Motor Grader: Repair or Rebuild?

Any heavy equipment’s life is limited and is highly affected by the way it is used and its age. Well, like all other heavy equipment, motor graders too depreciate or show signs of wear and tear or suffer from mechanical and functional problems after certain age and time. Earlier, the traditional solution to this was seen as buying new equipment. However, it is not unknown that heavy equipment like motor graders have a high purchasing cost and too much of initial investment. Thus, the trend of equipment repairing and rebuilding is now gaining momentum.

Today, motor grader repair as well as rebuild is seen as the best solution to increase the life and use of the equipment. Here, factors like age, cost, labour, time and others play a deciding role in deciding whether the equipment should be rebuild or just repair would work.

Below are the pros and cons of each of the two options and the key criteria that should be considered for adopting any approach...

What is motor grader repair?

Repairing a motor grader is quite easy and a fast process as essentially it involves identifying the problematic parts and components like what is broken or worn out and fixing or replacing with a new part. Generally, an experienced mechanic is called to identify the problem and apply the practical quick fix to the components of the motor graders that have failed, broken or worn out.

Advantages of motor grader repair

There is a list of advantages of motor grader repair. They include:

1. It is generally cheaper or more economical to repair the equipment’s parts or components rather than rebuilding the machine completely. However, what part is affected and the difficulties involved in repairing or replacing it play an important role here.

2. The equipment can be put to use as soon as the repair is done which generally takes very less time. Hence, you might not face losses or project delays due to equipment repair.

Disadvantages of motor grader repair

1. Repairing is not a permanent solution to the problems and the same problem can arise soon or motor grader may malfunction or break down again. Even if there is warranty of the new part, problems can arise.

2. After you repair or replace any particular part of the equipment and put it to use, there are chances that other components which have been subjected to same stress over the same number of years may give up any time. So, again you have to spend time and money in repairing that part.

3. Repairing does not aid in machine’s overall life or to its potential resale value.

4. Last but not the least, if the equipment demands constant and multiple repairs, then there are chances that the repairing cost may exceed the cost of having a motor grader reconditioned and rebuilt. In fact, if your grader is too old or subjected to difficult operating conditions most of the times, then it is expected that such a time will come soon.

What is motor grader rebuild?

Rebuilding or alternatively called as reconditioning is more than repairing and does not involve just fixing what is broken but it is a systematic approach where in a controlled environment, a skilled technician restores the equipment as ‘New’. In the equipment rebuilding process, new software and engineering upgrades are incorporated into the equipment and it can become even better than before. Generally, the motor grader rebuild process includes the following stages...

1. Machine evaluation: In this stage, tests are conducted on the machine and visual inspection is done to identify and analyse the problem, come up with a solution and decide on the cost.

2. Dissembling the machine: The various machines parts are dissembled, general components are replaced with new and other remaining components are tested and replaced wherever necessary.

3. Reconditioning: The parts are inspected and reconditioned to the required standards, hydraulic system is overhauled to deliver original levels of performance and various other tasks are performed.

4. Reassembly: The equipment is reassembled and repainted.

5. Performance testing: Quality control functions are performed at this stage. Safety and functional tests are performed and the equipment is fine-tuned based on the results.

Advantages of motor grader rebuild

The list of advantages includes:

1. Motor grader rebuilding process help the equipment to deliver better performance and make the machine more reliable at a fraction of the cost of a new machine.

2. If the rebuilding process is conducted in the right manner by an experienced team, then it gives a second life to your equipment.

3. Rebuilding the equipment can even increase the resale value of the equipment as the equipment not only looks good but performs efficiently as well.

Disadvantages of motor grader rebuild

1. Rebuilding the equipment is costly process than repairing.

2. It might take very long to rebuild the equipment completely as against merely repairing what has gone wrong. This might result in project delays and losses as equipment cannot be used till the rebuilding process is complete.

So, which is a better option?

Both the options have their pros and cons. So, in order to decide as to whether to repair or rebuild the motor grader, you need to consider factors like the age of the equipment, the way it was used, the present overall condition of the equipment and what parts are needed to be repaired or replaced. If you find out that merely replacing or repairing some parts will do and can improve the efficiency of the equipment and if you have less time in hand to complete a project in addition to limited finances, then definitely repairing the equipment make sense. However, if you find out that most of your equipment parts are not working, machine has become too old but its use is definitely expected to increase in future, then rebuilding the equipment is a better option. Typically, it makes more sense to rebuild the motor grader if it is too old as this can increase the equipment’s productivity for a longer period of time. However, the choice to rebuild or repair the motor grader is completely yours!