brake fluid reser-
procedures should be scheduled
every 500 to 2,000 hours, depending on the task and the manufacturer.
The transmission oil, fuel filter, and hydraulic return filter element should be changed approximately every 3 months. Also,
examine the muffler and tailpipe
then for possible holes; retighten
any loose clamps and make sure
no gaskets are leaking.
The radiator coolant and the
hydraulic oil should be replaced
every 6 months to a year. If you
don’t have a mechanic on staff,
t h ed e a l e rc a np e r f o r mt h e s ei mportant tasks.
Critical tasks often neglected
When a telescopic boom has wear pads, they should be checked on an almost daily basis.
voirs and fill them to the proper level
■ After warming up the transmission, check the transmission oil (if appropriate for your
machine)
At the end of the day, a designated person should:
■ Clean all mud from the accelerator and brake pedals to prevent them from sticking
■ Remove any mud from around
wheels and other moving parts;
freezing mud could tear off
brake lines or hydraulic lines
■ Lower the boom
■ Fill the fuel tank to prevent
water from condensing in it
■ In cold weather, cover the machine with a tarp to keep freezing rain and snow from linkage
and gauges (Ref. 2)
Weekly and monthly tasks
Manufacturers have different
recommendations as to what preventive maintenance tasks should
be performed weekly, every two
weeks, and monthly.
Most suggest that the air filter
be examined weekly. If extremely
dirty, it can be washed with water
or cleaned with low-pressure compressed air. Replace the air filter
element if it has holes or tears.
The alternator/fan belt should
also be inspected weekly for tension and wear. With your thumb,
press the belt down at the center
of the longest span and measure
the deflection. Replace a belt
that has cuts or shows other signs
of wear.
The engine oil and filter should
b ec h a n g e de v e r y 1 0 0t o2 5 0h o u r s ,
in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions. Follow specifications in the engine manual for
the type of filter and the type and
viscosity of oil to put in.
Change the transmission filter
monthly, whenchecking t h et r a nsmission oil level (if used by your
forklift). Every month, you also
should replace the fuel filter.
Check it for water; if water is
found, drain the tank.
Longer intervals
Severalimportant maintenance
Although every new forklift
comes with an operator’s manual
filled with servicing procedures,
schedules, and warnings, many
contractors n e g l e c tm a c h i n em a i ntenance. Small contractors without mechanics on staff are especiallyguilty, forkliftdealersconcur.
And rented or leased forklifts are
particularly vulnerable.
“Everything gets ignored,” contends Keith Castle of Jerry Castle
& Son Hi-Lift Inc. in Elk Grove
Village, Ill. “Some contractors just
know how to put gas in it—and
that’s it. T h e yd o n ’t grease the
machine. They don’t change the
oil regularly.”
Except for large contractors
with good record-keeping systems, “contractors, in general,
leave a lot of room for improvement,” agrees Ralph Winkler,
co-owner and sales manager of
Lincoln Contractors Supply in
Milwaukee.
“I wouldn’t rely on your average operator to even grease the
machine,” adds Wayne Morris of
Gold Coast Aerial Lift in Hollywood, Fla. “When we rent out
machines, we ask customers to
perform certain daily maintenance tasks—to check the oil and
make sure they don’t run out of
fuel. But we don’t rely on them to
do the routine scheduled maintenance. Even if they said they’d do
it, we wouldn’t take their word
for it.”
Certain procedures are prone
to be neglected. For example,
contractors often don’t make sure
that tire pressure is checked daily and the tires filled to the pressure level indicated by the manufacturer. “This is very important
for stability,” Winkler says. “If
you’ve got one front tire with less
pressure in it than the other, the
machine is off balance.”
Because forklifts inevitably run
over all manner of jobsite debris,
tires will get cut and punctured
from time to time; so knowing
how to repair a tire is an essential skill. While this shouldn’t be
difficult, some of the tires used
on rough-terrain forklifts contain
calcium chloride or foam, which
complicates the procedure.
“Often someone will fix the flat
but fail to replace the calcium,”
observes Garth Landefeld of Metroquip Inc., a Minneapolis forklift dealer. When a foam-filled
tire is cut, the operator may underestimate the damage if leakage isn’t apparent. “If the machine is supporting a substantial
load while the cut is on the tire
bottom, the foam can be pushed
out,” Landefeld points out.
According to one manufacturer, the most common oversight is
failure to check the wear pads on
the boom (Not all booms have
wear pads, however). Wear pads
should be checked almost daily to
make sure they’re in place; weekly, they should be adjusted if necessary, notes this manufacturer’s
training specialist.
“But the wear pads are seldom
looked after,” he says. “Sometimes they fall out and no one notices, or they get worn down to
the point where they’re nonexistent; yet the contractor continues
to operate the machine.” If wear
pads aren’t present, the hoses in
the boom could rub together and
eventually jam.
In addition, a forklift’s hydraulic system requires more atten-
t i o nt h a ni tu s u a l l yr e c e i v e s .W h e n
contractors carelessly store and
handle fresh oil, it may become
contaminated with dirt and water. Oil contamination causes
most of the failures and wear
problems in the hydraulic system
by shortening the life of components, especially rolling and sliding bearings, gears, and hydrau-
Examine the air filter at least weekly;
replace it if damaged.
lic pumps and cartridges (Ref.1).
Landefeld observes that forklifts are commonly abused in the
field. Often operators don’t follow
the load charts. For example, with
the boom extended upward and
forward, they will carry a load
weighing the forklift’s maximum
load capacity.
Putting too great a load on the
forklift can damage the boom,
Landefeld says. “You might bend a
slide or cause damage to the front
nose where the forks hook up.”
Some operators also push with
the boom, which can damage the
telescopic cylinder or the point
where the boom pivots on the
frame.
