Komatsu WA180-3, WA180PT-3 and WA200-5: fronts, controls and drive systems

WA180-3 Active keeps a converter transmission

Komatsu's Active booklet describes a fully automatic PowerShift with a kick-down button on the boom lever. The button requests a downshift for digging. The ordinary WA180-3 uses Z-bar loader geometry, while the machine still articulates at its center joint for steering.

The steering system's hydrostatic description does not mean that its travel transmission is hydrostatic.

The WA180-3 engine panel and specification table use different horsepower labels for the same stated kilowatt output. The test standard belongs with that figure. A small difference between two listings' horsepower is therefore insufficient evidence of a different engine build or a later power upgrade.

The standard bucket, loading bucket and high-dump bucket also have separate tipping and reach figures. A high dumping edge trades against other working dimensions; its full raised height is not the height of the cab. Identify the attachment before using the overall-height row for transport.

Source: Original Komatsu WA180-3 Active VESS090002, transmission, engine and bucket tables.

WA180PT-3 changes the loader front and attachment controls

The April 1999 preliminary PT brochure specifies parallel loader geometry and a hydraulic quick hitch as standard. Its equipment list includes a third spool and separate bucket/fork return-to-dig selection. The ordinary WA180-3's Z-bar description must not be carried across to this front arrangement.

The PT also has selectable slow or fast dumping. That control changes attachment movement; it is separate from the transmission's kick-down switch. During a demonstration, identify which switch was selected before comparing cycle times between the two machines.

The PT dimension drawing distinguishes cab height, hinge-pin height and the highest point of the raised bucket. Its fork table then gives a different load and reach arrangement. Those three heights and the fork payload cannot be substituted for one another, even when the machine and engine names look similar.

Source: Original VESS090000 PT, April 1999 preliminary specification.

WA200-5 HST uses a different travel system

The June 2004 European WA200 publication specifies a variable hydrostatic pump and separate low- and high-speed motors. At higher road speed, a clutch disconnects the low-speed motor to avoid dragging it. This is different hardware from the earlier WA180 PowerShift and its torque converter.

The variable-speed control lets the operator limit travel independently of accelerator position for attachment work. Traction control is another setting, limiting tractive effort for the conditions described in that edition. Neither control is the optional ECSS boom-accumulator system.

EMMS provides error memory and service information, while the hydraulically driven cooling fan swings out for radiator cleaning. Those features give a buyer specific checks: distinguish a stored code from a current warning, and examine access to the cooling faces. Market-specific WA200 weights and tires remain separate from these European equipment details.

Source: Original Komatsu VESS083100, June 2004, HST, controls and service sections.