Looking for Loader Valve

[masseycuzdad]

Massey Ferguson 1240 form 2001. The loader valve leaks bad. I hit a tree stump a few years back which really helped, lol. It caused a crack in the main body. I had the valve repaired this spring by a good machine shop, now it leaks again, worse, needs to be replaced. The dealer lists one for $1200. Ouch! Nimco has one for around $850. Any other options? This valve is mounted to the lower right side of the tractor with cables going up to the joystick on the tractor.

Nimco valve 2S-40394
Prod Date 02-25
Serial no. 186263

 

[Dave M7040]

There are some important factors in selecting a new loader valve.

Does your current valve have Power Beyond. If the valve has 7 hoses connected it has PB. 6 hoses and it does not.

Buy a valve with a flow rating of 8 to 10 gpm. The mistake is to think more is better but you just end up with a loader that lacks fine control.

Do you need Float for your loader arms to help leveling by back dragging the bucket.

Float frees the boom cylinders from any hydraulic locking in position so the bucket can follow the ground contours as you level a surface.

Do you need Regen if you use the bucket dumping often.

Regen is a "feature" of most modern FEL (Front End Loader) valves, it's on the Dump (joystick far right) circuit, and is also referred to as "Fast Dump". The reason it is nice to have is that without it, the weight of a filled bucket can actually "pull" the bucket down faster then the fluid can enter the other side of the cylinder, this will create a air pocket and give the bucket a "floppy" feeling until the joystick is held in the dump mode a few seconds to refill the cylinder pushing the air past the seals. So we add "regen" or "regenerative" function to the valve.

Regen solves this problem by actually filling both sides of the cylinder at the same time with hydraulic fluid. But how will that work you might ask? Well, because there is more volume on the side of the cylinder that extends it since the rod is taking up space in the other side, it "overpowers" the rod side and lets the cylinder extend-thereby dumping the bucket. So since now both sides of the cylinder are "pressurized", the air pocket can not develop, eliminating the "floppy" bucket syndrome. One other added bonus is that the bucket actually dumps faster due to the higher flow rate required to do all this, that's why it's referred to as "fast dump" sometimes.



Do you want load checks to better control the loader movement.

Doing your homework now will mean years of happy loader use.

Buying just on price is a path to frustration.

I have had good advice from Cross Manufacturing's tech support people.

Dave M7040

 

[Tx Jim]

IMHO Dave gave you some very good advice. I think you should be able to get a good replacement 2 spool valve for under $300

 

[masseycuzdad]

Thanks for the detailed info. Have aux hydraulics, but I use a diverter valve for that, I did all the work myself, no big deal. Sounds like it is just a matter of finding a valve with the features I want for the specs I need, like float, regen, power beyond, 10 GPM, and then figuring out how and where to mount it with new hoses how and where I want them. It does not need to be mounted like the factory valve, sideways near the floor with cables to the joystick, completely in the way of everything.

I found some on Surplus Center. Any brands I should avoid or should be looking at?

Thanks again for the info.

 

[Dave M7040]

The challenge is figuring out who is just a seller applying their brand name to the valve to make you think they manufactured it.

You want to be able to find a real North American web site for the product you buy.

I have been fooled. I bought a hydraulic diverter valve believing it was made in Norway.

Once it arrived I realized it actually had been shipped from China and was being sold by many vendors who gave the same valve different brand names.

When I had technical questions I ended up being sent written information which was impossible to understand.

If you never have a problem or a question then all is well but if you do........

Dave M7040