Joystick on B26 VERY stiff up and down, good on curl/dump

scottdv · Mar 27, 2018

Hello,

I have an issue with the joystick on my B26. the up/down movement has become almost impossible to move, while the curl/dump still works fine. The parts diagram shows rods that drop down from the joystick to the valve so I'd say that it's not an issue with cables.

My main question for now is how do I get access to the valve which appears to be under seat deck between the tire and the center of the tractor?

My initial thought is to take off the rear tire but before I tear into it any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm fairly handy overall but haven't done much work on tractors or hydraulics for that matter.

Thank you.

woody · Mar 27, 2018

try some spray lube first just point and shoot and then try to move the up and down control, sounds simple but I had trouble with the backhoe controls on mine and just sprayed and hoped and it worked so give it a try. I think I used slick 50 spray but I bet something like hilco lube would work.

CobyRupert · Mar 27, 2018

Could there be water somewhere that is literally frozen? This can happen in cables, but also in the spring cap on the valve.

Gary Fowler · Mar 27, 2018

I don't see anything in the controls that would freeze up except maybe the one swivel right next to the valve. You might try spraying it with some penetrant and see if it frees up. I may be the valve itself that is freezing up. The linkage looks pretty simple and only two points that have swivels and neither of them are likely to freeze up unless you got a lot of salt down in it and haven't used it in months.

Gary Fowler · Mar 27, 2018

Also check to assure that you don't have a stick or something blocking the linkages.

pmsmechanic · Mar 27, 2018

Sometimes you can get some water in behind the rubber bellows. I've had good luck with using WD-40 to free things up and wash the rust out. As a previous poster mentioned just point and shoot. Use lots of spray and keep working the lever up and down. It wouldn't hurt to slide the rubber bellows off of the lower hydraulics if they are present and you can get at them.

My hydraulic selector valve at the rear of my tractor would regularly get tight. I would just move it up and down and spray WD-40 to wash out the rust. It's seldom tight any more. The worst time was just after winter was over.

Gary Fowler · Mar 27, 2018

pmsmechanic said:
Sometimes you can get some water in behind the rubber bellows. I've had good luck with using WD-40 to free things up and wash the rust out. As a previous poster mentioned just point and shoot. Use lots of spray and keep working the lever up and down. It wouldn't hurt to slide the rubber bellows off of the lower hydraulics if they are present and you can get at them.

My hydraulic selector valve at the rear of my tractor would regularly get tight. I would just move it up and down and spray WD-40 to wash out the rust. It's seldom tight any more. The worst time was just after winter was over.

On my B26, there is not need to remove the bellows to access the linkages. There is ample room to insert a spray nozzle straw type thru the lever lock hole or thru the other control holes. There isn't the typical group of ball joint linkages inside the bellows like on other tractors.