Abstract
This paper & presentation proposes to review the requirements, maintenance and troubleshooting for the lubrication of wheel motors in mining haul trucks. At the present time, lubricating wheel motors is misunderstood and some common maintenance practices, and general lack of knowledge, are helping to contaminate the lubricant and render it not suitable for use. There is also some misunderstanding what the used oil analysis results are trying to tell people. Most mines don't have the time or the people to sift through volumes of maintenance manuals and specifications. There are requirements from the oil manufacturer, the wheel motor manufacturer, and the truck manufacturer. Our intention is to present the interpretation of the documentation and clearly define and consolidate the requirements from each source. With wheel motors ranging in cost from $300K to $700K each (per truck), saving just one motor can impact your bottom line. The presentation will discuss: Equipment - Expected life, pertinent service intervals, after service restart requirements, volume consolidations. Troubleshooting - Co-mingled products, flushing, duo cone seals. Lubricating Product - Storage and handling, particulate contamination, viscosity considerations to understand when the lubricant is contaminated and no longer suitable for use. All of these conditions can help reduce the number of failures by being proactive in our operations and resulting in better equipment availiability and profitability.