Whinning Hydraulics and Weak Curl

[AGreenOne]

I bought a T5 showing 400hrs It started life as a Sunbelt rental in Michigan and I bought it from the second owner. He said he used it very few hours, turns out the hour meter was broken when I bought it so who knows. The machine doesn't leak but it whines a lot more than any other machine I have ever used. The terramite uses 1 cylinder for the curl and although the hydraulics on the machine seem somewhat weaker than I would have expected I consider the curl to be particularly weak. I formally had a 20hp compact garden tractor with a bucket with 2 cylinders for the curl and it was much stronger.
I am wondering if the curl is typically weak or if I have a hydraulic issue, perhaps someone put Hyd fluid in it when it is supposed to run 15-40 Motor oil. I plan on adapting skid steer quick disconnect plate on the front and switching to a more conventional dual cylinder setup at the time would be pretty easy, maybe even easier than converting to skid steer with the single cylinder.
Wondering about curl strength from other T5 owners and the annoying whine.

 

[ptsg]

Start by checking the hydraulic fluid level, along with the condition, if it's milky from water getting in or aerated from a bad suction hose.

 

[Matt W]

I think the whine is normal on these machines, I wear ear plugs because it's annoying. I had a T5B for many years and never felt the curl was lacking. See the photos. My T6 also has only one curl cylinder and I'm quite happy with it as well. Could be your cylinder needs a ring kit.

 

[jheissjr]

Do you have a recording of the noise?

 

[Vigo327]

Whining noise and weak hydraulics could be a bad combo if it's a sign of a clogged hydraulic strainer or filter. Does the whine become a lot louder when you add load (try to lift something etc)?

Do you have anything heavy to lift that would let you compare to the stock lift capacity? If not, and no problems with hydraulic flow to the input of the pump, you will probably need to put a pressure gauge on it to verify whether it is able to make the correct pressure.