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Stock all wear items

You need to keep a supply of wear items to keep your motor grader running at optimum. “All wear items — from the ball stud to the drawbar, along with the clamp and guide shoes and a stock of cutting edges — are critical to the grader’s daily performance,” says Ferrell.

“Contractors should keep the unit properly greased, and keep on hand a cutting edge and shim stock for slide components,” Lee recommends.

Frequent inspections are a must if you want to maintain productivity and tolerances simultaneously. “From top to bottom, checking the cylinder connections, turntable, blade slide and cutting edge will give the contractor a good idea of how tight the tolerances will be when grading begins,” says Lee.

Newberry advises a visual and/or stringline check of the cutting edge to make sure it is even. Then check for excessive play in all critical components, i.e., moldboard slide rail, circle and lift cylinder joints.

Excessive play is the enemy of accuracy and productivity. “The tighter the system, the faster grade can be achieved,” says Newberry.