Howzit, undercarriage warriors. Ralph in Benoni and Justin in Cato Ridge here. Between us we’ve measured more than 1 200 sets of 20–45 tonne undercarriages in the last eight years, and we’ve got bad news and good news. Bad news: the average South African 40-tonner is throwing away R800 000–R1.4 million on undercarriage every 6 000–8 000 hours because of lazy habits and dealer scare tactics. Good news: the top 10 % of operators in this country are getting 11 000–15 000+ hours

Howzit, legends of the dig. Ralph in Benoni and Justin in Cato Ridge here. Between us we’ve personally stripped 47 Komatsu PC400-series (Dash-6 right up to Dash-8M0) and 38 Hitachi ZX450/ZX470/ZX490 machines since 2018. That’s 85 complete 40-tonne carcasses turned into pallets of parts that are earning contractors money from Kathu to Kitwe right now. We’re not brand fan-boys. We sell whatever walks through the gate. But when the numbers are this one-sided, we have to call it.

Howzit, legends. Ralph here from the Benoni yard. Right now I’ve got three final drives on the bench: one that came in yesterday completely seized, one that’s leaking like a politician’s promise, and one that’s perfect inside despite 14 000 hours. All three are from 30–40 tonne machines. All three could have been saved for pocket money. In the last 18 months we’ve sold 87 final drives out of these two yards. Every single failure story starts with one (or more) of the same sev

If someone has ever handed you a R280 000 + VAT quote for a brand-new main hydraulic pump and told you “it’s the only safe option”, then congratulations: you’ve just been sold the most expensive myth in South African earthmoving. My name is Ralph – I run the Benoni yard in Gauteng and I’ve got a Komatsu K3V180 pump sitting on the bench right now that we pulled out of a PC400-6 two weeks ago. It’s cleaned, resealed, photographed from every angle and priced at R36 500 ex-VAT. T

Howzit, grease monkeys, site foremen and anyone who’s ever stared at a R280 000 quote for a new valve bank and felt physically sick. Ralph and Justin here from Vikfin – one of us is in Benoni stripping in the Gauteng dust, the other is in Cato Ridge doing the same under KZN humidity. Between us we’ve pulled more than 600 valve banks out of 20–45 tonne machines in the last ten years and sold every single one without owning a single test bench. We’re going to give you the full,

Sawubona, mfowethu! If you’ve ever stood next to a 40-tonne excavator that’s been sitting dead for three weeks waiting for a R280 000 hydraulic pump from Japan, then this 3 000-word deep-dive is written specifically for you. My name is Ralph – I’m one of the guys at Vikfin who actually turns the spanners, drives the forklift, and argues with customs officials so your parts land in Kitwe or Walvis Bay without drama. Today I’m pulling back the curtain on exactly how Vikfin has

Sawubona, boet! The Vikfin yard in Benoni is looking like a Komatsu Christmas tree right now. We’ve just put the finishing touches on stripping a proper high-hour Komatsu PC400-6, and the result is one of the fullest 40-tonne parts spreads we’ve had all year. The engine walked out the door within 48 hours (R128 000, thank you very much), and the main valve bank went to a mine in Mokopane yesterday, but literally everything else is still here, steam-cleaned, photographed, pric

In the fast-paced world of construction and heavy machinery, every decision counts—especially when it comes to maintaining your equipment. Excavators are the workhorses of job sites, digging, lifting, and shaping the earth to build our infrastructure. But when a part fails, the choice between new and used Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts can make or break your budget, timeline, and even your environmental footprint. At Vikfin, we specialize in high-quality used OEM

If you’ve been in this game long enough—whether you run a single excavator or manage a fleet—you already know one bitter truth: Downtime is the most expensive mistake you’ll ever make. A machine standing still isn’t “resting.”It’s silently draining your profits.It ’s pushing deadlines back.It ’s turning small problems into major financial bleeding.It ’s frustrating your operators, clients, and probably your bank balance. And nine times out of ten? The part you need is either

Most contractors think cost control starts with buying cheaper parts.But in the excavator world— cheap parts are the most expensive mistake you can make . Ask anyone who’s had a machine sidelined for a week because of a R3,000 “bargain” hydraulic pump seal kit that failed after 20 hours of work. Or the guy who tried to save money on a no-name swing motor and ended up rebuilding the entire upper structure after catastrophic internal metal contamination. At Vikfin, we see this