Tires are victims of abuse as
well as neglect, Morris emphasizes. “We see a lot of negligence
on tires, and we charge rental
customers for that. It’s an avoidable type of carelessness. Contractors need to keep the jobsite
freer of debris, and select paths
for the forklift to travel on. I’ve
seen operators drive over scrap
heaps and destroy tires.”
Forklift dealers agree that
these problems boil down to lack
of operator training and accountability. Frequently, especially at
small masonry firms, a forklift
won’t have an assigned operator;
so no one is responsible for looking after the machine. As a result,
according to one manufacturer,
“small leaks become big leaks,
and loose hardware develops into
a major problem.”
Training
Operator training should be
emphasized, whatever the contractor’s size. At a large firm such
as Dallas-based Dee Brown Inc.,
which owns about 20 rough-terrain forklifts, the staff mechanic
can train the operators on proper
maintenance. James Bunch, Dee
Brown’s head mechanic, organizes a half-day operators’ meeting on maintenance once a year.
“We go over everything with them
—all the preventive maintenance
procedures.”
Bob Lee of Lee Masonry Inc. in
Nashville, Tenn., takes advantage of training provided by the
dealer and manufacturer. “The
manufacturer of our forklifts has
people who will come here locally
and put on a training program—
a half day on maintenance and a
half day on safety. They’ll show
you what you should be doing
and how to do it.”
Assigning responsibility
Lee assigns each operator responsibility for a specific forklift,
although sometimes the operator
may need to drive a different machine. “We say, ‘This is your machine; wherever it goes, you go;
you’re responsible for it. If we
find abuse problems or lack of
maintenance, you’re not going to
like the conversation.’ ”
At Lee Masonry, “on all of our
equipment, we expect our operators to perform the maintenance
that is normal and not extraordinary,” says Lee. Operators are responsible for checking the fluid
levels, greasing the joints and the
boom, changing the engine oil,
and cleaning and replacing the
filters. The foremen must make
sure the maintenance procedures
are carried out, but it’s not their
responsibilitytoperformthetasks.
Lee Masonry documents preventive maintenance in weekly
reports. Documentation is very
important because a manufacturer may be able to void a particular warranty if proper maintenance hasn’t been performed.
Establishing an efficient routine
Once operators get used to doing maintenance, it doesn’t take
much time, Lee observes. “Each
morning, they’ve got about 10
minutes worth of tasks to do when
they start up. In that period,
they’ll apply two squirts of grease
to each one of the fittings. They’ll
check all the liquids very quickly.
For example, they’ll just flip the
radiator cap and observe,‘Yes, it’s
got fluid in it.’ They’ll pull the oil
d i p s t i c ka n dc h e c ki t .T h e y ’ l lc h e c k
the battery water. In most of our
machines, we can see the hydraulic level without doing anything
but glancing at the gauge.”
Weekly maintenance procedures at Lee Masonry take about
an hour on Friday afternoon; but
some operators begin those tasks
on Thursday to get a head start.
Repairs and major maintenance
Large contracting firms such
as Dee Brown often prefer to do
their own repairs. “I take care of
all repairs and major servicing,”
says Bunch. “We don’t send anything out.”
Lee takes a different approach,
though. “We are fairly strong believers that you’re better off getting equipment serviced by the
factory representative.”
While operators will grease the
slide plates in a boom, “they can’t
replace them,” Lee says. “Those
are items we’ll have serviced by
the dealer, and it varies with the
machine whether it’s every 2,000
or 3,000 hours. Additionally, at
that time, the dealer will do what
the operator does once a week or
more often to make sure it’s being done properly. The dealer also
will send oils out to be tested for
signs of abnormal wear.”
Maintenance should influence
purchase decision
Ease of maintenance should be
a consideration when purchasing
a forklift. How accessible are the
fluids and components that need
to be cleaned or replaced periodically? Are the fluid levels, such
as the hydraulic oil, indicated by
easy-to-read gauges? Can you understand the operator’s manual?
Does the manufacturer or dealer
offer maintenance training?
Also, consider limiting your
firm to rough-terrain forklifts
produced by one manufacturer.
Lee prefers to buy the same type
of forklift when he can because
there are significant differences
among brands—for example, twowheel vs. four-wheel steering, 90degree pivot-type turning vs. a
traversing carriage.
“We try to standardize as much
as possible, so we know the maintenance is pretty much the same
on every one of these machines
except for minor differences in
models,” Lee says.
Whether your firm is large or
small, whether you rely on a staff
mechanic or dealer support, your
telescopichandlers deserveconsiderable attention. A thorough preventive maintenance program will
maximize your forklift’s life, your
operator’s safety, and your satisfaction with the investment.
References
1. “Rough-terrain Forklift Maintenance
Tips,” Trak International Inc., 369 W. Western Ave., Port Washington, WI 53074.
2. “Maintenance Tips,” Jerry Castle & Sons
Hi-Lift Inc., 651 E. Devon, Elk Grove Village,
IL 60007.
3. Dynalift Series, Telescoping Boom Forklift Operator’s Manual, 1994, Gehl Co., P.O.
Box 179, West Bend, WI 53095.
4. Operation & Lubrication Manual, 1994,
The Gradall Co., 405 Mill Ave. S.W., New
Philadelphia, OH 44663.
5. Owner/Operator Manual, Traverse Lift
Co., P.O. Box 451960, Houston, TX 77245.
6. Pettibone Extendo Service Manual, Pettibone Michigan, P.O. Box 368, Baraga, MI
49908.
7. Sky Trak Owners/Operators Manual,
1995, Trak International.
8. Square Shooter Operator’s Manual,
Baraga Products Inc., P.O. Box 248, Baraga, MI 49908.
PUBLICATION #M950384
Copyright © 1995, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved