Hitachi ZX120-3 and ZX135US-3: fronts and regional equipment

Separate a standard ZX120 front from the short-tail ZX135US

Hitachi's English ZX120-3 catalog offers several arms on its monoblock boom. Its bucket application chart also imposes material-density and shoe-width qualifications. A bucket appearing in the list is not permission to use it with every arm.

Read the symbols against the installed front, especially when a used excavator has acquired a larger bucket or longer stick.

The ZX120 publication describes an optional additional pump with piping and attachment components. The work-mode selector distinguishes digging from attachment operation, while the monitor supports attachment adjustment. A mode on the screen does not prove that extra pump is installed.

Check the hardware as well as the selected setting.

This English catalog also includes a ZX130K demolition version with a reinforced arm, protection and its own equipment schedule. The K designation must not be silently applied to the ZX130H-3 record in this comparison. Retain the H machine's identification and source separately; a photograph of guards is not enough to establish a different suffix.

Short-tail construction and monitor equipment

The ZX135US-3 publication describes a strengthened X-beam and side frames. The X-beam's upper and lower plates are monolithic instead of the earlier welded-plate arrangement; the idler bracket is also wider. These structural details help identify the published generation during a chassis inspection.

They are more specific than assuming every machine with a short counterweight has identical running gear.

The English edition’s monitor displays maintenance information and can receive an optional rear-camera image. Confirm that the camera is fitted and works. A monitor capable of displaying it is not the camera itself.

The catalog lists pilot shut-off and engine shut-off separately, and describes wide doors giving ground-level access to the fuel filter, water separator and oil filter.

Regional specifications remain distinct. Hitachi's Japanese legacy directory lists a different equipped mass for the ZX135US-3 than the range in this English brochure. Neither number establishes that the other edition is erroneous.

Match the arm, blade, shoe and market specification before choosing transport or lifting figures.

The Italian KS-IT088EUP edition separately lists the camera as standard. Its engine table gives 69 kW (93 HP) net at 1,800 rpm under ISO 9249 and SAE J1349. That documented net rating cannot be relabelled as the 124.8 hp gross entry in the older reference table.

For oil planning, the same Italian schedule separates the 120 L hydraulic circuit from the 62 L tank.