Ford 550 backhoe boom VERY sensitive (too fast). Is there a flow control?

[777funk]

If I barely touch the valve control, it jerks the whole machine. The only way to operate smoothly is to the the boom swing the bucket into the ground. If i let up, it has so much speed that the machine bounces for a second. There is no slow precision to this movement. Other cylinders are fine, just the boom.

Can I adjust?

 

[RNeumann]

Someone may have changed the ram to a smaller diameter. That would cause it to move too fast. A simple orifice fitting will do the trick. Just keep drilling until you get the speed you want. Or you can spring for an adjustable valve.....more moving parts and obviously it can get adjusted unintentionally.


144 ADAPTERS - MALE SWIVEL WITH ORIFICE | Trausch Dynamics

 

[aczlan]

Is this a new thing, or is this a new to you tractor? My first inclination would be to run the offending cylinder all the way in and all the way out a couple of times just in case you have a slug of air inside the cylinder.
That won't cause it to go fast, but it will cause to bounce at the end when you try to stop and it might take it a second from when you move the controls to when it starts moving so it goes from stopped to moving very quickly in a hurry.

Aaron 5

 

[fried1765]

Someone may have changed the ram to a smaller diameter. That would cause it to move too fast. A simple orifice fitting will do the trick. Just keep drilling until you get the speed you want. Or you can spring for an adjustable valve.....more moving parts and obviously it can get adjusted unintentionally.


144 ADAPTERS - MALE SWIVEL WITH ORIFICE | Trausch Dynamics

This is a good/cheap fix solution!

 

[ericm979]

The valve for the boom is really touchy on my Branson (Ansung) BH. I put in flow control valves in the cylinder to reduce it jerking the tractor around. It's a kludge but it mostly works. It reduces the fastest boom motion speed which is ok for me, a novice operator. Since they're adjustable I can change to suit as I gain more experience.

I used two one way valves so I can adjust up and down independently. They are set to restrict flow out of the cylinder on the theory that restricting flow in could cause cavitation and uneven operation. The flows are small so I used 1/4" Prince WFC-400 valves from Surplus Center.

 

[5030]

This is a good/cheap fix solution!

Even cheaper, take a penny and drill a hole in it and put it in the fitting.

 

[ovrszd]

Is this a new thing, or is this a new to you tractor? Aaron 5

Answer this first.

 

[nyone]

The speed control is the throttle.

 

[ericm979]

The speed control is the throttle.

That slows all the cylinders, even the ones that are not moving too fast. I tried that at first but it was unsatisfactory.
I also did not want to run the engine at that low an RPM as doing too much makes the emissions system unhappy.

 

[ovrszd]

That slows all the cylinders, even the ones that are not moving too fast. I tried that at first but it was unsatisfactory.
I also did not want to run the engine at that low an RPM as doing too much makes the emissions system unhappy.

I don't think it's throttle position. I think the control valve for your boom has a problem. My neighbor used to have a Woods 3pt backhoe. Only way you could control the boom lift was to use it in conjunction with any other function. If used alone it was extreme. I don't know the answer to why. I always figured it was something inside the valve that was causing the problem but can't verify that.