Hydraulics are the lifeblood of your excavator. Without them, your machine is just a heavy paperweight. And at the heart of the hydraulic system, quietly preventing disaster, sits the pressure relief valve . Ignore it—or install a cheap aftermarket replacement—and you could be staring down thousands of Rands in repairs, downtime, and destroyed components. This blog explains the critical role of the pressure relief valve , the warning signs of failure, why cheap parts are a di

Attachments are the most abused, most overlooked, and most poorly maintained components on an excavator.Buckets get slammed, breakers get overheated, thumbs get twisted, and grabs get pushed WAY beyond what the manufacturer ever intended. But here’s what many contractors miss: A failing attachment doesn’t just damage itself — it destroys the machine that’s powering it. Bad attachments kill: hydraulic pumps pilot lines cylinders swing bearings final drives auxiliary control va

When an excavator fails, 70% of the time the operator blames the final drive, the pump, or the hydraulics.But the truth is… one of the most expensive and catastrophic failures on any excavator comes from the swing system. The swing motor and swing bearing (slew ring) quietly handle massive  loads every single day: Lateral forces Shock loads Rotational torque High-pressure hydraulic spikes Dynamic weight shift from boom + dipper + bucket Operator-induced stress (fast swings, s

A Deep-Dive Technical Guide for South African Operators, Mechanics & Fleet Owners When your excavator goes down, the pressure hits instantly. Your crew is standing around. Your client is already irritated. The deadline isn’t moving. And your bank account doesn’t care about your problems. So when someone waves a cheap aftermarket part in front of you — half the price of OEM — it feels like salvation. But that’s the moment many contractors make the biggest mistake of their care

Excavator swing motors aren’t glamorous. They don’t roar like engines or crack rocks like hammers. But they control everything  that matters in precision digging: Smooth trenching Controlled swings Efficiency under load Fuel consumption Cycle time Jobsite productivity When a swing motor hesitates, jerks, leaks, or loses power, the machine becomes unpredictable — and unsafe. And this is exactly where the big debate begins: OEM swing motors vs. aftermarket rebuilds. One is engi

When an excavator overheats, it doesn’t just “run a bit hot.” It’s a silent countdown to engine damage, cracked heads, warped blocks, blown turbos, destroyed hydraulic oil, and thousands of rands in downtime. And almost every catastrophic overheat failure can be traced back to a compromised cooling component  — a radiator that’s partially blocked, a charge-air cooler full of leaks, a hydraulic cooler clogged with dust and soot, or a fan that can’t move enough air. In this in-

A Deep-Dive Guide for Contractors, Mechanics & Fleet Owners in South Africa Most contractors think about excavator parts in isolation: A pump here A swing motor there A final drive when it eventually taps out Maybe an engine overhaul when it starts crying for help But there’s a smarter, more cost-effective way to keep your machines running hard without bleeding money: Buy complete used assemblies — especially used OEM assemblies. That means: Complete engines Complete main pum

Excavator engines used to be simple: give them diesel, give them air, give them oil, and they would run until the world ended. But that era is long gone. Today’s excavators—from CAT, Komatsu, Volvo, Doosan, Hyundai, Hitachi, Kobelco, Case, JCB , and others—depend on an unassuming black box that quietly controls everything: the ECU  (Engine Control Unit). The ECU is the brain, the referee, the conductor, the nervous system, and sometimes the silent troublemaker behind 70% of m

Final drives are the most abused, misunderstood, and dangerously expensive components on any excavator. They’re the unsung heroes that convert hydraulic pressure into raw tractive power—dragging a 20-ton machine through mud, pushing against slopes, climbing stockpiles, and surviving the brutality of African job sites. And when one fails?Contractors suddenly learn the definition of pain: Machines stuck on site Jobs delayed Transport costs Labour downtime Repair bills in the te

Hydraulics are the beating heart of every excavator. Engines create the power, electronics give the commands, but it’s the hydraulic system that actually turns raw horsepower into bucket force , slew torque , travel power , and cycle speed . If the hydraulics go soft, slow, noisy, or unstable, the entire machine becomes a very expensive lawn ornament. In South Africa—where contractors routinely push machines to their limits—hydraulic stability isn’t a luxury. It’s survival. A