Our old ladle crane gave out during a big pour on Wednesday

The main gearbox on the overhead crane just seized up, right as we were moving a full ladle of 2800 degree iron. We had to stop everything and use the backup chain hoist to finish, which added over an hour to the shift. The boss said it was 'just wear and tear', but I think they skipped the last two oil change cycles to save a few bucks. Has anyone else had a gearbox fail like that, and what's the real service interval you guys follow?

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3 Comments

thea_mitchell205mo ago

Nah, that sounds like neglect to me. Skipping oil changes is asking for a seized gearbox, full stop. They got lucky it didn't cause a real disaster.

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butler.abby5mo ago

Saw a mechanic's blog post once where they tore down an engine that went 30,000 miles without a change. The oil had basically turned to sludge. They called it "carbon peanut butter" and said it was a miracle the thing ran at all. Definitely not worth the risk.

2

claire_walker5mo ago

Bet that sludge saved it by plugging the leaks.

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