Travel motor problems on the SK350-8 are expensive to guess at, because the assembly is large, the machine is often the one everyone depends on, and the numbers that look similar on paper belong to different classes. The 30 to 35 tonne group — SK330-8 and SK350-8 among them — uses a hydraulic pump and travel drive a class above the 20 tonne SK200-8, and this is where most ordering mistakes happen. Guangzhou Shenyue Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. has supplied these assemblies since 2007 and this guide walks the teardown and the number confirmation together, because on this class they cannot be separated.
Why the class matters more than the suffix
An SK350-8 does not use the hydraulic pump or travel motor of an SK200-8. Where the 20 tonne machine runs the K3V112 pump family and the Nabtesco GM38VB travel motor, the SK330-8 and SK350-8 class runs the larger K5V140 pump family and a correspondingly larger travel motor. The letters and numbers look related, and that is the trap: a number quoted for a 20 tonne machine can be superseded, multi-marked or simply wrong for the larger machine, and the part will not fit. The machine plate and the component nameplate, not the model name, decide the order.
A teardown order that protects the parts
Clean the unit before it is opened, because grit on the outside becomes grit in the rotating group. Drain and sample the oil and note any metal, then remove the brake and the reduction end first so the motor group can come out in one piece. Mark the rotating group before separation; on these units the cylinder block, pistons and swash plate are matched, and mixing parts between motors is a guaranteed early failure. Inspect the swash plate faces, the piston shoes, the cylinder block bores and the valve plate for scoring and heat marks, and check the brake plates for wear and the bearings for roughness. A travel motor that has lost one piston shoe usually shows it in the drain oil and in a single scored bore.
| Failure | Evidence at teardown |
|---|---|
| Piston shoe wear | Scored swash plate, metal in drain oil |
| Cylinder block scoring | Grooved bores, heat discoloration |
| Valve plate wear | Smearing on the port face, internal leakage |
| Brake wear | Worn plates, slow or dragging travel |
| Bearing failure | Rough rotation, axial play, noise |
The real numbers on the shelf
Our current stock carries travel motor assemblies such as GM85VA / LS15V00020F1 and LQ15V00031F5 / LQ15V00020F1, with LQ15V00020R999 as a further travel motor row, and internal parts such as the travel motor block C2162221251701 / LC15V00023S040, the ball guide C2162420488601 / LC15V00023S042, the swash C2162122059801 and the relief C2259321450501 / LC22V00006F1. Travel motors look alike across classes but are not interchangeable, so the assembly must be confirmed against the machine's plate rather than the model name. On our list the hydraulic components range holds these alongside the pump family, and the SK350LC model page covers the class.
Teardown tells you rebuild or replace
A travel motor is worth rebuilding when the housing, shaft and rotating group can be saved and only wear parts — shoes, valve plate, bearings, seals and brake plates — are consumed. It is replaced when the cylinder block or housing is scored beyond cleaning, or when the shaft or mounting is damaged. Because a rebuilt unit's life depends on the group being matched, a shop should rebuild one motor with one set of matching parts rather than mixing from a shelf. Where the machine works on poor ground, the rebuild is worth doing properly the first time.
How we supply
Guangzhou Shenyue Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. has specialized in Kobelco parts since 2007, with 4 warehouses over 1000 m² in Guangzhou, 3,000+ part types on the shelf and 100,000+ part numbers available to order through original supply channels. Shenyue is an independent supplier and is not an authorized dealer of Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.; for Kobelco, Hino, Isuzu, Yanmar, Cummins, Kawasaki, Nabtesco, KYB and KPM we supply genuine parts ordered through original supply channels alongside quality replacement alternatives, at prices close to agent level, and the five brands we hold formal authorization for — Mitsubishi, Garrett, TONGMYUNG, Marusan and NIKURA — are named on every quotation. Browse the SK330 model page and the hydraulic components range; published machine data from Kobelco is a useful cross-reference for the class and generation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the SK350-8 travel motor the same as the SK200-8 one?
No. The 20 tonne machine uses a smaller travel motor family such as the Nabtesco GM38VB, while the 30 to 35 tonne class uses a larger unit. Similar-looking numbers are not interchangeable, so confirm the assembly from the machine plate and the motor's nameplate.
Can a travel motor be rebuilt in-house?
Often yes, when the housing, shaft and rotating group are sound and only wear parts are consumed. The critical rule is to keep the matched rotating group together and rebuild one motor with one set of matching parts rather than mixing components from a shelf.
What usually fails first in a hydraulic travel motor?
Piston shoes and the swash plate. Once a shoe scores the swash plate the motor leaks internally and the drain oil carries metal. Cylinder block bores and the valve plate are the next most common wear points.
What should I send for a travel motor quote?
The machine plate, the travel motor nameplate, and photographs of the scored or worn parts. Shenyue confirms the correct assembly or rebuild kit and declares each line's grade before shipping.