Maintaining Your Heavy Equipment's Parts

Your heavy equipment is made up of several different parts, all of which need special care and maintenance attention to continue functioning. If you’re not sure where to start in regards to maintaining your heavy equipment, check out this guide from the experts at Alltrade Equipment Corp. 

Know Your Heavy Equipment

You can’t maintain your heavy equipment if you don’t know anything about it. Luckily, there’s an amazing source of information about your specific heavy equipment model that you can obtain for free: the owner’s manual. The owner’s manual is chock full of useful information, both maintenance-related and otherwise. 

Do Inspections Before Use

Daily safety inspections are a must when dealing with heavy equipment due to its sheer size and power. The good news is that these inspections are a great way to catch potential issues before they cause an accident or become expensive to fix. Just taking a few minutes out of every workday can save you a lot of time and money. If you have any doubts as to a piece of heavy equipment’s safety, it’s better to just not use it until you get it back in good working order. 

The Tires

The ground around job sites tends to be hard on heavy equipment tires, so perform regular tread inspections and replace them as needed. Keeping the tire pressure within the manufacturer's recommended range is also important, so monitor the tire pressure closely. 

The Engine

Engine oil, hydraulic fluid, and coolant are all critical to keeping your heavy equipment’s engine running well. These fluids need to be topped off regularly. If you notice any leaks, get them checked out by a professional. Finally, be sure to inspect the fluids themselves. If they appear abnormal, such as oil being sludgy or gritty to the touch, that usually means the fluids can’t do their jobs properly. 

Frame and Attachments

When inspecting your heavy equipment’s frame, ignore minor aesthetic damage like scratches and dents. You should instead focus on threats to the equipment’s overall structural integrity. While inspecting your equipment, don’t forget to take a look at the attachments as well. Using broken or damaged attachments can result in damage to your equipment itself. 

The Operator Tools

Without fully functional mirrors, buttons, and levers, a piece of heavy equipment cannot be safely operated. That’s why you need to be just as thorough about inspecting your equipment’s cabin as you are inspecting the rest of the machine. 

For more about how to maintain your heavy equipment’s parts or to shop heavy equipment, visit Alltrade Equipment Corp. Our dealership in Pickering, Ontario offers convenient access to communities like Oshawa and Toronto, Ontario. We also offer parts, liquidation, servicing, and rentals.