I just want to say I really appreciate you putting yourself through going under that excavator and taking that swivel joint apart *with a camera in your face* for my benefit.

One of the reasons I keep coming back is because you take the time to explain why you are doing what you do in these videos. I'm certain I'm not alone. Okay, back to the video

We used to tell tank operators in the army that they could only rotate the turret 7 full revolutions either way before it unscrewed itself or bottomed out. It was pretty funny when they would forget to keep count and come up to us asking us how to fix it.

Wow, best 45 min I ever invested. Tons of respect. The amount of work required to make that farm work, and stay on top of repairs is simply overwhelming to think about. I'm not a young guy anymore, but even 20 years ago I'd be saying the same thing! No one works harder than a farmer.👍🙏

I know it's kind of random to say it, but I really appreciate the fact you clean machines and their parts when working on them. Others take great pride in rummaging through all that mess as if cleaning it would take away their manliness or professionalism.

Hey there! I want to share an other trick with you. If you don’t want to run oil down your arm use a multi use rubber glove, not one of those super thin one time use gloves, and fold the rear side one time to outside. So you have a channel which catch the oil! Thanks for your awesome videos. Greetings from Germany

I figured they had something like that in there. I used to be a tank mechanic on the Abrams. It has something similar called a "slip ring" that is mounted in the center of the turret under the main gun breech. It has fewer hydraulic ports on it, but also has electrical contacts to transmit power, data, and communications between the turret and the hull.

Now this is the high quality content I wish Television was! An in-depth video on diagnosing and solving a problem with a machine. Love these videos! Especially the Coyote cheer squad!

Like the video? Want more like this? Give it a like, a share, and check description on how to support the channel. A HUGE thank you to all the folks giving their support, especially my Patrons on Patreon! You guys are awesome. www.patreon.com/FarmCraft101. My patrons get early access to the videos, and even help with editing decisions, titles, and thumbnails. We are building a really cool community over there. I hope you folks like the video, and have an awesome weekend everybody! Next week's video is going to be a fun one. I've almost finished it and it will be on Patreon either today or tomorrow. Here's a short clarification on this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/msV1g5yVxtGal6s.html

Wow, that was great. I watched every minute of it and I feel like I gained 10 years of hydraulics knowledge in about 45 minutes. The most ah-ha! moment for me was when you took us on a short tour of other equipment that all had similar looking hydraulic pieces in them - I'd been under the impression that hydraulics were bespoke and specific to the machine and had just never thought about how generic and similar it might actually be. I was thinking they were more like engines where there's so much variation in how they're done (small vs. big, 2 vs 4 stroke, # of cylinders, etc) that it was almost specialized knowledge per piece, but I get it now. This is one of your best videos IMO - thanks for making it!

Well done. Excellent job in full details. Very impressed. As an aircraft jet engine technician we used diapers and zip ties when doing fuel controls over head on wing also oil pumps and controls. It was always funny buying a pack of pampers at the store when I was a young line aircraft road technician. 🤠

As someone who has worked with tractors and plant and repaired myself all my life, I found this video very interesting and enjoyable to watch. You made a mucky daunting job very clear for us all to see and should encourage people who have viewed to have a go themselves. Great filming too.

30:50 Ahhhhhhh I get it now - I was completely mystified by how a swivel joint could possibly work, but after seeing the holes in the cylinder and your U-shape explanation, it makes perfect sense. You are right, it is a simple solution to what seems like a really complex problem.

Real high pressure stuff. Great master tutorial - bet the local hydraulic shops are snarling.

Great job rebuilding that swivel joint. You replaced all those seals as good as any professional. It's nice to see someone fix things themselves as good or sometimes better than had they hired a shop to do the job. Very gratifying I know because I'm the same way.

At our shop we actually use old telephone wire because the wires are all different colours with stripes and you cut the wires in 2 pieces and tie them to the fittings. Works pretty good when you have to take the valve blocks out

Great stuff. I've always wondered how heavy equipment like that can rotate without fouling cables and such. Also coyotes!

Really cool and in depth video, I had to learn how this works a while ago, completely forgot, because I never needed it, but it all came back. The Seals always make me smile.

Perfect "bumble bee tails " coming off that drill bit. That bit is sharpened perfectly.

29:24 "And basically I'm going to stab the seal". . . sharp intake of air in shock. Too funny. 😄

Why would anyone ever skip your explanation sections of the video, that's the best part, the knowledge transfer! Greetings from Argentina 👏

I find this kind of content more enjoyable than most "restoration channels" (specially because most of them are fake.) Walking us through the investigation steps is great, it's like we're watching someone solve a puzzle.

