Bucket not working correctly

[retiredrich]

The bucket cylinders on my loader are very slow at coming all the way back into the cylinder. The fitting on the tractors coupler is a poppet type and the fitting on the hose is a ball type. Could this cause the problem I'm having?

 

[J_J]

Remove the QD and use a straight coupler and check it out.

You could also remove the half from the cyl hose and just plug it back together , place in a clean bucket and test out the hyd flow.

 

[retiredrich]

Thanks for the reply. I'll take off the fitting and try it tomorrow.

 

[retiredrich]

J J, Instead of a coupler I put two poppet type fittings on both bucket hoses so they match with the couplers on the tractor. The bucket still moves very slow the last ten inches or so of ram (both cylinders are new)but the loader is about right. I previously changed the transmission filter and put in the 13 gallons of Hytran it called for. The only thing I can think of is the valve control for the bucket has a bad 'O" ring(s) and is letting fluid bleed past.

 

[J_J]

Do you know if the hyd pump is pumping full volume as in GPM.

Are you using max engine rpm?

When you are moving the FEL/curl, is the 3pt lever in the neutral position , so as to not cause back pressure. If you have a pressure gage in a tee in the IN port of the FEL, you can determine the pressure for any hyd application.

If you max out the cyl, you should read the relief pressure.

If you only work the 3pt, you will see that pressure.

With all levers in neutral, there should be no pressure or very little.

It would seem that if there is air in a cyl, you can not get full extension, If the return line is restricted, things will not work right.

Are the QD's showing full flow when tested.

With the cyl disconnected from the bucket, can you get full extension?

 

[retiredrich]

I did disconnect the right cylinder from the bucket to see if it would move faster than the other side trying to pull the bucket in. It did not. Maybe I should disconnect both rams from the bucket and see?
Otherwise, I guess I'm going to have to get a pressure gauge on it and see what it has.
The back blade is completely relaxed and on the ground when trying the bucket.

 

[retiredrich]

I run the engine at about 2,000 rpm when trying to tip the bucket. I have tried to remove the air by bleeding the connectors for the bucket cylinders while applying pressure at the control valves. I did have a little air in the one cylinder but the bucket continues to operate slowly.
It acts like air but I can't figure/don't know how to remove it.

 

[olde man]

if this just started after you changed the filter you probably got a good dose of air. i'm assuming it hasn't been too long since you put those new cylinders on. completely retract your cylinder, disconnect ext. lines then check flow in a bucket, make sure cylinders are full of oil (to top of port) then rehook lines. then extend cylinders completely and repeat the process on the retract end. then cycle them hold against the stops and dump the relief a few seconds each time. remember to maintain your reservoir level during all of this and an extra set of hands are a good idea. this is a when all else fails procedure and a good one to use when installing cylinders

 

[retiredrich]

It started before I changed the filter and fluid. The cylinders that were on the tractor when I got it were leaking bad. I never really tested them to see if they worked good or not. I just bought two new cylinders and then proceeded to
have this problem. I wish I would have tested them first. I will now try what you have said. Thanks, Rich

 

[retiredrich]

What do you mean by 'then cycle them hold against the stops and dump the relief a few seconds each time.' ? What is 'cycle them hold against the stops' and what is 'dump the relief a few seconds'? I'm anxious to try this and hoping it will fix it. Thanks

 

[J_J]

Just extend the cyl to max open and hold it there until you hear the relief valve whine, and do the same for the cyl retracted.

That is one complete cycle.

Do this on all the cyl , lift, curl, and 3pt.

Some cyl may take up to 5 complete cycles to purge the air.

 

[olde man]

retract and extend them fully at the stop points(end of stroke) just hold the valve in function for a few extra seconds. tilt bucket back fully, hold, then dump bucket fully, hold, then repeat.

 

[olde man]

sorry jj didn't notice the second page before i posted

 

[retiredrich]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm not familiar with tractors much as you can tell. I have the tractor for moving snow. I'm big into hot rods and at least know something about them compared to tractors.

 

[retiredrich]

JJ, Hopefully one last question. When I extend it open, which hose do I unhook, top or bottom? The rear blade works perfect, do I really need to do it also

 

[olde man]

i'll chime in again, if you have the rod pushed out all the way take the hose off the rod end and check

 

[retiredrich]

So that would be the hose closest to the bucket. And then rehook it, unhook the top one and retract or retract and then unhook the top one?

 

[olde man]

retract first

 

[retiredrich]

Thanks for all the info you and JJ have given me on this. I hope to work on it next week end and hopefully it will correct the bucket problem. Thanks again, Rich

 

[olde man]

if you haven't tried cycling these cylinders and dumping over the relief before you originally posted do that before you take any hoses loose.what i wanted you to do was for if this hadn't worked. if you have tried without success, then proceed this way: step 1. roll bucket back all the way 2. remove hoses from top ports in cylinders place in bucket then move valve as if to dump until you have oil. 3. reattach top lines 4. dump bucket completely 5. remove bottom hoses place in bucket move valve as if to roll back until you have oil. 6. reattach hoses 7. cycle cylinders as previously described. this can be awkward and messy, only function valves slightly while hoses are off.