TnT question

[Shawn T. W.]

I don't remember what they are called but I have one factory on my Kubota L5030, it has a little hand crank, no wrenches needed ...

 

[bdhsfz6]

I leave my top link on all the time, connected to one SCV.

The side link cylinder I now only install if I an using a rake or blade that I specifically want to tilt. All other times I switch back to a rigid like which happens to be the one that originally was supplied with the tractor. I found that for other implements that wanted to be level, the hydraulic side link was always drifting down and I was always hunting around trying to find level again. A fixed like solved that problem.

I also have three SCVs, which so far is all I have needed.

So I would start by getting a fixed link to use in place of the hydraulic side link. I'd probably spend the $$ on a factory link so the angles, lengths, hole sizes, and clearances are correct.

I leave the hydraulic lift link on all the time. To compensate for bleed down, I use a manually adjustable lift link on the opposite side. I adjust it to match the length of the fully extended hydraulic link

 

[Shawn T. W.]

The links are overpriced , especially through tractor dealers.

Yup! Here is one for my Kubota L5030 ...

I paid $357 for the CAT 2 hydraulic top link in post # 11 from my local Massey Ferguson dealer, including the hose and ends!

 

[RobertN]

Wow! Tractor Supply has Cat 2 top links for $65...

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-adjustable-top-link-cat-2-288959

 

[JWR]

Somehow "I told you so" comes to mind...

 

[turkish]

I have a TnT kit on my MX5800 and frequently need the two remotes for other implements. For short duration use, I disconnect the hoses, cap them and use a bungee to store them out of the way. Most hydraulic hoses have a ball valve that seals them when they are disconnected. Some do not, so make sure yours have a valve before trying this.

Over time though, the cylinders tend to bleed down and lose their position. For long term or seasonal implement use, I remove the top link cylinder and use a fixed length link. I bought mine at Tractor Supply for about a third the cost of the OEM parts.

To avoid the hassle, I eventually added a third remote and ran hoses forward on the tractor so I could use the 3rd function valve as a 4th remote.

Mine is, I think a factory TnT system, and there are no valves that I see between the remote outlets and the cylinders. That may be an easy add-on, though. The manual top link from TSC is on my afternoon shopping list. The side link is the tough one.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Mine is, I think a factory TnT system, and there are no valves that I see between the remote outlets and the cylinders. That may be an easy add-on, though. The manual top link from TSC is on my afternoon shopping list. The side link is the tough one.

The "valve" is just a spring loaded ball in the tip of the male pioneer connector. Most have them. Just tap them with a block of wood to relieve the pressure.

 

[turkish]

The "valve" is just a spring loaded ball in the tip of the male pioneer connector. Most have them. Just tap them with a block of wood to relieve the pressure.

Ah. Gotcha. Makes sense.

 

[Fallon]

Control valves leak down over time. But if you unplug the QDs, unless they are leaking oil externally somewhere an unplugged cylinder won't leak down. When I put on my snowblower, it goes on for 4+ months. I don't have any noticable leak down.

When connected my TNT cylinders leak down a lot due to sloppy OEM valve clearances. The dealer actually had to swap out several valves they were so bad. They finally put a check valve on my tilt cylinder to stop leakdown. It breaks float, but stopped my leakdown. I use float a lot on my top link, so they put that on the best valve & I just live with it. 0 issues with leakdown when unplugged though.

 

[Henro]

I’m with Fallon.

A few thoughts from my perspective:

Generally leak down is caused by leakage in the control valves and not leakage in the cylinders themselves. This is because the control valves don’t use o-rings and depend on clearances between the spools and the housing. If you get lucky you will have minimum leak down. If you happen to get a valve that is on the loose end of the acceptable tolerance range you will get more leak down, even if you have the most perfect cylinders possible.

Another thing to consider is the orientation of the cylinders. When you have the hoses disconnected, there are two modes to consider. One is if the force on the cylinder rod is such as to want to push the rod into the cylinder. In this case when the rod goes into the cylinder oil must be displaced so that the rod can fit in the space that the oil is occupying. Otherwise the rod can’t go into the cylinder. Since your cylinders are not leaking in this mode they should be locked in position.

In the other direction, the forces tend to pull the rod out of the cylinder. It’s possible to pull a vacuum the cylinder so the cylinder rod can extend. I don’t know how much force would be required to cause that to happen; probably not a terribly large amount. Edit: what I just described only holds true if the seal at the piston is bad. If the piston seal is good then the rod will not extend, because the oil at the rod side of the piston has to go somewhere in order for the rod to extend. With no external leaks and a good piston seal, the cylinder locks in place just the same as if pilot operated check valves were used.

As far as shock load goes if you have the hoses disconnected from the cylinder, it seems to me that shock felt would be no greater than if you had the hoses connected to the cylinder. Other than due to some leakage through the control valve clearances the shock might be reduced slightly. But I imagine not significantly.