FEL bleeds down after having rear remotes installed

[JCS_in_KY]

I've got a Massey Ferguson 1533 and last week I had dual rear remotes installed on the tractor. Prior to having the remotes installed I was able to park the tractor with the FEL raised and leave it that way for a few hours. I don't know how long it would stay up without power because 3 hours is the longest I left it and it had never dropped any during that time. After having the rear remotes installed I parked the tractor with the loader raised, shut it down and came back in 15 - 20 minutes to find that the loader had begin to bleed down. I thought the problem might be air in the lines so I ran all of the hydraulics on the tractor through their whole range of motion 18 - 20 times. I was hoping that might fix the problem but when I tested it the hydraulics still begin to bleed off quickly on the loader again. Any ideas what could be causing this problem?
John

 

[MadReferee]

Bleeding down can be caused by a couple of things, leaky cylinders and/or a leaky spool valve. Adding additional valves into the circuit should have no effect on the loader spool valve's ability to keep from leaking down and will have absolutely no effect on the ability to keep a cylinder from leaking down.

Check to make sure that you have everything plumbed correctly, and the spool levers or joystick is in neutral. It is nearly impossible for a remote to cause the FEL to bleed down.

 

[rback33]

Bleeding down can be caused by a couple of things, leaky cylinders and/or a leaky spool valve. Adding additional valves into the circuit should have no effect on the loader spool valve's ability to keep from leaking down and will have absolutely no effect on the ability to keep a cylinder from leaking down.

Check to make sure that you have everything plumbed correctly, and the spool levers or joystick is in neutral. It is nearly impossible for a remote to cause the FEL to bleed down.

This is mostly true. Installing rear remotes added parts to the hydraulic system. The only things that cause increased leak down (and they are really tied together) are age/use and contamination. Contamination tears up the seals in your cylinders and valve(s). Hoses specifically can cause issues because there can still be debris in them from the cut off saw. It doesn't sound like the problem is severe. From what you are describing, it is most likely w/ in spec anyway.

 

[JCS_in_KY]

I talked to a mechanic had a Massey dealer in another state today and they told me that adding the two spool valves for the rear remotes couldn't have done much because with are pedestal mounted joystick that joystick valve should keep any fluid from coming out of the loader. This makes sense to me since putting my 3 point hitch or the remotes into float has no effect on the loader pressure. I'm not sure what could be causing the problem though and why it started immediately after the rear remotes were installed. I raised the loader up today to test again. I measured the distance it was above the ground, then I went back 10 minutes later to check it and it had already dropped approx 7". One thing I've found that may or may not be related is that there is a small amount of hydraulic fluid seeping past the poppets on the rear remote connectors. I've done some basic hydraulics work on aircraft before but have never worked with the type of coupler they are using on the remotes. It seems to me though that there should be no fluid leaking at all past the poppets. I know a small amount will leak out when connecting or disconnecting but this is happening without anything being connected. John

 

[chanceu]

I've had a similar problem since added a grapple to my NH TC24DA. However, my FEL leaks down while the tractor is running.

It started with just the arms dropping a little. I replaced the poppets in the valve and the problem seemed to stop. That lasted for a while, but it started again and progressively has gotten worse. If I'm not careful, when I have my head turned backing up, the bucket will curl all the way down.

The tractor only has a little of 50 hours, so I don't think it's age. If it is, it went from non-existent to terrible between 30 and 50 hours. I'm starting to wonder if I don't have some trash in the system from the new hoses.

Aside from draining the hydro fluid, how would one go about cleaning the rest of the system?

 

[_RaT_]

I've got a Massey Ferguson 1533 and last week I had dual rear remotes installed on the tractor. Prior to having the remotes installed I was able to park the tractor with the FEL raised and leave it that way for a few hours. I don't know how long it would stay up without power because 3 hours is the longest I left it and it had never dropped any during that time. After having the rear remotes installed I parked the tractor with the loader raised, shut it down and came back in 15 - 20 minutes to find that the loader had begin to bleed down. I thought the problem might be air in the lines so I ran all of the hydraulics on the tractor through their whole range of motion 18 - 20 times. I was hoping that might fix the problem but when I tested it the hydraulics still begin to bleed off quickly on the loader again. Any ideas what could be causing this problem?
John

I'm confused, why is this a problem. Bleed down is a fact with tractors, it happens but has very little affect on how the tractor performs. I would simply suggest that the next time you park it, lower ALL hydraulics. Its safer and you won't ever worry about "bleed down" again. I always drop everything, if my tractor "bleeds down" I would never know it.

 

[roxynoodle]

I would just bring down your loader and 3ph before you shut down. But if you are intent on finding the problem, check for any leaks (I was having a little bit of bleed down due to a leaky hose) and check your valves in your loader control. It is possible one of the valves has a broken spring or the entire valve is stuck. Take them out and see if they work like a ballpoint pen that you push on the little part on the back to either make the ink part come out or go back (best analogy I could think of).

 

[chanceu]

In my case, it's a problem because it happens while the tractor is running, even at PTO speed. I always lower everything and relieve pressure after shutting down.

Last weekend I was mowing and bush hogging and more than once the bucket curled almost all the way down while my head was turned. When I'm moving forward, I'ved trained myself to bump the curl/lift every now and then but when my head is turned, while backing up, I don't think about it.

I got the tractor last summer and was able to curl the bucket down and back drag with no problems. I didn't use it much last winter, but early in the spring I started noticing the curl wouldn't hold down while back dragging. I wasn't back dragging hard soil. I tried to knock the top off a pile of loose dirt and the bucket curled back up and the bottom slid over the top of the pile. Shortly after that, the lift started leaking down. And when I say leak down, I don't mean settling. If I let it go, it'll leak all the way down.

There doesn't seem to be any problem with the 3-point hitch or if there is, it doesn't leak down a quickly or noticably as the FEL.

I need to check in to the warranty and see if there's anything NH will do.