The Importance of Winterizing Your Snowplow One of the most important, if not the most important, things you should do as preventive maintenance for your snowplow is to winterize it. However, not all winterizations are the same. Some servicers will only replace your oil and filter, but here at Central Parts we go the extra mile to ensure that your snowplow is working properly and ready for the next storm. A winterize from CPW is equivalent to an oil change on steroids for your plow. To do a winterization yourself first make sure your lift cylinder is completely collapsed and the plow is on the ground so all the oil will discharge when the drain plug is removed from the hydraulic power pack. Now remove the drain plug from your hydraulic power pack. Once removed, all the hydraulic oil will expel from the unit. Now you must remove the O-ring and oil filter. After you have removed all the oil, O-ring, and filter, your pump will be exposed. The pump must be removed from the sump base. Therefore, you can access any remaining sludge or buildup that has accumulated around the pump and remove it. Removing the sludge or build up is very important because when new oil is replaced it will pick that up and clog your new filter. This will cause your plow to move slowly if the filter is not completely clogged, but if too much buildup is left your plow with make a winding nose sounding as if the pump is starving for fluid because it is. Once you have removed all the sludge you should spray down your entire unit with parts cleaner, and you can be generous with the cleaner. Now you must remove all oil from the hoses and the two angle cylinders. You do that by loosening the hoses from the cylinders. This will let you move the two angle cylinders to the left and to the right expelling the oil that was in them. Note that the lift cylinder is completely collapsed already you will just have to loosen the hose from that cylinder to get the oil out of the line. Now it is time to put everything back together. Install a new O-ring, new filter, and new hydraulic oil and/or a new pump if needed and you’re ready to plow again. Learn more about maintaining your snowplow by subscribing to our blog and YouTube channel. |