Pumps are the heart of any hydraulic system

Pumps are the heart of any hydraulic system.

It’s very likely for the people in the working field to associate the failure of the hydraulic system with the pumps

So whenever anything goes wrong, it’s usually the pump that gets the blame.

In fact, it’s unusual for a pump failure to be caused by a defect in the pump. Most often, it’s a symptom of problems hidden elsewhere in the system.

Typically, 90 to 95 percent of pump failures can be attributed to one or more of the following causes:

Aeration is the presence of dispersed bubbles of air in a system’s hydraulic fluid. An implosion effect occurs when the compressed air bubbles are subjected to system pressure at the pump outlet. This implosion can cause metal to be pulled from the pressure plates, wear plates, etc. damaging both the hardware and the fluid.

Cavitation occurs when restricted inlet flow to the pump creates fluid voids that implode causing shocks that break away critical surface material.

Contamination is any material foreign to a hydraulic fluid that has

A harmful effect on its performance in a system. Contaminants can be solid particles, liquids, or gases. Most contaminants cause an abrasive action between mating components, resulting in accelerated wear and tear.

Excessive heat is a thermal condition above a specified limit causing fluid quality and viscosity to be affected. An extreme system duty cycle, aeration, cavitation, over- pressurization, and contamination are some factors that contribute to excessive heat.

Over-pressurization

subjects a pump to operating pressures greater than those for which it was designed. This often leads to premature failure.

Improper fluid can cause excessive wear and increased internal leakage. The lack of antiwear additives and low viscosity may result in pump siezure.

Each of these conditions leaves its own “footprint” on parts. If you recognize these distinctive types of damage, you will understand two things:

(1) The need for specific corrective maintenance so an early failure does not subject you to more and more downtime; and

(2) How important it is for any remanufacturing process to be done by professionals who clearly understand whether a part can be reworked and still meet original equipment standards.

In summary, the above points are the main contributors to the failure of the hydraulic systems, which need to be taken very carefully.