Loader won't lift

DIXIEDOG · May 10, 2009

I've got an old International 2544 with an International loader on it, last winter I busted a rear hub with my tractor in the middle of my driveway. I had to lift my loader all the way up, it took a couple weeks to get a new rear hub so I put that on and fired up the tractor to move it, the loader wouldn't go back down. I looked at the hydraulic fluid and there was some water contamination so I just put my loader in float and left it in the sun until the loader dropped down. Since the loader came back down I can't get it to lift, I've got no idea what to look for at this point

I didn't run the tractor for the rest of the season because of the water in the fluid I didn't want to have ice in my pump or pickup. I put new Hytran fluid and a new filter in it this spring but still no dice. Anybody got any ideas?

J_J · May 10, 2009

DIXIEDOG said:
I've got an old International 2544 with an International loader on it, last winter I busted a rear hub with my tractor in the middle of my driveway. I had to lift my loader all the way up, it took a couple weeks to get a new rear hub so I put that on and fired up the tractor to move it, the loader wouldn't go back down. I looked at the hydraulic fluid and there was some water contamination so I just put my loader in float and left it in the sun until the loader dropped down. Since the loader came back down I can't get it to lift, I've got no idea what to look for at this point I didn't run the tractor for the rest of the season because of the water in the fluid I didn't want to have ice in my pump or pickup. I put new Hytran fluid and a new filter in it this spring but still no dice. Anybody got any ideas?

Do you know if you have hydraulic pressure at the valve. If so, how many times did you cycle through everything? You can loosen one of the fittings on the cylinders to know if air or fluid is coming out. You said something about float, is the valve spool with float moving at all. You may have some rust in the system if the fluid with water sat there a long time.

DIXIEDOG · May 10, 2009

I don't have a gauge to test the hydraulic pressure at the valve. I think I'm going to have to find one for testing hydraulics in the future. The valve spool must be moving some now, when I attempt to pick up the loader it just starts to come up, maybe an inch or so then won't move any further, if I put the lever back in float it will come back down. The same is true for the tilt of the bucket, it just starts to move but won't fully tilt.

The power steering for my tractor is still working but I think there is a separate gear within my hydraulic pump to run the power steering so my aux. hydraulics could be bad but the power steering side of the pump OK. I don't know for sure? I basically know nothing about the hydraulic system of this tractor, up to this point I've only had to change fluid and filters yearly and use the tractor.

kennyd · May 10, 2009

Do any of the lines that go from the valve to the cylinders have QD's (quick disconnects) on them? If so, then unplug them and then re-seat them.

DIXIEDOG · May 10, 2009

kennyd said:
Do any of the lines that go from the valve to the cylinders have QD's (quick disconnects) on them? If so, then unplug them and then re-seat them.

No, none of my lines have quick disconnects.

Jerry/MT · May 10, 2009

DIXIEDOG said:
I don't have a gauge to test the hydraulic pressure at the valve. I think I'm going to have to find one for testing hydraulics in the future. The valve spool must be moving some now, when I attempt to pick up the loader it just starts to come up, maybe an inch or so then won't move any further, if I put the lever back in float it will come back down. The same is true for the tilt of the bucket, it just starts to move but won't fully tilt.

The power steering for my tractor is still working but I think there is a separate gear within my hydraulic pump to run the power steering so my aux. hydraulics could be bad but the power steering side of the pump OK. I don't know for sure? I basically know nothing about the hydraulic system of this tractor, up to this point I've only had to change fluid and filters yearly and use the tractor.

You can buy a 5000 psi liquid filled test guage from Surplus Center for under $20 last time I checked.(You'll need to get one rated that high because there will be some transient pressure spikes when valves open and close or when the cylinder hits the end of it's stroke and so you don't want to break the gauge.) I don't know any thing about the details of your hydraulic system but my guess is that you have some crud blocking the pump pickup or your loader control valve. You could also have a relief valve stuck open.
You need flow and pressure to move the actuator. The speed is governed by the flow rate and the output force by the pressure at the piston and the piston area.

Put a "T" in one of the loader lift cylinder lines and measure the pressure when you actuate the valve to lift the bucket. Then find out more about your hydraulic system and do a similar thing for your pump. If you have plenty of pressure at the pump outlet and little pressure at the cylinder, I'd suspect the valve maybe the problem. If you can't chek the pump output, you may be able to put the "T" ahead of the valve and measure the presure there. if you have high pressure up stream and very low pressure downstream you found the problem.

If the pressure is low at the pump or ahead of the control valve and also at the cylinder, I suspect a clogged pump pick up or an open relief valve. You might also listen carefully because open relief valves are usually noisy.

DIXIEDOG · May 10, 2009

I haven't heard any odd noises. The relief valve isn't stuck entirely open, I had to pull it out to change the filter and it wasn't stuck open then. I will pick up a gauge, I couldn't believe how cheap they were. I guess I'll have to pick one up before next weekend. I pulled my pump out and brought it to a local hydraulic shop a couple hours ago to have them check it out and put new seals in it, I've never done anything to the hydraulic system so I think the pump could use new seals if nothing else. I should have it back for next weekend and I'll be able to test the system pressure then.

J_J · May 10, 2009

What led you to believe that you needed seals? Why did you not take off a hose at the cylinder and put it in a bucket and bump the valve a little to see if you had any fluid flowing?

DIXIEDOG · May 10, 2009

J_J said:
What led you to believe that you needed seals? Why did you not take off a hose at the cylinder and put it in a bucket and bump the valve a little to see if you had any fluid flowing?

An initial conversation with the local hydraulic shop, he said it sounded like a weak pump and it probably needed seals and a wear plate.

I think he recognized my deer in the headlights look