1997 331 just purchased need help

[trucksareford42]

I just purchased a 97 331. its got 4300 hours on it runs great. Just have some questions. I brought it to a job and blew the main lift cylinder seals so i replaced the seal. Then the next day i blew the sway cylinder seal i wasn't even using the sway. Then i blew the bucket cylinder seal. Are my seal problems just old dry seals or is the machine overpressurizing the cylinders.Also sometimes when i finish running there's hydraulic fluid dripping from the engine compartment by the what i think are 3 blow off valves to the left of the engine. I have no idea where its coming from. Any help will be greatly appreciated. This is my first excavator and i'm stumped. Thanks

 

[skidsteer.ca]

You need to check your pressures at the pump for each circuit. Very unusually for cylinder rod seals to fail though, usually a hose blows. Most of the time the cylinder seals just slowly get worse, leaking more and more.
Your going to need a service manual, or somebody that knows their way around these. Their are alot more circuits then on a loader and they all run different flows and some diferent pressures, and combine flow for certain functions.
It gets pretty hard to trouble shoot online, unless you are quite familar.
Ken

 

[Bobcatdan]

You need to check your pressures at the pump for each circuit. Very unusually for cylinder rod seals to fail though, usually a hose blows. Most of the time the cylinder seals just slowly get worse, leaking more and more.
Your going to need a service manual, or somebody that knows their way around these. Their are alot more circuits then on a loader and they all run different flows and some diferent pressures, and combine flow for certain functions.
It gets pretty hard to trouble shoot online, unless you are quite familar.
Ken

If I remember correctly, there are about 8 or so relief vavles, like Skidsteer said almost every circuit is protect at different pressures so the fact different functions are showing the same problem is kinda weird. This should be looked at very soon, too high of pressures can take the pumps out.

 

[melli]

Not sure about the older models, but mine has a test port...can get a pdf manual online for $10. I agree with other poster that ram seals usually leak, getting progressively worse, and rarely blow, especially three. The system pressure sounds too high...