slow swing and lazy boom on cold mornings, normal or a problem?

slow swing cold is oil. boom settling cold and NOT warm is also mostly oil, thick oil leaks past the control valve spools slower, wait, other way, warm thin oil should leak more. so if it settles cold and not warm, that points at the boom holding valve or the cylinder seals being stiff when cold, and both of those are things that get worse not better.

before you chase anything: what oil is in it. if the last guy ran a 46 and you are in Duluth, that is your morning problem right there. book for that machine in your climate is a 32 or a multigrade. drain it, look at what comes out, send a sample.

you northern guys and your cold. down here 38 is a myth. but i had a PC300 do the boom settle thing and it was the boom lowering pilot check, the little cartridge on the boom cylinder line. 140 bucks and an hour. did not fix it until i also cleaned the pilot filter which was full of junk. worth checking before you convince yourself it is a pump.

68 in duluth. that machine has been trying to tell you for two years. post the lab results when they come back, if the wear metals are high after running that thick that long you want to know now.

and for anybody reading in march: warm up procedure on a cold morning is idle 5 minutes, then cycle every function slow at low idle with no load for another 5 to 10 until the temp gauge moves. not full stick to the stops in the first minute like the guys on tiktok.