54 Ford NAA 3 Point Hitch Stopped Woking

[JayJay99]

Went to use my tractor to do some snow plowing and when I attempted to raise the back blade it wouldn't move off the ground at all. I thought it was frozen, but moved the tractor a little bit back and saw it was free. Made sure the tractor was nice and warmed up, then tried the lift lever again, but nothing. I checked the fluid level and it was nice and clean and full to the top. I think I will try next the adjusting nut on the hydraulic pump, but don't think there's much hope it that being the problem. The only clue I might have is this fall I purchased a post hole digger and tried it. It's a bit heaver than anything I have ever yet put on the 3 point hitch so far and when i was lowering it, it bounced up and down until I lowered it completely or raised it up almost fully. It would raise up ok, but if I stopped halfway up it would bounce up and down. Just before the winter set in I put on the back blade and the 3 point hitch seemed to work fine. The tractor sat for more than a month without being used and now I can't raise the hitch arms. Any ideas??? Where do I start checking?
Thanks,
John >>

 

[Soundguy]

could be water in the hyds, and frozen in a low part.. like the suction lines..

unload valve MAY be stuck.

pump may not be primed.


the bobbing is hunting.. and is indicative of a leak.. usually at the lift cyl / piston.

remove the plug on the blank cover under the seat and see if you have oil there when you start the tractor.. if you have a goot jet, pump is pumping, lines not frze and pump is primed.. then it's a top cover issue.. like a unloader stuck, unloading..e tc.

post back..

 

[JayJay99]

Thanks for the info! I will check those things out this weekend and post back on what I find.
Thanks again...
John

 

[Soundguy]

waiting to hear back.

soundguy

 

[JayJay99]

Well I worked on the Ford this weekend and tried to see what was causing the hitch arms not to move up. As was suggested I opened the round fill/inspection hole under the seat and started the tractor up. Using a drop light, I checked as carefully as I could to see if I could see some fluid being pumped. The hydraulic fluid I could see looked very still. I moved the lift arm lever several times but there wasn't really any difference seen. I did see the shaft of the lift arm move so that was ok. Then I turned up the pump flow speed with the large nut on the end of the pump just in case it got turned out or something possibly plugged up. Well that didn't seem to do anything either. SO, I'm thinking maybe I might have a pump problem.?? I see online where they sell pump rebuilding kits, which look like mostly o-ring replacement kits. I can get almost any size or kind of o-ring from my work but besides that what do you think might be the best next step?
Thanks for any help... I appreciate it since this is my first large tractor. I would like to see this nice old classic working nicely again after some years of neglect. I have had this 54 Ford for a couple of years and would like to really use it properly.
John >>

 

[Soundguy]

so far i'm still waiting for you to remove the plug on the blank cover under the seat and start her up ...

soundguy

 

[JayJay99]

I guess the inspection hole under the seat wasn't the one you wanted me to open. Sorry... I wasn't very sure about which one you meant. I think you said the plug on the blank cover. You know I did take another plug out under the seat, but when I did I saw hydraulic fluid in that hole right up to the threads, almost coming out, so I thought that wasn't the right one. I will take another look and see if I can figure out which is the one you mean. I think you can tell I'm new at this, but am willing to learn.
John >>

 

[Soundguy]

there is a single blank cover on a naa hyd top cover .. it is under the right front of the seat. there are 5 bolt holes and there is a single pipe plug in it. removing this plug will allow oil to come out if the system is making flow.. if no oil here, you may have an non primed pump... which is what we are trying to determine.

the fill 'bung' hole is on the left side of the seat, mid way back on the hyd top cover... and is NOT the one you need to remove...

soundguy

 

[JayJay99]

As soon as I got home from work, I removed the correct plug and checked things out. Before starting the tractor up I noticed some oil just below the plug ending point. Then I started up the tractor and checked again. NO Difference! There was the same amount of oil there (maybe slightly less) and no stream of oil. I then increased the nut on the pump for faster flow to see if that made any difference, but that did nothing. I also tried moving the lift adjusting lever just to make sure, still nothing.
John >>

 

[Soundguy]

the 3pt lever won't effect anything as it's not even getting oil to the top cover.

try a air blow gun with a rubber tip and put it up to the port the dipstick goes in onthe hyd sump, and give it a few psi of air while the engine is running and that plug under the seat is out.

soundguy