Increasing PT1850 FEL Tilt Range

[woodlandfarms]

YES! I thought I was crazy. I only recently started using the bucket for snow removal (as I haven't finished my plow yet...) and the loader geometry on this thing is driving me nuts. Plus, the bucket seems to be too deep (and not wide enough, though I haven't taken my duals off yet). It reminds me of the old trip-dump manure bucket we had on the Ford 8N as a kid... It is a PT bucket, but It may have been modified; the cutting edge was definitely added. I know that trying to plow snow with a bucket is fairly miserable anyway, but I can do it with the JD at the farm. On the PT, even if you manage to find the perfect angle to prevent it from digging in, (I do have an indicator) it changes with the loader height! It makes me think that the pivot points are in the wrong spot or something.
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I like your idea of replacing the tilt cylinder even if I don't modify the top link, because I have about ZERO breakout power at the end of that long bucket and the tilt action is way too touchy.

Changing the tilt out is problematic. Unless it is stock length (pt cylinders are made in house) the geometry will go off. A larger cylinder will probably have a different stroke even if it is the same length.

 

[SpringHollow]

On mine, the center to center closed distance was 20" and it had a 14" stroke (34" extended). I used a Wolverine cylinder I had, WWSB2516-S, which has closed distance of 19.5 and a stroke of 12". It has 1" eyes so I used bushings. If you used this one with unmodified pivot arms, you will not have the correct tilt range. You could dump about the same but the back tilt would be less. The shorter stroke is a benefit - a longer stroke would get one into really bad almost horizontal geometries when extended.

I have not had time to look at the hydraulic circuit to see where my pressure relief is coming from. Hopefully it is a pressure relief valve and not leaks. I suspect this is the case given the similarity in readings with the lift arms. If there were no relief, it would be easy to wreck things.

Ken