Adjusting Backhoe Swing

[zkurtb]

I have a woods 7500 backhoe with it's own PTO pump. When running at reasonable rpm to get decent digging power, the swing control is way too touchy. It swings so fast it is real hard to control. Is there any way to adjust only the swing control? Does the valve control block have separate adjustments for each of the levers/functions?

[Farmerford]

Most hydraulic shops have restrictors, which are small inserts placed into the inside of a fitting, that have a specified hole drilled in them. The size of the hole determines the rate of flow. They are cheap, so get a couple of sizes to try. My older model 9300 John Deere industrial backhoe has restrictors in the swing and boom circuits, and the orifices are different for each circuit. Seems like they tried to fine tune it.

For a bit more money ($25-$50 per line) you can put manual flow control valves in each line so that you can adjust the rate of flow for different situations. Get the type that meters flow in one direction, and is full flow in the other direction. That way the valve for, say, cylinder extension, does not affect the flow for cylinder retraction; you can set a different speed for each function.

[dfkrug]

Originally Posted by zkurtb

...Is there any way to adjust only the swing control? Does the valve control block have separate adjustments for each of the levers/functions?

You have the Woods with only one swing cylinder, correct? These can
get extra jerky if the chains get slack in them.

There is no way to adjust the flows in the valve blocks, but you can
slow down the speed quite a bit if you operate the curl ckt at the same
time.

If you decide to install a restrictor as FARMER suggests, you could use
one of the dial adjustable Parker units (I bought a pair for $60 shipped) and
put one in one of the lines to your cyl. It will restrict flow both ways.
Where to mount it is another issue.