Orienting Drive Axles for Final Drive Servicing
It has been well established that maintaining final drives and axles is an important part of any maintenance routine for high value equipment such as haulers, excavators or dozers. This maintenance helps prolong the life of equipment and avoids costly and catastrophic failures.
Filling, draining, level checking and sampling are all vital steps in a maintenance plan for final drives. In order to complete these tasks, specific wheel or track alignment is required to access drain plugs, vents and level gauges.
Although wheel and track alignment is one of the simpler tasks to perform during final drive maintenance, it is not without its own set of challenges that may result in operator injury, lengthy wait times and increased personnel costs. Below are a few things to consider when aligning axles for final drive maintenance.
Safety
Safety becomes a concern when operators are required to climb in and out of vehicles several times to check wheel position, especially in dusty, dirty, or wet conditions. This increases the risk of slips, trips and falls, as well as physical strain on operators.
Time
Final drive maintenance can be a lengthy process. Aligning axles to the proper location for filling, draining, level checking and sampling may require multiple forward and backwards adjustments that add additional time and cost to maintaining equipment.
Personnel
Aligning axles may require a second operator on the ground to communicate wheel position to the driver. Allocating additional personnel for a simple task such as wheel or track alignment increases costs and takes those workers away from other more pressing issues. As well, if additional operators are not available, equipment may sit idle until help can arrive.
The Drive Positioning Indicator (DPI)
To combat the challenges with wheel and track alignment, Checkfluid has developed the Drive Positioning Indicator (DPI). This hand held, wireless device is the first system developed with the sole purpose of orienting drive axles for service. This allows technicians to precisely position the drive to fill, drain, level check or sample quickly and safely, lowering the risk of potential injuries to operators, decreasing maintenance time and reducing costs.
Benefits
- Safely check wheel position without climbing in and out of the equipment, reducing the risk of slips, trips and falls and physical strain on operators.
- Quickly align wheels with real-time feedback, saving as much as 5-10 minutes per wheel by eliminating the need for multiple forward and backward adjustments,
- Operate from inside the cab, eliminating the need for additional personnel outside the vehicle to communicate wheel position.
Features
- Magnetic back for easy installation
- Water and impact resistant
- Battery powered and wireless connection between indicator and sensors
- Position indications for filling, draining, level checking and sample
- Automatic standby mode activated after 2 minutes
- Automatic sleep mode activated if no movement sensed for 2 hours
- Up to 6 sensors can be programmed to a single indicator
How it works
Attach one or more magnetic sensors to the wheels of the equipment. Point the arrow indicating the desired service operation (fill, drain, level or sample) at the plug requiring service. Enter the cab with the indicator unit and start the equipment. Move the equipment forward or backward and observe the green LED light on the indicator. The LED light will start to blink rapidly when approaching the proper positioning, and then turn solid when the wheel is in the correct place.
Order today
For more information about the DPI and how it can benefit you, call us at 519-652-6373, or reach us by email at info@checkfluid.com.
Having trouble with final drive sampling?
Sampling from drain plugs on final drives and axles can create safety concerns, and may not give the most reliable samples. Checkfluid’s LE Series service sampling valve can alleviate some of the common problems with final drive servicing. Read how.
