Woods BH-80X (LEAK DOWN) and L3400 HST

[Elliott Wave]

Hello,

I am at around 40 hours on my L3400HST with Woods BH-80X and the Backhoe does not seem right to me. I drove the tractor out of the garage earlier today to time how long it takes for the backhoe bucket to drop to the ground and it was about an hour and a half. When I have been working the machine I think it will leak down faster. I have not timed it after I have been working the machine. A few weeks ago while using the machine I heard a clicking sound coming from the stabilizer (leaking down). I have not had this occur recently. Sometimes the one stabilizer seems to lift the tractor more than the other. I have not seen any hydraulic fluid leaks.

The first weekend I had the machine a hose leaked on the backhoe and the dealer picked it up (no charge) and repaired it. I mentioned a month ago that I thought the backhoe was leaking down at higher rate than normal and I was basically told to wait for the 50 hour service. With the 50 hour service coming up shortly, I would appreciate fellow BH-80X owners out their to share their thoughts on this matter. Hopefully, I will have a chance to time the leak down after using the backhoe this weekend. I am pretty sure it is much faster, in that I would stop to do handwork and it would leak down.

Thanks in advance for all responses.

 

[mikim]

my 80x will leak down a little overnight -- but it sounds to me like you have a problem ... no idea what tho' ... bad cylinder maybe?..I know about as much about hydraulics as I do hvac ...nuttin'

 

[vic4news]

My BH-80X leaks down quickly as well. I'm pretty sure that the bucket would be on the ground after a couple of hours. I always keep it pinned when I'm not actively using it. The stabilizers leak down slower. I keep a tie down on them when I put the tractor away for the day.

Vic

 

[Ductape]

My 80X leaks down in a matter of hours also. I pin it up any time i'm not using it. My stabilizers actually stay up for weeks, which surprises me, since my last woods backhoe they leaked down overnight.

 

[Reg]

I think they all do it, mine was probably faster when new, although it was old stock.
It still drops to the ground overnight, probably in a few hours, though I havn't bothered to time it.
IF (if, if, if) your hoe had been sitting around in a warehouse for a long time - it might leak down fast until you get some use on it, i.e. leaving this problem until the 50 hour service might find that it heals up a bit.

I also had a stabilizer cylinder that squealed.
I disconnected the stabilizer arm and ran the cylinder in and out several times with it held in a sloped up position and several more times with it sloping down. This didn't cure the squealing, but I made sure there was no air in it and the squealing was coming from the cylinder itself, not the arm or any bushings. That noise has since gone away entirely.

My guess is that seals need some sort of bedding in, maybe "wetting" by the flow of hydraulic oil - ?

 

[Elliott Wave]

My 80X leaks down in a matter of hours also. I pin it up any time i'm not using it. My stabilizers actually stay up for weeks, which surprises me, since my last woods backhoe they leaked down overnight.

My stabilizers (knock on wood) have not leaked down when the machine is parked and they are folded up.

 

[Elliott Wave]

I think they all do it, mine was probably faster when new, although it was old stock.
It still drops to the ground overnight, probably in a few hours, though I havn't bothered to time it.
IF (if, if, if) your hoe had been sitting around in a warehouse for a long time - it might leak down fast until you get some use on it, i.e. leaving this problem until the 50 hour service might find that it heals up a bit.

When I was looking to buy, I asked the dealer which hoe they recommend for my tractor and they recommended the Woods over the Kubota saying that they had more complaints about leak down with the Kubota. I do not understand why more hours of use would improve the issue?

If the leak down is normal it seems the manufacturer should state so in the owner manual. I just want to make sure this is not something which will get worse as time goes by.

I appreciate everyone's comments.