Machine Operation & Maintenance

[Catster]

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased a 2005 cat 287b sight unseen and today it was delivered. To make a long story short you can raise the boom up which works fine but if you lower it once it starts going down you can't stop it! so it slams into the ground and I am not sure what would cause this and the seller never mentioned a hydraulic problem!!. The hydraulic fluid is full and besides that it seems to run ok. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,

Sean

[Gabeyj93]

Catster off the top of my head it could be two things:

1. The lift arm is going into float. Are you engaging it by accident? Is there a detent at the end of the lower control?
2. The other thing that might be worth checking is the manual lowering valve.

Sometimes it is a red T-handle on the inside of the cab or a ball valve in the rear engine bay. If this is on you are always draining your lift cylinders so up "works" cause you are feeding it more oil than can be drained.

If you tilt your bucket into dump and try and lift yourself up with a powered down command and the front lifts you are NOT in float and it is most likely the manual lower.

Hope this helps.