2018 Mecalac 6MCR

[materthegreater]

Thanks! I have a 2022 6MCR currently with only about 230 hours. Set it up with a 48" TOFT Chinese rotating log grapple and TOFT 750 breaker. Got the forks, 14", 24" & 36" toothed buckets, Wolverine auger with some HD American made bits. I've built and had built mecalac ears to allow direct connection to the connect system for all the attachments. I switched the main boom foot pedal to be reverse from the factory setting (toe in, heel out changed to toe out, heel in). Added a second attachment circuit by utilizing the middle boom diverter with valves so the L thumb switch can operate secondarily, in my case mostly rotation for the log grapple. Built a hitch receiver that direct bolts to the grade blade to use a 12000# winch as a winch or with a snatch block as a crane/drag line. And recently installed 87HP tune from a German company to up the power. Been fun and mostly just play with it now as I haven't had a lot of work for it. Was purchased to start a new business with my mom and dad who had rental businesses before and wanted something for an additional income stream. Unfortunately soon after purchasing it my moms health went south and we kinda just let it sit for a while. She passed in Nov 2024 and it sat some more except for a few things around the property and some of my projects. Decided we would use it ourselves to complement one of my businesses, Im a general contractor/builder, but it then seemed too complicated to rent to yahoos who would struggle to use it properly. Anyway, love the machine every time I use for a project I'm so impressed with what its capable of and how powerful it is in comparison to other units I've run, not a lot but enough to see the real value.

Very cool, thanks for sharing. Looks like some interesting projects that you've used it for. I'd be interested to see the winch in action.

I've thought the foot pedal was backwards ever since I got my machine. Did you change the hoses at the pedal, or somewhere else?

Sorry to hear of your mom's passing.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

Thank you. She was in late stage Parkinson’s so it wasn’t a surprise but it was peaceful and painless for her so we are thankful for that.

I haven’t used the winch yet! Innocent scheming new attachments making purchases then trying to find things to do with them. Haha. Thinking of buying an arc droid and plasma cutter just to make attachment ears. I’ll save thousands. Honestly would have already paid for itself. I’d be very interested to purchase and install the forestry cab guard set up. V-belt and Son on YouTube got one and I do love safety but I think it’s pretty spendy. Probably wouldn’t be thinking that after taking the butt end of a log to the chest.ugh.

I had to take a minute to remember about the pedal…I did it all from under the machine, it was pretty simple honestly. I used it for about 100 hours with the factory set up, it always seemed backwards for the most part. Sometimes it made sense?!?! I don’t have the machine experience that you do so even tho it’s been about 100 hours I still occasionally find myself trying to use it the factory way. The reverse is what I’m gonna keep tho for sure.

 

[materthegreater]

Thank you. She was in late stage Parkinson’s so it wasn’t a surprise but it was peaceful and painless for her so we are thankful for that.

I haven’t used the winch yet! Innocent scheming new attachments making purchases then trying to find things to do with them. Haha. Thinking of buying an arc droid and plasma cutter just to make attachment ears. I’ll save thousands. Honestly would have already paid for itself. I’d be very interested to purchase and install the forestry cab guard set up. V-belt and Son on YouTube got one and I do love safety but I think it’s pretty spendy. Probably wouldn’t be thinking that after taking the butt end of a log to the chest.ugh.

I had to take a minute to remember about the pedal…I did it all from under the machine, it was pretty simple honestly. I used it for about 100 hours with the factory set up, it always seemed backwards for the most part. Sometimes it made sense?!?! I don’t have the machine experience that you do so even tho it’s been about 100 hours I still occasionally find myself trying to use it the factory way. The reverse is what I’m gonna keep tho for sure.

Parkinson's is tough to watch. I have a friend that is dealing with it now.

How many sets of ears have you had made? I've had two sets made and I think it was about $900 for both. But a good portion of that was the cost of the steel itself. It's definitely a good idea to have cab protection when using a brush or log grapple.

Good to know that you were able to switch the pedal only from under the cab. Seems easy enough. I'm sure it will take a while for me to not be confused by having it the other way.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

I had 2 sets water jetted and it was thousands. It'd be cheaper to buy from your guy and ship to CA. Everything is so expensive here. I had a hard time even finding someone who would even be able to do it and his estimate and final pricing were 2 different things. Are the ones you had a full 1 1/2" thick like the factory ones? I was also thinking of cutting 3 pieces of 1/2" for each one having pockets cut out of the outsides in the sandwich to lighten and give weld contact in the hope to have something as strong as 1 1/2" solid. Worry about warp tho with that. As with most things I'm not the greatest in all these fields I find myself jumping into.

 

[materthegreater]

Yes they are full thickness. The shop that did it has a CNC plasma cutter that can cut up to 3" thick. The Mecalac dealer told me it's $1400/set from them, so $900 for two sets was a good savings.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

Yeah. Dang that’s such a good price. He had to have created a file for it. Did he give you the file? You paid for it. I never even got my file from my guy. I had 2 sets cut and a 1/2” plate to create a top cap for our concrete demolition hammer and I think I paid $3600? I’d save money hiring your guy and getting them shipped! That’s why I want to look into a powerful plasma cutter and an ArcDroid portable CNC.

