Total Hydraulics

09/03/2026

One tip we've learned over the years is an oil sample is the cheapest look inside a hydraulic system you'll ever get, but only if someone reads it properly.

Most reports get filed the moment the numbers look “okay.”

Swipe through for what the five key numbers on an oil analysis actually mean: the ISO cleanliness code, water content, viscosity, and the wear metals that tell you which component is starting to go.

We set up and manage sampling programmes for operators across BC, and we read the reports so you don't have to.

Feel free to save the information for future reference.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

09/01/2026

Our owner and CEO, Geoff McCauley, is a member of the Inuvik Dene Band. He is proud of his heritage and equally proud that Total Hydraulics is a Certified Indigenous Business (CIB) with the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB).

CCIB has spent decades strengthening the role of Indigenous businesses in the Canadian economy, with practical programs designed to create opportunity and long-term growth.

Through Supply Change™, Indigenous-owned businesses are connected with corporate and government buyers actively looking to strengthen their Indigenous supply chains.

The Certified Indigenous Business designation also gives buyers confidence that the Indigenous ownership and control of a business has been independently verified.

And through programs such as Tools for Indigenous Business, Capital Skills and the Schulich Mini-MBA for Indigenous Leaders, CCIB supports the training, skills and business capacity that help Indigenous companies grow well beyond any single contract.

For the marine, forestry, mining and oil & gas operators we work with, many of whom have Indigenous procurement, supplier diversity and reconciliation commitments, partnering with a Certified Indigenous Business like Total Hydraulics can help support those goals — while providing the same custom hydraulic repair expertise and service our customers have come to expect.
If your organization is looking to strengthen its Indigenous supply chain, we'd be glad to talk.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB).

Supporting Indigenous businesses and economic growth

08/27/2026

A hydraulic system that runs hot often gets written off as “just the way that machine is.” It isn't. Heat is one of the most expensive things you can let a system do, and if you don't watch it, it can cause a cosiderable amount of damage.

Swipe through for what heat actually does to the oil and seals, and the real sources of it — most of which are a symptom of something else worth finding.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

08/25/2026

If a repair doesn't hold, going back at no charge shouldn't be a selling point. It should be the baseline.

Somewhere along the way it stopped being one. Plenty of shops fix the symptom, invoice the visit, and treat the repeat call-out as a second job — billable again.

We work the other way. If there's an issue with work we've done, we come back until it's right, at no charge. That's not a promotion. It's what standing behind your own work looks like.

It also changes how we work in the first place. When a repeat visit is on us, you find the actual cause the first time. There's no incentive to do otherwise.

f you're tired of paying twice for the same fix, that's the whole reason we do it this way. Happy to talk it through. Contact info in comments.

08/20/2026

'Mobile service' means different things to different companies.

Swipe through to see what a fully equipped mobile service looks like, why it matters for remote and time-sensitive jobs .

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

08/18/2026

A ship-to-shore crane that goes down at a container terminal doesn't stop one crane. It backs up the whole berth.

Swipe through to learn more.

If your terminal runs its own maintenance crew and you want a second set of eyes on a recurring hydraulic issue, happy to talk it through. Contact info in the comments.

08/13/2026

A towing winch that won't pay out mid-tow doesn't cost you a repair. It costs you control of the tow.

Deckhands manage the load by hand. The skipper holds position and burns fuel. And a job that was billing by the hour is now on hold, waiting on a hydraulic fix that should have been caught weeks earlier.

Swipe through the four early signs a towing or deck winch is heading for a failure — and what each one is actually telling you about the pump, the valve, or the fluid.

If your winches are showing any of these, worth a conversation before you're holding a tow with a bad circuit.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

08/11/2026

Before you start equipment that has been sitting, whether over summer shutdown or a longer idle period, there are specific failure points that show up the moment the system is pressurised again.

Swipe through to see what to check before the first start.

A 30-minute inspection costs a lot less than a breakdown on the first day back.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

08/04/2026

Underground mining equipment runs in conditions that are about as demanding as hydraulics gets. Heat, dust, humidity, constant duty cycles, and production pressure where every hour of downtime is measured in tonnes not produced.

The failure modes that cause the most production impact in underground mining hydraulics are not the dramatic ones. They are the slow, cumulative ones that build undetected until a critical component fails at the worst possible moment.

Hydraulic motor wear on continuous miners and loaders. These motors run under sustained high load in contaminated environments. When internal clearances open up from wear, efficiency drops before the motor fails, the machine gets slower and less powerful before it stops. Operators adapt to the reduced performance without realising what it signals.

Heat management in confined spaces. Underground equipment generates heat in environments where airflow is limited. Systems adequately cooled at surface become thermally stressed underground. Fluid breakdown from heat is faster, and the consequences of viscosity loss are more severe at the loads these machines carry.

Water ingress from ground conditions. Wet ground conditions introduce water contamination through every seal interface that is not in perfect condition. In underground environments, water in the hydraulic system is a constant battle rather than an occasional problem.

If you are managing underground equipment and dealing with shorter-than-expected component life, the operating environment is usually a significant factor in the diagnosis.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282

07/30/2026

The standard filter that came with your equipment was specified for average conditions. Most operations are not average.

Swipe through to see whether your filtration is actually matched to your environment — and what to look for if it is not.

We are an authorised Donaldson Hy-Pro dealer and can review your current setup.

[email protected] | 604-277-1282