Ford 8210 three point question

[56FordGuy]

Hey all. I'm working on a Ford 8210 with a damaged cylinder on the hitch. The tractor had a sway bar attached to the left side draft arm, and nothing else. That sway bar got wedged against the axle housing, the guy raised the hitch and the sway bar bent the hydraulic cylinder that goes from the rockshaft arm down to a bracket on the frame. That wedged the hitch up solid. I removed the sway bar and removed the pins securing the hydraulic cylinder, the hitch seems to work fine like that.



I think the cylinder is part of the load match/ lift assist system, I forget the exact term. I've seen some photos of these tractors that have two of the external cylinders instead of just the one. Were these an option, and can I simply remove the cylinder and cap that hydraulic line? The body of this one is damaged beyond repair, and even if I could find a replacement I know the owner won't want to spend the money if there's a way to avoid it. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Harry in Ky]

I think this is simply an assist cylinder for the three point, designed to increase the overall lifting capacity. I think you can safely remove it and cap the port. It will reduce the amount of weight the tractor can lift, but should not be an operational issue.

 

[56FordGuy]

Thanks. Do you know how much of a difference it makes?

Is the clutch on this tractor a typical mechanical clutch, or does it have a hydraulic component like a reverser transmission would? Taking off in high range feels like the clutch is slipping and there's no free travel in the pedal, but it wouldn't be unusual if this tractor had a reverser type transmission. It doesn't, but maybe due to the size there's a hydraulic component in the system to prevent shock loading it. Or, the clutch needs to be adjusted and may be about shot.