I have a 1996 320 caterpillar excavator and it all of sudden it does not want to move left and right. It will move forward and backwards. Can someone tell me what possibly is wrong 
thanks 

My guess is it has blown the seals in the distributor/pivot in the centre of the circle.

Wombat

I assume by left and right that you mean it will not slew left or right. Not sure about the 1996 320 whether it uses hydraulically piloted valves or electrically piloted but if there are no obvious signs such as blown hoses then perhaps a faulty pilot valve. Could also be in the joystick. If electric check all cables for damage or corrosion. Also if there is a fuse for each function then it may have blown. As both directions are affected it could also be a seized spool for the slew.
There could also be an issue in the slew motor itself. Does the engine sound like it is loading up when you try to slew left or right?

Janc9884@gmail.com wrote:

I have a 1996 320 caterpillar excavator and it all of sudden it does not want to move left and right. It will move forward and backwards. Can someone tell me what possibly is wrong 
thanks 


You know a little more detailed description of your problem would possibly  get you an answer to a fix .
Bob
 

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Are you talking about steering the undercarriage or slewing the upper deck on the undercarriage?

Just my 0.02.

I mean that the machine will move forward and backwards on the tracks but won't move left or right.

You mean it won't steer left or right?
What happens when you go forward on one track and reverse on the other>
Bob

If it won't steer left or right with the tracks it could be something wrong with the brake circuit but seems unlikely to affect both sides.
Perhaps if you posted the serial number I can look up the hydraulic circuit drawing in Cat's SIS.
The more information you can provide us with the more likely we can provide a valid solution.

I go back to my original post, often the seals in the distributor in the centre of the circle blow and you get oil feed between various drive functions.

Wombat

Janc9884@gmail.com wrote:

I have a 1996 320 caterpillar excavator and it all of sudden it does not want to move left and right. It will move forward and backwards. Can someone tell me what possibly is wrong 
thanks 

Since it seems to be a secret what lead up to this problem and we don't have a clue how about this WAG are you running the drive motors in low range?
Bob