Komatsu WA380-8: loader hydraulics, steering and modes

WA380-8 implement flow, steering flow and transmission controls

The WA380-8 has separate specifications for loader hydraulics and steering. Komatsu's US sheet lists 205 litres per minute for loader control, with a 31.4-MPa relief setting. Steering is listed at 137 litres per minute and 24.5 MPa.

The earlier 36.2-gpm entry belongs to steering; it must not stand in for implement-pump capacity. A pressure or flow test needs the circuit name as well as the number. Komatsu's US WA380-8 specifications.

Fuel and exhaust-fluid capacities also need their own labels. The US manufacturer page specifies a 300-litre diesel tank and a separate 36-litre DEF tank. The earlier small “diesel tank” entry is not a second diesel reservoir.

Its loader cycle schedule measures raising with rated load, but lowering with an empty bucket. Comparing those times as though both movements carry the same load omits a test condition.

The US equipment list distinguishes the standard lift arm from the optional high-lift boom. It also offers an optional three-spool valve and piping, plus limited-slip differentials. A used machine fitted with a different bucket or boom should be matched to its own tipping-load and dump-clearance schedule.

An operating-weight range covering several arrangements is not the measured weight of every unit.

The Australian and New Zealand brochure describes a torque converter with lock-up operating in second, third and fourth gears. This is a powershift loader, rather than a hydrostatic-drive machine. SmartLoader Logic varies engine torque with the work demand and manages the lock-up engagement shock.

It is separate from the operator's Economy and Power choices: a general loading mode and a hard-digging or hill-climbing mode. Original Komatsu Australia/New Zealand brochure, operating features.

That brochure also distinguishes manual shifting from Auto L and Auto H; the latter two use different shift timing. The EPC lever console moves with the heated suspension seat, and a secondary forward-neutral-reverse switch is incorporated into the work-equipment controls. The cab's dedicated rear-view display and its machine monitor serve different purposes.

During an inspection, checking the installed controls and their settings is more informative than assuming that every switch changes engine power.