UPDATE! - Guy who has your similar excavator again. I just finally replaced my swivel joint seals. I got my blade working and holding again, and tracks tracking again! THANKS FOR THIS VIDEO! I finally worked up the gumption to take this on myself thanks to you, and now have a working excavator. Runs like new except have same issue with tracks not riding evenly as you do and pulls to the left. Very messy job! My seals were worse than your old ones because mine were MISSING!. They had disintegrated. Out of like 7 seals, only 2 where there and the rest destroyed, the rest no longer existed, amazingly it still functioned at like 20% power even with them missing. Enough to drive it onto a trailer. And my blade would go up, but not stay up. My swivel joint was exactly the same as yours, and same part number for seals. Anyway, I don't know how many people have your excavator, or similar models and could take this on, but I wanted you to know I did! Thanks for the help again, and looking forward to seeing your LED Light upgrades, you won't regret it. (Hint those sylvaine part numbers I sent you before have 2 modes each, so get 2 SPDT switches, and wire it the switch so you can switch between wide angle and focused angle.)

It’s always more rewarding when your diagnosis and repair/rework correct the problem and especially don’t introduce any new problems.

I literally am tearing my Bobcat 323 apart on Monday to rebuild the Rotary Manifold... couldn't ask for a better video today.

You were a little mistaken at the 42:30 mark, when you pointed at the Slew Motor and gearbox and said it was the Rotary Union. The actual Rotary Union was under the cover where you were describing the electrical Swivel Joint is. The giveaway was the hydraulic hoses leading into it. Your explanations of how systems work is excellent and much appreciated by people who may be mystified by some of these mechanical systems.

That swivel joint is one of the most fascinating mechanical components I've seen in a long time. I've watched the chapters on that several times and I'm blown away still.

Zip ties are a great way to mark hoses! Ribbon works well too, even if you don't have enough different colors you can just rip them at different lengths

Thanks! Very informative and helpful video. Great information coupled with just the right amount of humor. Only thing missing was your wife coming out to give you grief on why it's taking so long. 😀

Damn, I kid you not - probably a week ago I thought, how do they make the seal between the drive motors and the upper part, if it can rotate endlessly. Now I know. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain everything in technical details.

Really big thanks for that video. Having wondered for years how hydraulic pressure was transferred between the upper and lower carriage of an excavator it was a nice surprise to stumble upon a video on the very topic, having every question I could have thought of answered in detail was like the cherry on top.

People laugh at the crows-foot wrenches because they don't get a lot of use, but when you need one, you really need one.

10:30 LMAO spinning the machine around while you explain the systems on it made me laugh out loud. You look like you're havin' a great time in there 😂 spinning around in you $14,000 toy, I love it lol

This channel has some of the best content on KZfaq. Can't wait for the next video. Thanks for putting in all the extra effort to film, edit, and explain all these projects.

I totally admire your cold-headedness while reducing the posibilities as to why exactly the blade is sagging. On top of that you proceed to take out the heart of a chunk of metal while accurately noting what line connects to what valve in order to repair/replace the part yourself. Amazing!

I did that same repair, 45 years ago on a much larger unit. Much more room to work with those much larger hoses. A definite plus along with being younger it was simple. Heavy but workable. Presently working on replacing the hoses down to the motors on a small unit. Tight working but crowsfoot wrenches are handy tools.

I live on a fairly remote island at the top of the South Island of NZ and have a lot of similar equipment to you. Your videos are a huge help to provide some understanding of to resolve potential issues. While I don't think I have the skill set to take a repair like this on, at least I now know what to look for and what's involved with having a mechanic come out to do it.

Awesome job and determination. My great grandpa use to always say "some damn fool put it together, this damn fool can take it apart." I live by that motto and looks like you do too. Learn a lot from your videos and enjoy the side-bar entertainment and comedy.👍👍👍

You are the first person that I have seen actually protecting the seals as you were putting them on the fittings!!!!!

I find that the complexity of a part or situation is figuring out operation and the simplicity of understanding the mechanics of how it’s made. Nice job sir, thanks for the ride along.

Looks like a world of pain doing that job, but really satisfying knowing it's done!

27:00 sounds like an excuse to buy a nightvision camera to me 😏

I've watched this again and it's mind blowing how difficult this was to fix. And thank the lucky stars you diagnosed it correctly before doing the repair!

