Bucket cylinder play

[LoganWildman]

The bucket cylinders on my 16LA have something going on with them. If have the bucket in any position other than full curl back, I can lower the lift arms and the bucket will curl back several inches, then firms up. I have not noticed it bleeding down if I leave the bucket full. What do I need to do to remove this play?

 

[jinman]

When you raise the lift arms, does the bucket curl down? It sounds to me like your bucket is trying to self-level. Of course, that feature isn't on the 16LA. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Did you mean to say that you had pressure on the bucket as you lowered the arms (such as digging or skimming)? If that's the case, you might have air in your curl cylinders. I'd cycle the loader from full curl to full dump a few times to see if it improves.

 

[techinNY]

What is probably happening is that the bucket is pulling the cylinders out faster than your hyd. pump is supplying oil to them, this creates a void inside the cylinder and when you put the bucket down, the piston on the rod is moving until it comes up against the oil that is on the base end of the clyinder. This is normal, nothing to worry about. Try running the engine at a higher rpm than you have, (assuming you have been running the engine at a low rpm) this will supply oil at a faster rate and help reduce the size of the void.

 

[slowrev]

I don't understand the "voids" in the hydraulic cylinders concept. Unless a seal is sucking air should not the cylinder be full of oil on both ends at all times for a double action cylinder ?

 

[joes_427_vette]

I have the same problem. Dealer says the o ring seals on the cylinders have sometimes been damaged during assembly. He suggested taking them apart and checking the seals. When one is damaged it leaks down to the other causing it to appear to have air in the line and being some what spongy. Let you know when I take mine apart!!

 

[jinman]

Joe, I'm curious about how old your tractor is and how many hours you have on it? You mentioned in your other post that you purchased the extended powertrain warranty, so I'm guessing your tractor is over three years old. How many hours?

A quick check of your loader cylinders can be done without disassembly. To check your curl cylinders, lower the loader with the bucket flat on ground. Remove both quick-connects for the bucket curl (turn the tractor off first). Start the tractor and raise the lift arms. The bucket should curl down some and stop. The hoses will "balloon" enough to let the bucket curl down a little. If you have some type of load in the bucket, it's an even better test. If the bucket slowly goes all the way to the dump position, you have a problem with one or both of the curl cylinders.

It's a little harder to check the lift arm cylinders, but you do that by starting with the bucket curled down so the cutting edge is curled down to the ground in almost the full dump position. Remove the lift arm quick connects and curl the bucket up. The loader arms should drop because of ballooning, but stop and hold before dropping all the way to the ground. They may move down 6" to 12". Once they stop, they should hold with little movement.

Good luck with your checks and repairs.

 

[techinNY]

I'm sorry I don't have an explanation for the void other than that it is like holding your finger over the end of a syringe and pulling the plunger back, you have created a void because you did not allow any air in. I guess you could say that instead of compressing air, you are decompressing air? In your cylinder, the weight of the bucket is pulling the piston and rod out but there is not enough oil being supplied to fill the back side of the piston, like having you finger over the end of it (syringe).

 

[searay]

Hi, I'm new here. I found this site because I was looking for answers about this very same problem on my brand new TC35DA and 16LA. I am very frustrated about having to "play" with the bucket tilt to get rid of the excessive movement in the bucket curl when I'm trying to backdrag. This is way too time-consuming and aggravating.
I'm sorry, but I have a hard time accepting that this is a normal thing. I NEVER had this problem on my TC30 and 7308 loader. Don't know if this is part of the problem, but I used the tractor for mowing about 9 hrs before I started using the bucket. I soon noticed the curl problem and began looking for reasons. When I checked the hydraulic fluid it didn't even show up on the stick! It took almost exactly a GALLON of fluid to bring it to the full mark. I noticed there was a lot of air in the fluid even after it was full. I suspect the prep person at the tractor dealership never refilled the reservior after installing the 16LA.
After filling, everything seemed OK for the rest of the day. Today I started using it again, and the problem is back! Fluid level is still fine but there seems to be a lot of small bubbles in it. Is there a way I can contact New Holland directly to get an answer on this? The dealer said he noticed on another 16LA so thinks this is "normal".
Any other 16LA owners out there have this issue and are living with it? Or are there a lot of owners that don't have this problem?
Thanks for any responses.
searay

 

[Newblue]

searay-- I have a TC45DA/17LA loader that when I dump firewood into the back of my duece and a half (loader cylinders extended all the way), the bucket will stop momentarily just before fully dumped then go the rest of the way. With only 53 hours on the machine I did not think this is normal. The only thin is, I was running at 1500 RPM. I should problably try running the RPMs at 1700 or above. If this does not solve the problem I'll have a warranty issue with the dealer. Good luck on yours.

 

[jinman]

Searay, a gallon low on hydraulic fluid is only 1/10th low since you have almost 10 gallons of fluid in that reservoir. I don't think low fluid is your problem.

I'm a little concerned about the foaming fluid because that might indicate your pump is sucking air from somewhere. See if your hydraulic filter is tight (big filter near right rear tire). It is on the suction side of the hydraulic pump. It's also on the suction side of the hydrostatic pump. Have you noticed any power loss?

Your cylinders should not be spongy when back-dragging. I do it all the time and my curl cylinders hold the bucket lip right where I put it. If you go forward after backdragging and catch the bucket in dirt, the pressure suddenly changes from positive to negative in the cylinders and you can expect some sponginess or play.