Backhoe "Sagging" Backhoe

[yankee7]

I finally got my tractor delivered (Kubota L3400; FEL; BH - 16" bucket) and took it out to the pasture I'm going to (hopefully) renovate and began playing. Boy, do I have a lot to learn! But hey...that's the fun part, right?

Anyway, the next day when I looked at my new oriange toy I noticed the backhoe bucket was touching the ground. I was sure that I had retracted it fully when I parked it, but there it was "sagging". So my question is: is this normal? I sort of thought that since the hydraulics are "theoretically" a closed system that unlees I released the pressure it would hold its position. Is this correct? If so, does this mean I have a leak somewhere?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[Eagleview]

It's quite normal for hydraulics too "creep" over a few hours , do'nt worry about it . Always lower your implements so that they will stay where you put them . For example if you park in the garage make sure the boom is "rested" by working the controls after the engine is stopped as it "could" creep through the roller door .

 

[Bedlam]

Or lock it in the up position if you can.
And with time you might find the outriggers will creep down also.You can uses bungee cord or some other sort of rope, chain etc to hold them up.

 

[dtd24]

I agree this is normal, as it happens to mine as well. I also agree with the setting of the implements and front end loader when tractor is at rest. For me its the saftey of it all. If someone was playing around with the levers it could move and possibly hurt someone. Saftey First, even when she's off!!

 

[EddieWalker]

In theory, it shouldn't happen, but the weight of the backhoe is fairly considerable, especially when you consider the leverage of it hanging out the back of your tractor. For this reason, most of them have a lock to keep it in position and take the strain off of the cylinders. It's even worse when bouncing around while driving.

Eddie

 

[Gizmo2]

I saw a guy rip the opening of his building out trying to dive his tractor out of the building with the outriggers partially down from sagging. My wife told me I should pay more attention to what I am doing.

 

[jinman]

It's hard for us to realize that our tractors are really "low-priced" and not state-of-the-art when it comes to hydraulics. The more expensive industrial loader-backhoes would probably hold for days, but a compact tractor is just not made with the same tolerances as a machine costing 3-5 times as much. What you have to consider is that the backhoe's slow sagging will not be an issue under normal use. You won't even notice it. It may get better once the seals seat, but it probably won't get any worse.

My loader bucket sags when I carry a full load for long distances. When I have my rock bucket on, it is even worse because the rock bucket is about 18" deeper than the normal materials bucket.

If you see seepage or your hydraulics sag within a few seconds, then you have a problem. Otherwise, I'd be thrilled with my new equipment and look forward to getting a lot of work out of it. Congratulations on your purchase.

 

[LBrown59]

It's normal

I finally got my tractor delivered (Kubota L3400; FEL; BH - 16" bucket) and took it out to the pasture I'm going to (hopefully) renovate and began playing. Boy, do I have a lot to learn! But hey...that's the fun part, right?

Anyway, the next day when I looked at my new oriange toy I noticed the backhoe bucket was touching the ground. I was sure that I had retracted it fully when I parked it, but there it was "sagging". So my question is: is this normal? I sort of thought that since the hydraulics are "theoretically" a closed system that unlees I released the pressure it would hold its position. Is this correct? If so, does this mean I have a leak somewhere?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

Dave

All's well

 

[AndyinIowa]

Its also good to pay attention to CHANGES in leakage. My BX2350 had a cut oring in the control valve for MMM and 3PH. How I noticed it was the MMM would start banging against the stops while I was transporting the tractor.

Kubota has leakage rate specifications for all functions (not sure if the dealers get this information, or only the engineers at the assembly sites).

As others mentioned, higher end machines use zero leak compensated valve bodies for many functions. You can measure their leakage in drops per minute. If you have an application that requires no leak functionality, consider installing pilot operated checks at the cylinders, which will prevent virtually all creep (can't prevent oil from bypassing piston on the cylinder).

If you REALLY want to get fancy, you'll also need thermal relief valves to account for fluid expansion.... You can quickly see how a low cost machine can turn into an expensive project!

IowaAndy

 

[yankee7]

Thanks guys, that's a relief! And thanks for pointing out the safety reminder...always pays to err on the side of safety.

Sorry I didn't respond sooner but I've been offline for a couple of days.

Dave