The three questions a code answers
When someone writes "K5V140DTP" they are really answering three separate questions, and only one of them is about size:
- Which family? K3V and K5V are the two generations of tandem pump that dominate 20-45 t excavators; K7V is the open-circuit range used where a tandem pump is not the right answer.
- How much oil? The number after the family is a displacement class, not a litre rating: 112 and 140 are two sizes of the same architecture, and the machine tonnage band follows from there.
- Which arrangement? The suffix carries the control and drive configuration - and this is where most ordering mistakes happen.
What the suffix changes
Take the two we quote most often, side by side:
| Code | Family and class | Arrangement carried by the suffix | Machine class it usually serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| K3V112DTP | K3V, 112 class | tandem pump with PTO - a second pump can be driven behind it | 20-25 t excavators |
| K5V140DTP | K5V, 140 class | tandem pump with PTO, later generation | 27-33 t excavators |
| K5V200DTH | K5V, 200 class | large tandem for mining-class machines; the control suffix must come off the nameplate | 40-45 t excavators |
| K7V125 | K7V open circuit | single open-circuit pump with its own regulator | industrial open circuits and harsh duty cycles |
Our parts pages state the same distinction in one line: "DT (no PTO) and DTP (with PTO) configurations." That single letter is why two pumps of the same family and class are not interchangeable: one has a drive pad behind it and the other does not.
The 20 t trap
The 112 and 140 classes overlap the same machine tonnage band. A 20 t machine can leave the factory with a smaller pump and more conservative hydraulics, or with the larger one and a different valve setting. Fitting the larger pump to a machine set up for the smaller one changes the flow at the levers - and the first symptom is usually "the machine is jerky at low speed", which then gets blamed on the pump.
So the sequence is always the same: machine model, nameplate, suffix, then part number. Never start from the family code alone.
How to read your own nameplate in three minutes
- Photograph the aluminium plate on the pump regulator housing - the full code with its suffix, plus the small numbers underneath
- Note the machine model and the tonnage class from the machine plate (a 17-digit or 13-digit machine code is fine - we read those too)
- If a previous repair replaced the pump, say so; the plate on the machine may not match the plate on the pump
- Send the photo on WhatsApp. We match it to the catalogue line and come back with the correct variant, the parts behind it and the price
For how each brand formats its own numbers - and where you can check them yourself in the manufacturer's catalogue - see verify a part number. For the families we supply, start at browse by series.