My Tisco Side link also settles, even when the tractor is running. I'm wondering if my seals are leaking a bit in the cylinder (no signs of any external leaks).
It's a real pain when brush hogging, but I've found a work-around for the problem: I put my old manual adjustable link on the left side link (the hydraulic one is on the right). I adjusted the manual link so that the 3 pt hitch lower arms are level when the hydraulic link is fully retracted. This way, when the hydraulic link sags, I can just pop it all the way up without much thought or checking to see if it's level. When I'm using my boxblade, I try to plan my work so that I only need level or "right side low". Occasionally, this doesn't work out, and I have to lengthen the manual link so that level is somewhere in the middle of the hydraulic side link range. This gives me the ability to tilt both ways, then I swith it back before mowing again.
Like your setup, my toplink also compresses under load. If I run the link to its extremes a couple of times it clears up. Have not really looked into what the problem is, but again I suspect maybe some bad seals or air getting into the system somehow, but I can't figure out how (no signs of leaking fluid)
Let me know if you come up with any fixes.
John Mc
