FEL stuck

[KU Gator]

I have a B2920. When my FEL will not raise, it is because the lever that raises or lowers the 3 pt hitch is not in the middle. It is stuck at the top or bottom and just needs to be centered.

 

[ChrisC]

I can’t believe no one has noticed that the valve is in float position.
To get it out just pull down hard on the control valve handle.
In rare instances I have seen the detent get rusted up a making it very hard to work. Then you need to remove the cap on the bottom of the spool and clean it up.

True Temper gets the prize. I was talking with my local dealer and he realized I’d gotten the tractor 2nd hand and might not know about float mode.

I thought I’d tried pulling firmly on the handle, but I really needed to give it a yank to take it out of float.

 

[ChrisC]

Thanks everyone who chimed in

 

[Skrizan]

I can’t believe no one has noticed that the valve is in float position.
To get it out just pull down hard on the control valve handle.
In rare instances I have seen the detent get rusted up a making it very hard to work. Then you need to remove the cap on the bottom of the spool and clean it up.

The mysterious float mode. When you say "no one has noticed" are you saying there is something in the pictures that shows it is in float mode? I bought my first and only tractor in 2017, so pretty much a newbie. 2004 Kubota L3130 with FEL. I have tried to put it in float, and thought maybe it was, but if the handle is supposed click or stick in that position then I never have had it in float mode. Do you have to push it up pretty hard before it locks in? Issue with detent? Have to Google that, have no idea what the detent is or the cap on the bottom of the spool.

 

[CH4Ohio]

The mysterious float mode. When you say "no one has noticed" are you saying there is something in the pictures that shows it is in float mode? I bought my first and only tractor in 2017, so pretty much a newbie. 2004 Kubota L3130 with FEL. I have tried to put it in float, and thought maybe it was, but if the handle is supposed click or stick in that position then I never have had it in float mode. Do you have to push it up pretty hard before it locks in? Issue with detent? Have to Google that, have no idea what the detent is or the cap on the bottom of the spool.

You need to stop by the next tractor dealer that you drive by and see what the float position is and what the detent feels like. That's the only way you'll have a baseline to compare yours to. If yours won't go into float at all, there are pretty simple repairs to try first. You can also flood it with penetrating oil and lubricant to try to free up the detent mechanism. (which is a few small ball bearings and spring that jam past each other as you manipulate the joystick)

To answer your question directly, you have to push the joystick up past a definite resistance point and then it will pop into the detent FLOAT position. Same with pulling it down out of the float position. In the original post above, one of the valves is pushed in as can be noted from the shiny wear surfaces on the piston. It's locked in the float position. Sounds like he was trying to push it further UP instead of pulling DOWN to raise it.

 

[dodge man]

Glad you figured it out.

 

[neilpaku]

The mysterious float mode. When you say "no one has noticed" are you saying there is something in the pictures that shows it is in float mode? I bought my first and only tractor in 2017, so pretty much a newbie. 2004 Kubota L3130 with FEL. I have tried to put it in float, and thought maybe it was, but if the handle is supposed click or stick in that position then I never have had it in float mode. Do you have to push it up pretty hard before it locks in? Issue with detent? Have to Google that, have no idea what the detent is or the cap on the bottom of the spool.

It's a pretty decent detent so it usually needs a bit of a yank to move into / out of float. Varies by machine of course so familiarity with ones machine is the key.

 

[alstrouse]

The bucket on my Kubota B2910 is stuck. I can't lower or raise it. I can rotate the bucket (as if to empty it). I've taken the cover off the controller and I can't see anything out of the ordinary.

I've removed and reseated the hoses. Made sure the connections were clean.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Bonus question – it's going to snow again very soon. Is there a way I can raise the bucket temporarily so that I can use the tractor for plowing? I have a rear implement I use, so just getting the bucket off the ground would work for the time being.

Thanks,
Chris

Same problem--But ONLY in Freezing Temperatures.. It took a while to figure out..I put a magnetic heater on the valve, and within a day, it started working. I finally figured out that the condensation had collected in the spring assembly and frozen up the hydraulic springs in the joystick assembly. I unscrewed the big spring assemblies (emptied the water -ice out of them) and then everything worked perfectly. In the fall, I unscrew the two big assemblies (no fluid loss at all) and dump out the water. No problems now in the winter. I read where you can drill a weep hole in those two spring bodies, but I elected to just unscrew them and dump out the water. I have changed and purged the hydraulic system at the loader, hoses etc and the valve bodies still ammculated mositure.
Really common issue for me on the B7610 kubota

 

[Skrizan]

I was curious if I just wasn't pushing hard enough and had to go out and try. I pulled out the garage and lowered the bucket to the ground. Then I pushed hard forward/up on the lever. It kind feels like it does something, but It definitely does not lock in place. If I push up again from there, there is some movement but it does not lift the tractor like it does if you normally just push the lever up normally. I drove forward to see what it was like and it feels to me like their was still downward pressure. When I have some time I'll have to do some more research.

 

[whitehair]

The bucket on my Kubota B2910 is stuck. I can't lower or raise it. I can rotate the bucket (as if to empty it). I've taken the cover off the controller and I can't see anything out of the ordinary.

I've removed and reseated the hoses. Made sure the connections were clean.

Any suggestions on how to proceed?

Bonus question – it's going to snow again very soon. Is there a way I can raise the bucket temporarily so that I can use the tractor for plowing? I have a rear implement I use, so just getting the bucket off the ground would work for the time being.

Thanks,
Chris

My machine has a bucket lock that’s located just behind my right foot and accidentally gets bumped just a tad. I t was a real head scratcher until I bumped it back. The small Manuel switch is ment to lock the bucket when transporting or other times that you don’t want it too move. Just my 2 cents

 

[bgr]

The valve stuck in detent position is probably it, but, if you have any quick coupler which is on, but not fully latched, it will prevent flow and stop action of that circuit.

 

[true temper]

The way I noticed it was the spool was stuck in the shiny part was inside of the valve. The pin holes didn’t line up with the other spool.

 

[neilpaku]

I was curious if I just wasn't pushing hard enough and had to go out and try. I pulled out the garage and lowered the bucket to the ground. Then I pushed hard forward/up on the lever. It kind feels like it does something, but It definitely does not lock in place. If I push up again from there, there is some movement but it does not lift the tractor like it does if you normally just push the lever up normally. I drove forward to see what it was like and it feels to me like their was still downward pressure. When I have some time I'll have to do some more research.

Just for grins, try the same with the bucket curl valve. I've seen it where the valves have been mis-plumbed and the valve with float was connected to the bucket instead of the boom. Also seen it where a valve assembly with no float has been fitted. If it's one of those generic valve assemblies, they tend to all look the same. Good news though is that generic assemblies with float are easy to procure, from discounthydraulics.com for example, and many others (mcmaster, etc., etc.)