 

[materthegreater]

Yeah. Dang that’s such a good price. He had to have created a file for it. Did he give you the file? You paid for it. I never even got my file from my guy. I had 2 sets cut and a 1/2” plate to create a top cap for our concrete demolition hammer and I think I paid $3600? I’d save money hiring your guy and getting them shipped! That’s why I want to look into a powerful plasma cutter and an ArcDroid portable CNC.

No he didn't give me the file. I could probably ask for it.

 

[materthegreater]

Look what showed up today
View attachment 347212

Finally installed the new bucket. This is a warranty replacement for the original that deformed with very little use:

 

[materthegreater]

No he didn't give me the file. I could probably ask for it.

@TheObliviousCowboy, I did finally get the file. Any recommendations for a dxf editor?

 

[materthegreater]

What is going on here?!? I just changed the hydraulic oil 200 hours ago and now it's cloudy?

 

[Willie B]

What is going on here?!? I just changed the hydraulic oil 200 hours ago and now it's cloudy?

View attachment 358597

Water?

 

[materthegreater]

Water?

That's my fear. I have no idea how it got in there, and so quickly. I guess I need to check the seal on the tank cover. Maybe melting snow made it's way in somehow. Seems like it would take a significant amount of water to turn the oil that cloudy.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Depends on how much water and quality of hydraulic fluid.
That looks emulsified to me.

 

[materthegreater]

Supposedly it's a quality fluid. Schaeffer's 112

 

[BC Placer gold]

That's what the hydro oil looked like on our Hitachi EX-270. The gaskets, springs & o-rings in the aluminum cap were compromised allowing snow melt/ice into tank over time.

The machine was 'new' to us so likely happened over a period of time. It really surprised me how much water was able to get into the tank. I wonder if an analogy is a comparison to what happens when drums of fuel are overwintered without being laid on their sides. A surprisingly large amount of water can get into barrel via bungs. Standard procedure with cached jet fuel in barrels was to always lay on side....

Sure looks like water to me...

 

[materthegreater]

That's what the hydro oil looked like on our Hitachi EX-270. The gaskets, springs & o-rings in the aluminum cap were compromised allowing snow melt/ice into tank over time.

The machine was 'new' to us so likely happened over a period of time. It really surprised me how much water was able to get into the tank. I wonder if an analogy is a comparison to what happens when drums of fuel are overwintered without being laid on their sides. A surprisingly large amount of water can get into barrel via bungs. Standard procedure with cached jet fuel in barrels was to always lay on side....

Sure looks like water to me...

What was your solution, just drain and refill the tank? And fix the cap leaks obviously...

I don't think I can store machine on its side all winter

 

[Welder Dave]

Put some of the oil in a clear container and see if water seperates out of it. I recall someone had heated water logged oil and evaporated the water. Not sure how effective it would be. Probably best to replace the oil.

 

[BC Placer gold]

What was your solution, just drain and refill the tank? And fix the cap leaks obviously...

I don't think I can store machine on its side all winter

The machine was a 20,000+ hour ex- road builder so had a pretty hard life. Lots of plating (actually pretty well done) on the boom etc. So with this in mind my 'solution' was to lower a small electric pump into the tank and suck out the hydraulic oil into a drum. I did this twice....The oil did clear up a quite bit. The new tank cap revealed just how compromised the leaking one was....

We used the machine for 2 seasons and then sold it. It had rebuilt pumps and was a real strong digger; never had any issues.

For a nice machine (such as yours) perhaps some kind of filter cart? My buddy had his oil put through a filter cart (that the mechanic had custom built). That was on a Cat 311; more preventative in his case as no large amount of water was evident.

I know it is hard to keep machines overwinter without some kind of damage. I always thought those Allen key released caps on the EX Hitachi's seemed over complicated and prone to leaks. Not sure your style of cap. I started putting a pail over the caps (and fuel cap) over winter. I also cover engine/battery/computer compartments with plywood. Just took our 210 out of 'winter storage' last week. No damage; fired up on the overwintered batteries so a win this time!

Good luck!

 

[Columbo]

I had something similar after winter storage. In my case, the hydraulic reservoir fill cap appeared tight but the washer had shifted, making an incomplete seal. In the spring, a milkshake.

My solution was to drain the tank, refill, cycle all functions, and repeat. About 100 gallons of oil later, it was clear. I ran the machine hard for the rest of the day then took an oil sample. Results showed no water in the oil and I had no further issues. Keep us updated.

 

[HarleyHappy]

On my Case, everything seems tight and sealed but had enough water, I did the drain, fill and pumped the return into a big barrel, while exercising all cylinders.
Ended up putting a valve in the 3/4” NPT drain plug and every time it sits a few days, part of the start up, I drain the water out.
Helps with condensation, I’m sure, especially if I’m not running it hard or hot enough.
Winter doesn’t help.
Now after a year, I don’t even get a teaspoon of water out.