David Brown (Case) 885 hydraulic problem with 3-point....... HELP PLEASE!

[PCausey]

I recently did some trading and wound up with a David Brown (Case) 885 tractor with front bucket. The front bucket works fine but I'm having trouble with the 3-point on hydraulics on the rear. They worked slowly but did work at first although it took some playing with the valve to get it to work and then as I was working the tractor with my grader blade first it took awhile to get the 3-point to lift again and then once I got it to lift all the way I cannot get it to release and lower again no matter where I move the control valve to. The control valve I'm referring to switches the hydraulic control between the 3-point and the front bucket. I'm thinking the valve is not working properly and not opening the return side from the 3-point back to the reservoir but I'm not sure. Has anyone dealt with this problem on this model before? Is there anything else I should be checking? Thanks!

 

[RickB]

There's a mechanical latch to the left and rear of the seat. Is that engaged and holding the hitch up? Rotate latch clockwise to disengage.

 

[PCausey]

I'm aware of that latch and it is seized up currently however I have to assume it's seized in the released position because it was going up and down before this problem arose. I'll be taking that apart as well to see why it's seized and fix that as well.

 

[PCausey]

I now have the valve body removed and still the 3-point will not lower. I'm about to take apart the control valve which controls the rate of speed for lowering/raising to see if it's clogged up. Beyond that I'll have to assume that the mechanism that moves it up and down is seized. Am I assuming correctly that there is a hydraulic cylinder built into the axle housing which controls this operation? Are there any internal springs I need to be aware of as I dissemble these parts? I'm also noticing that the lever which sets the height of the 3-point will not stay in the lowered position, it springs back up again when I try to set it at the lowered position. If anyone can direct me to a website with a parts breakdown of the internal parts that would help a lot. Thanks again for reading!

 

[PCausey]

I have the problem figured out. Rain water had accumulated behind the cover over the actuator piston for the 3-point lift. The cylinder walls had become rusted just enough to seize the piston in the bore, probably in a bind also under the weight of the implement that was on it. I was able to get it to break loose and I think a bit of work with emery cloth or perhaps a cylinder hone will clean it up well enough to be serviceable. And now all the valves get new O-rings and re-adjusted anyway because I have to. I took them all apart looking for the issue before I tore it down far enough to find the real problem.
Obviously there's good reason in storing the 3-point in the raised position as the owners manual says. That would prevent this from happening. And I also found a vent tube which would have allowed evaporation of the rainwater but the tube was broken off and the vent clogged with mud. Another feature the factory thought of but the previous owner neglected.

 

[Ghandley]

I have similar problem
My 3 point hitch goes up when tractor is started and goes down when you turn the engine off
There is no control
Where do i find the directional valve