A great comprehensive video as usual. You’ve got a great ability to explain what, why and how you are doing something. I always look forward to seeing a notification from your channel. I know I will always learn something. Thanks from across the pond🇬🇧

I have several Yanmar excavators and I have done a lot of the projects that you have done with yours. There’s not a lot of people that would take on a project like that good for you and great job! Keep the videos coming they are enjoyable

Thank You for shooting a video of that process, it was very helpful and informative. Have a great winter.

Very cool. Yes I never knew how the rotation worked to maintain pressure to the lower unit. And now I know! Thanks for your class!

Yes a new video! 45mins of pure goodness!

I felt your pain working in cramped quarters with oil dripping down your arm. When you walked to the field I thought you were screaming at the sky, but it was only coyotes.

@FarmCraft101, I'm impressed how you kept all of the lines successfully labeled and and even managed the "clocking" of the fittings. I bet that was very satisfying on startup and operational test. Nicely done.

Excellent 👍 Thank you. I have a Yanmar io15 1994 . Love it never broke down so reliable good quality. I changed Rotary manifold on big RT Grove cranes. More space to work but still showered with oil. Nice you explain so much to others who may not know .

Love all your videos, your a great teacher and top notch mechanic.

Today I learned tow a swivel joint works.

Wow, just wow! I love all the creative ingenuity! Both of tool modification and procedure!

You are extremely impressive sir. I don’t know if you have a background in heavy mechanics but you should open a online school to teach the new generation, cause there are tech’s in my area that can’t do half the things you can. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and knowledge with us all 🙏👍

Those coyotes remind me of when I was younger and worked on an Oregon sheep ranch. We would trail packs of 1000 sheep 50 miles cross country to summer grazing areas. Inevitably, the yotes would find us at night. Their howling usually meant we would find a dead doe in the morning. This was before the age of high intensity flash lights so it was impossible to find them at night. But during the day a .308 lead pill would take care of business. Now I'm old and still in a rural area and they still howl. My neighbor thinks it sounds romantic. ??

I’m 46 yrs old and since birth, I always wondered how excavators could rotate 360 deg without hydraulic lines getting twisted. Mystery solved! Thank you!!!!!

I’ve been watching your videos on the yanmar and this video alone has shown me so much about hydraulic systems and I thank you for putting the time and effort into explaining everything. Very educational video and well detailed! Thank you!

Anyone else flinch automatically when the "wrench socket" fell off at 19:10? 🤣

Awesome video as usual! I really enjoy your analytic approach of how things *should* work to find out why they don't. Thank you for taking the time to share all that with us!

This was terrific FC101. As always, great logic and problem solving, I learn so much from your content. Thanks for taking us along!

Another one, teflon tape in hydraulics is definitely common but Loctite 577 is preferable. When installing teflon tape to fittings never go over the last thread otherwise it will be cut on installation and pieces of teflon will go through the hydraulic system a cause issues such as block valves or filters

I have always wanted to know how an excavator could endlessly spin !! Thank-you for finally clearing it up for me !! Very well explained, and awesome that you showed the same type of setup on other machines.

Hats off to yer. From a time served heavy machine tech 🎉

You my friend are an excellent teacher. To be able to articulate and record and actually repair is brilliant. Thanks for sharing. That Yanmar is going to be brand new by the time your done!

It's what I've been missing so much Thank you so much There are people on the other side of the world who want to support you and learn from you

I enjoyed the reasonable and methodical approach to understanding and diagnosing the issue. Solid work.

I don’t even own any machines but love learning. Stumbled across your channel and love all of the info. You have a great ability to break down information to the point where someone like me can somewhat at least begin to understand it . Keep up the good work and the videos coming thanks….

A very enlightening video--I loved it. Now I know how swivel joints work!

I’m no mechanic, but I really enjoy watching and learning how this equipment works. Thanks!

Wow. One of the most informative videos I’ve seen in a long time! Even if a person knows they may not tackle complex repairs, just learning how some of these things work is gratifying and fascinating. All this and a sense of humour too! Keep up the great work!

Johnson, your videos are really coming across polished. The well orchestrated drone shots, how to camera work, story line and wrap up. Entertaining and well put together, I must say. Just goes to show you what a man, some common sense and a JOHNSON can accomplish! Bravo, thank you.

Superbly executed Sir. Excellent educational video. I enjoyed it start to finish. I loved your camera placement when you were reinstalling the seals. Your problem solving is on point and a pleasure to observe.

I have been running cranes in all types of heavy equipment for a long time and I learned a lot thanks

Thanks for such a great video! I had expected I'd jump ahead to watch only certain portions, but found myself watching the entire video. I've worked on a lot of equipment, but never the rotating unit on an excavator. And I know that feeling... not only the relief that you've fixed the problem, but the delight to find out it works a lot better than before.

