2012 JD 4320 FEL Issues

[griff1957]

Was working on a burn pile yesterday when I popped a hose on my grapple, not a major gusher but a pin hole. Worked on the pile a little longer with the grapple working properly but noticed the fel bucket was not going all the way up. Parked it and checked hydraulic fluid level this morning and it was about a 1.5 gallons low, topped it off but fel still not going up all the way. Is it possible the raise/lower cylinders got air locked? Any suggestions appreciated in advance. Thanks

 

[loggin]

Was working on a burn pile yesterday when I popped a hose on my grapple, not a major gusher but a pin hole. Worked on the pile a little longer with the grapple working properly but noticed the fel bucket was not going all the way up. Parked it and checked hydraulic fluid level this morning and it was about a 1.5 gallons low, topped it off but fel still not going up all the way. Is it possible the raise/lower cylinders got air locked? Any suggestions appreciated in advance. Thanks

It is possible and the way to get rid of air in the cylinders is to just fully cycle the cylinder a few times. That should purge the air.

 

[griff1957]

I tried that several times but no help. I ran across another posting with a similar problem that mentioned it could possibly be the quick disconnect fittings, the fellow stated that he just disconnected and reconnected which solved the problem. I’ll try that this evening.

 

[loggin]

I tried that several times but no help. I ran across another posting with a similar problem that mentioned it could possibly be the quick disconnect fittings, the fellow stated that he just disconnected and reconnected which solved the problem. I’ll try that this evening.

That is a good suggestion. They can sometimes be a bit of a problem. Is the hose on the grapple still leaking?

 

[griff1957]

That is a good suggestion. They can sometimes be a bit of a problem. Is the hose on the grapple still leaking?

Had 2 new ones made up today at a cost of $175…will install them this afternoon and check the QD connectors.

 

[griff1957]

Well I would have never believed it, usually things like this cost me hundreds of dollars. Got the hoses replaced and then checked my QD couplers, found one going to my fel cylinder popped lose, it appeared to be fully connected by just looking at but it wasn’t, a limb or stick must of have hit it. Reconnected and fel worked…go figure!!!!!

 

[loggin]

Well I would have never believed it, usually things like this cost me hundreds of dollars. Got the hoses replaced and then checked my QD couplers, found one going to my fel cylinder popped lose, it appeared to be fully connected by just looking at but it wasn’t, a limb or stick must of have hit it. Reconnected and fel worked…go figure!!!!!

Glad to hear you got it all sorted!! And thanks for letting us know how it turned out and your solution to the problem!!