There are several types of final drive motors. There are caterpillar final drive travel motors, bobcat final drive travel motors, excavator drive motors and other related travel motors. The performance of your final drive is very important. However, optimum performance can only be achieved through proper maintenance. Some of the maintenance tasks are simple basic checks that are easy to carry out while others might require an extra pair of hands. Routine checkups on your final drive motor can significantly extend its life and if you are looking to save money on repairs, follow these basic maintenance tips.

Check for Leaks
Leaks are quickly detectable particularly if you make it a habit of going around the final drive motor on a daily basis. There are two major types of leaks that can occur. You can either have a hydraulic leak or a gas oil leak. BY virtue of their work, final drive motors are exposed to environments that can easily cause leakages. You can easily detect a gear oil leak by checking the sprocket or dripping. On the other hand, a hydraulic leak is often characterized by a thin fluid coming from a leaking hose or when there is an issue with the hydraulic portion of the final drive. A leaking hose problem can easily be fixed. If the leak is not coming from a leaking hose, it is probably being caused by a clogged case drain filter.


Check the Gear Oil
It is recommended that gear oil be checked after every 100 hours of operations. When looking at the cover plate of your travel motor or final drive motor, you will come across a number of plugs. These plugs should be arranged systematically such that one of them is at 12 o’clock and the other at 3 o’clock position. When checking the gear oil, make sure that you undertake minor cleaning procedures such as removing debris and dirt around the area near the plugs in order to reduce the likelihood of the gear oil getting contaminated. When removing the plugs, you might be forced to strike the plugs gently with a hammer to make them loose. It is important to know the functionalities of both plugs in your final drive motor. The upper plug is used for venting while the lower plug regulates the amount of gear oil required by the motor.


Changing the Gear Oil
This is one of the most overlooked maintenance basic today and not just with regards to final drive motor maintenance. You should make sure that the gear oil is changed at least one per year. When changing the oil, try and carry out the process while the oil is still warm-after the engine has been running for some time. This will make it easier for you to change it. Lack of regularly changing the engine oil is that you might run low on gear oil and not even know it. Doing so could cause a lot more damage and deterioration of your engine that is vital for the performance of your final drive motor.

Bottom Line
Routine maintenance of your travel motors should be as a matter of routine and necessity. Remember, some of the key basic maintenance procedures take very little of your time and will not require any professional expertise before they can be detected. Regardless of what the final drive motor is running on-it can be a mini excavator, track loader or a multi-terrain loader, the tasks above will save you time and money in possible repairs.