This was awesome! Probably the best video I’ve seen ! You attack these things without fear which eases the fears of the less experienced.

Good work, super interesting and again, you are a monster regarding the amount of work you do. I can't even imagine putting out that much consistent effort on such daunting projects. Your persistence is mind blowing.

Always wanted to see what's inside the swivel joint and now I have. Thank you. Excellent video.

I worked on a few tractors many years ago. Your videos are always very clear and very interesting. Keep up the great work!! Reminds me of some things I have forgotten over the years. The view of the seal replacement was classic smart!!!

Jon your videos are informative and fun. I’m very appreciative of the time and effort you put into them. I’m your newest member on Patreon and I hope others will join me in supporting your awesome content.

Another awesome video recorded and narrated by the master DIYer. Keep up the great work. I can’t wait until the next video. Your videos are very much appreciated!!!!

I learn a lot from you including good tricks such as how not to mess up O rings when putting them over threads. You have a good manner about you that makes me feel like a welcome friend looking over your shoulder as you do repairs. Many thanks.

What a trip down memory lane. I had to do my first hydraulic repair some 69 years ago. Hydraulic fluid seemed to crawl along my skin to every place it could go. Good for you for doing it right.

Very good tutorial and very interesting to see inside that swivel valve.

I am very impressed with the fact that you are willing to tackle everything that comes along! Wether it’s carpentry, tree service, vehicle repair, or heavy truck repair, small engine repair or whatever comes around; you’re willing to jump in! What I’m most impressed with you leave all the curse words out of the videos!!! HA HA HA😅

Really enjoyed that John .. really interesting .. I love the way your not intimidated about tackling any of these jobs .. and just get stuck into them

This is a great video. I have no need or use for any of this, being an old city apartment resident, but I love seeing how it all is put together a works. Terrific, and thanks!

Great video. I learned a lot. The swivel joint reminded me of steering wheels a bit. Different, and not infinite, but also more durable than brushes and rings to transfer the electric current.

You sir, are a master of everything…at least it seems that way! That was a great explanation (you’re also an excellent teacher) of the hydraulics involved in the operation of the excavator! I am now much more educated on the subject 😊. And your editing and camera skills are superb! All in all, it was quite a video- educational and very humorous to boot! Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait for your next video.

The Roto Thrusts on the steel coil mandrels I had rebuilt were much easier to take the lines off of, but the seals were 3 pieces each, and had zero tolerance for error. Great job on this one.

28:42 GOLD! I've always wondered how hydraulic lines travel through to the bottom, I can't say thank you enough for this video! Thank you for sharing!

Wow! Nice detailed repair!

I’ve been working in the fluid power industry for 28 years. I primarily work on industrial equipment because of all the obstacles you had to overcome in this video. Mobile equipment repair can eat up an awful lot of man hours. Great tutorial.

This was a real treat to stumble upon. Your presentation, filming and voice make this work very well! I loved the education on hydraulics and how to test this problem. The funny thing about the timing of this is that I just told an engineer at work to look into this very thing of how excavators can turn round and round with hydraulics going through there in order to glean some ideas on how we can make something work for our project on a much smaller scale.

I didn’t think it would be interesting but it turned out to be. Throughly enjoyed.Great analysis!!!

Only 8:17 in and I would like to add that when testing a cylinder for leakage like you did, if you cap off the retract side and put pressure on the extend side you have essentially created an intensifier pump because of the difference in effective surface area of each side of your piston. So if you apply max system pressure to the extend side let’s say 3,000 psi the retract side of the cylinder will see more than that possibly blowing out your rod seals or worse rupturing your cylinder body. Edit: for example if you had a 3” diameter piston and 1.5” rod, that would make your extend surface area 7.065 sq-in and your retract surface area (7.065 minus your rod area of 1.76625) gives us 5.29875 sq-in effective area on the retract side. If you apply 3000psi to the extend side that will generate 21,195 pounds of force now we divide that force by your retract piston area and we come up with 4,000 psi generated on the retract side with it capped off. Hopefully this makes sense, the smaller the piston and the larger the rod the scenario gets even worse.

As always, great video with great explanations and funny innuendoes. As a tip-while working with fluids and gravity, I always have a full-size towel for absorption. Used towels that are clean make life soo much better for those situations 😉

Thank you. I am a woodworker with dyslexia who always wanted to be a mechanic........the effort you put in is enviable

Informative, well presented and best of all great humour. Thank you for sharing your time with us.

I don't know why anyone would skip a chapter of your videos. You school us on things all the way through. A good spotlight will let you see the glowing eyes of those yotes.