Luis Montes

Luis Montes is the chief editor at Fortis HD, crafting informative blog posts that guide heavy-duty mechanics and equipment owners through maintenance and repair tasks across industries such as mining, construction, agriculture, and forestry. A civil engineer by training, Luis leverages his technical background to produce content that addresses the specific needs and challenges within these sectors. His articles focus on practical solutions, enabling professionals to enhance their operational efficiency and equipment longevity. Through his work, Luis supports Fortis HD’s mission to empower the heavy equipment community with essential knowledge and skills.

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Posts Written By Luis Montes

CAT 314E Engine Oil Change & Other Routine Maintenance Tasks – Part 3

CAT 314E Engine Oil Change &

The previous post covered changing the hydraulic oil filters on our CAT 314E excavator.In part 3, Keith will show you how to properly adjust the track

April 18, 2025

Maintenance


CAT 314E Engine Oil Change & Other Routine Maintenance Tasks – Part 1

CAT 314E Engine Oil Change &

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll cover changing the engine oil and filter on a CAT 314E excavator. It’ll be the first of five posts about routine mai

April 30, 2025

Maintenance


How to Change the Engine Oil and Filter on a CAT 314E Mini Excavator

How to Change the Engine Oil

We’ll cover how to service the engine of a CAT 314E mini excavator. Although focused on a particular make and model, we’ll discuss similarities with o

May 16, 2025

Maintenance


How to Replace Cabin Light and Boom Lights in a Komatsu PC200LC Excavator

How to Replace Cabin Light and

Want to replace your cabin and boom lights on your Komatsu PC200LC Excavator? Here’s a detailed guide that takes you through all the steps of installi

July 17, 2023

Maintenance


Extend Your Heavy Equipment’s Life With Our Ultimate Guide to Maintenance Hour Intervals

Extend Your Heavy Equipment’s Life With

May 04, 2025

Maintenance


Get Back to Work Faster – Find Your Heavy Equipment’s Rubber Track Size

Get Back to Work Faster –

January 05, 2024

Maintenance


Replace Skid Steer Tracks Without Other Heavy Equipment

Replace Skid Steer Tracks Without Other

Learn how to change rubber tracks on a Kubota SVL95 skid steer using only a few chisel bars. You can use the same technique for any make and model.Rub

October 03, 2023

Maintenance


Mini Excavator Maintenance Guide

Mini Excavator Maintenance Guide

A mini excavator – and there are many high-quality brands such as John Deere, Komatsu, Bobcat, Kubota, Caterpillar, and Hitachi – is one of the most h

July 20, 2023

Maintenance


Why You Should Not Use A Tool To Tighten Up A Spin On Oil Filter

Why You Should Not Use A

You shouldn’t tighten a spin on filter with tools because the filters’ walls will collapse under the pressure of a tool, which is much greater than wh

May 09, 2024

Maintenance


No Hydraulic Pin Press? No Problem! Learn to Change Excavator Tracks Yourself

No Hydraulic Pin Press? No Problem!

Don’t let the lack of a pin press hold you down to change your excavator tracks.Read on to see how we swap the steel tracks on a Joh Deere 135G Excava

February 23, 2024

Maintenance


How to Put a Track Back on a Mini Excavator

How to Put a Track Back

Whether one of your tracks came off the undercarriage or you need a new set, we’ll show you how to put a track back on an excavator.Although the post

May 09, 2024

Maintenance


Excavator Not Starting? Learn How To Replace an Excavator Ignition Switch

Excavator Not Starting? Learn How To

It’s common to have trouble with the excavator ignition switch (especially during winter). If the ignition switch on your excavator fails, it can caus

September 26, 2023

Maintenance


Less Than One Minute Maintenance: Change Out an Excavator Cab Filter

Less Than One Minute Maintenance: Change

Changing a cabin air filter will take 1 minute, more or less.You won’t probably even need tools to do it.In this case, we’ll replace the filter on a C

October 09, 2023

Maintenance