Ferguson TO 30 3 pt wont go down

somanytractors · Jan 6, 2024

I'm rebuilding my dads to30 that's been sitting about 5 years.
Got it all together and working great. Checked the 3 pt and it was working fine.
Drove it around the yard a few times and when I parked it I noticed that the 3 pt was all the way up and realized that it wouldn't go down.
I noticed that there was no pin in the coupler holding the big shaft with the spring on it down by the housing and it was pushed way up.
Thought maybe it broke or bent something so I pulled the top off but I didn't see anything that didn't look right {although I'm not real sure what to look for.} so I put it back on
It's still not working.
If I pull out on the shaft with the big spring and then push the lever down it will lower but not very good and then the lever seems to hang on something and I cant get the lever to move back up till I let go of the shaft with the big spring.
If I reach in the inspection hole and move the linkage farther then it is going, manually, it will go down.
If I watch in the inspection hole and move the lever up and down it does move the release but not enough I guess.
At this point I'm not real sure what to look for. It has to be an issue with the linkage but I don't see anything wrong with it.
Anyone have any idea what's most likely wrong with it?
Could that missing pin have caused it to bend something?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

John

I attached a couple pics. Don't have any finished pics yet.

Dman1981 · Jan 9, 2024

Control valve in pump could be sticking or linkage in cover is binding you can pull side cover and and move linkage to see if control valve is working and then see if you can manually move it
Buy a repair manual on eBay or wherever you find one give you better picture of the system pretty simple system

somanytractors · Jan 16, 2024

Dman1981 said:
Control valve in pump could be sticking or linkage in cover is binding you can pull side cover and and move linkage to see if control valve is working and then see if you can manually move it
Buy a repair manual on eBay or wherever you find one give you better picture of the system pretty simple system

Thanks

I got it. I took the top back off and tore it all apart. It had a ridiculous amount of wear.
In hindsight, maybe it wasn't actually working right to start with. I know it lifted but I'm not sure I actually made sure it was going down. They usually just work as far as going down.
When I tore it apart, the piece that works the forks has a piece of metal welded to it at the top for the shaft to push against. It was wore all the way through, and the shaft itself wasn't round any more. The holes that the pins are in are slots now. It was just so much wear that it couldn't move the release far enough. I built the shaft and the welded on piece back up and put it back together.
It works fine now.

Thanks

John