Five Winter Maintenance Tips
As the seasons change, so do the demands of your equipment and the maintenance requirements needed to keep your equipment performing at its best.
Kubota Construction Equipment Product Manager Patrick Baker offers his essential tips for ensuring your Kubota construction equipment is ready to face the challenges of winter.
#1 – Know your machine. Familiarize yourself with your model specific recommendations in your machine’s operator’s manual. This is the first place to look prior to performing routine maintenance or if you have questions about your Kubota equipment. You can always reach out to your local Kubota dealer for more specific information or questions.
#2 – Keep it clean. Clean the undercarriage regularly – excess snow, salt, and ice can get stuck to the machine causing performance and mobility issues.
#3 – Warm it up. Allow the construction equipment to properly warm up – machine function is better when the engine and machine have time to warm above 40 degrees. Adding a block heater to the machine will decrease warm up time and more efficiently heat the cab.
#4 – Look under the hood. Daily inspections are critical for machine success in identifying areas of wear that could lead to serious or expensive repairs if unchecked. Examine fluid hoses regularly for cracks – cold temperatures put added stress on major machine components, including hoses which can crack in very cold temperatures. Other areas to inspect include oil and grease lubrication, coolant, fuel levels, battery function and the undercarriage.
#5 – Keep it in indoors. Store the equipment inside if possible. Housing the equipment inside a shed or building will reduce the winter strain on the equipment.