Adding oil to your Bobcat equipment?

It started with overfilling the oil.

Our customer's Bobcat MT100 mini track loader was blowing black smoke, says expert Bobcat Service Technician Matt.

After the customer drained some of the oil, it was apparent there was still a problem.

Initial testing showed pressure in multiple cylinders was down and it became clear there was damage to the connecting rods.

Matt says that when oil is overfilled it can get on top of the piston. 'And when the piston comes up for the compression cycle, it now has a film of oil that gets compressed between the head and the piston, and that's what ends up bending the connecting rod.'

Continues Matt, 'It's good to change your oil. Stay on top of that.' But the lesson here is it's not beneficial to put in more than what the dipstick indicates.

'If you overfill it, you will get oil on top of your pistons, and you will have your machine in here getting new connecting rods and rings.'

So the next time you add oil to your Bobcat mini track loader, excavator, skid steer, or other equipment, be sure to keep an eye on the Max Fill line.

Watch Matt explain in the video more about how he diagnosed and fixed this Bobcat MT100 mini track loader.