Whether motor graders are used as a first step in the rough grading process, for fine grading to prepare dirt for placement of stone, or to grade stone prior to construction of an asphalt base, the equipment must be maintained so it's responsive to the commands of the operator.

On most motor graders a moldboard or blade is attached to a turntable, which is connected to the frame. Hydraulic cylinders lift the turntable (and the blade) up and down while a third cylinder enables the turntable and blade to move from side to side. A system of gears enables the operator to rotate the blade up to 360 degrees if needed.

"The whole machine is there just to push that blade," says Keith Lee, research and development for LeeBoy, which manufacturers four graders in different size categories and recently introduced the 705, a 17,000-lb. machine. "All it's doing is pushing that blade so you need to do everything you can to make it as easy as possible for the machine to do that. When the operator is doing precise work the motor grader needs to be able to respond properly, so certain areas need to be monitored."

Moldboard maintenance
The moldboard is where all the action takes place, and that's why special attention needs to be paid to it. This is the part of the machine that engages the soil, cutting it to the proper shape and fine-tuning soil or stone before paving.

"The most important maintenance part of a motor grader is maintaining a good cutting edge on the equipment," says Shannon Chastain, president of Basic Equipment, manufacturer of the Basic Model 601 articulating grader. "All too often the biggest neglect is the cutting edges."