250 Hour Service Checklist for Excavators and Heavy Plant

What the 250 hour service is for

The 250 hour service is the routine one. It is the service your machine sees most often, and on most plant it comes around every three to six weeks of normal work. It is mainly about fresh engine oil, grease, and catching small problems while they are still small.

It is also the base of every bigger service. A 500, 1000 or 2000 hour service always includes everything in the 250 as well. If the 250 work is done badly, every service after it starts behind.

This is a general guide, not a service manual. Service items and intervals vary by make, model, attachments and working conditions. Always follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and manual for each machine, and have servicing done by someone qualified to do it. Use this page to plan and check your work, not to replace the manual.

250 hour service checklist

Engine

• Change the engine oil and oil filter. By 250 hours under load, the oil's additives are worn down.
• Check the air filter restriction indicator and inspect the outer element. Clean or replace it if needed, more often in dusty conditions.
• Drain water from the fuel water separator. Water in diesel damages injectors.
• Check coolant level and look for leaks around hoses and the radiator.
• Check fan belt condition and tension.

Greasing

• Grease every pin, bush, bearing and pivot point. Work through the machine in the same order every time so nothing gets missed.
• On excavators, grease the swing bearing and swing gear as the manual specifies.

Fluid levels

• Check hydraulic oil level, with the machine in the position the manual shows for checking.
• Check transmission, axle, differential, swing drive and final drive oil levels and top up as needed.

Walk-around

• Inspect hoses and fittings for rubbing, cracking, weeping or damage, especially near heat and moving parts.
• Check the undercarriage on tracked machines: track tension, rollers, idlers and anything packed with mud or rock.
• Check tyres and wheel nuts on wheeled machines.
• Check lights, horn, alarms, seatbelt, mirrors and cameras.
• Look over the attachments and quick hitch: pins, retainers, teeth and wear edges.

Paperwork

• Record the hour meter reading, what was done, what oil and parts went in, and who did it.
• Write down anything that needs attention at the next service, so it is ready to be ordered.

Parts to have ready

• Engine oil filter
• Engine oil, enough for the sump capacity
• Grease
• A spare outer air filter element if the machine works in dust
• Fuel water separator element, if the manual calls for it at this interval

Most machines need very few parts for a 250, which is exactly why it gets skipped when things are busy. Having a small kit per machine ready on the shelf removes the excuse.

How long it takes

Usually one to two hours for a competent fitter or a trained operator with the parts on hand. Most 250 hour services are done on site or in the yard, not in a workshop.

The 50 hour first service on a new machine

Many manufacturers ask for an extra early service on a new machine, or after a rebuild, often at around 50 hours. During the first hours, new parts bed in and fine metal particles end up in the oil and filters. Changing them early stops that material circulating.

What the first service covers depends on the make. It can include an engine oil and filter change, hydraulic return filter, final drive oil, and a check of bolt torques and hose clamps. Look up the "break-in" or "initial service" section of the manual, and do not count it as your first 250.

What gets missed at 250 hours

• Greasing. It is boring, it takes time, and missing it wears out pins and bushes that are expensive to replace.
• The fuel water separator. It takes seconds and gets forgotten.
• Writing it down. A service that is not recorded did not happen, as far as warranty and resale are concerned.
• Doing it late. Running 100 hours over the 250 on worn oil is wear you cannot undo at the next service.

Where the 250 fits in the cycle

Every 250 hours the machine gets a service, and every second one is bigger:

• 250, 750, 1250, 1750 hours: a 250 hour service
• 500 and 1500 hours: a 500 hour service, which includes the 250
• 1000 hours: a 1000 hour service, which includes the 250 and 500
• 2000 hours: a 2000 hour service, which includes everything before it

For how the whole cycle fits together, see service intervals explained.

Keeping track of it in Burgy

Burgy gives every machine a countdown to its next service, so you see the 250s coming before they are due. Each machine has its own service checklist for each level, and its own parts kit, so the person doing the service ticks off the right list for that machine and the right parts are on the order. When the service is finished it goes into that machine's history with the hour reading and who did it.

If a machine works somewhere remote and can't come in every 250 hours, you can mark it as Remote. Burgy then skips the 250 hour services and every 250 hour item is done at the 500 instead, so nothing drops off the list.