3-Point Hitch 3 Pt Hitch Stuck in Full Up

[robiefield]

My 2011 DK40SE HST has 46 hours on it. I use it every weekend when I work at my 100 ac mountain farm. This might be an early failure, or more likely, it's a problem resulting from failure of the ignorant owner to RTFM.

Sunday I went to remove the PTO chipper from the 3 pt hitch and I could not lower it. Been using the lift controls all day with no issues. Now it would go up, but not down. I finally ended up with it stuck at the top of the travel.

No observable deficiencies in hydraulics of FEL & bucket. HST working as usual. No leaks or wet spots under tractor. The 3 pt hitch and all hoses are dry and intact.

Just the darn thing stuck at the top. Raising and lowering lift position control lever and draft control lever won't do anything, engine on or off.

Used a second FEL and chains to remove the attachment from the 3PH. Inspected unloaded A-arms closely. No leaks or wet spots. No binding at the A-arm attach points. Neither arm will come down regardless of lift position (or draft) control lever setting.

Left the tractor in the barn with the lift in max up position when I drove home to the piedmont. Just couldn't figure it out. No, I did not read the flipping operator's manual... until I got home 170 miles later.

So, after doing some homework, maybe a little late, I think I have one of two things:

1) a stuck valve in the 3PH hydraulics, or,
2) possibly during one of my recents dismounts from the seat, my boot heel whacked a previously unnoticed and until now, seemingly unimportant knob which is identified in the manual as the 3-Point Hitch Lowering Speed Knob.

It dawned on me it might be a Good Thing(tm) that I had not yet called my dealer from the Unhappy Zone about my stuck 3PH. This might be my own fault...

So here is my question for the wisdom of those who've Been There:

Is it possible my big clumsy foot, during trips on and off the tractor, has accidentally whacked this 3-Point Hitch Lowering Speed Knob to a position that is so closed that the 3PH will not lower? Is that setting possible, that will keep a raised hitch from lowering?

Is it possible that when I locate this knob and give it a little twist counter-clockwise I will hear the sound of lowering hydraulic A-arms? (to be followed immediately by the sound of my palm smacking my forehead?)

Or is there a history of 3PH hyd release valves sticking on 40-some hour old tractors?

(Right now I'm hoping for Dumb Operator over Warranty Repair.) I will trade the shame of a big rookie mistake for the pleasure of a working 3PH. Also, should I worry about leaving the unloaded 3PH in the full up position for another 5 days before I return to the farm?

Your experienced thoughts will be appreciated.

Chip
Robiefield Mountain Farms

 

[arsenix2001]

I would betcha 20 that your heel caught the lowering speed knob, it will lock up the 3 pt. Its happened to a few people on here.

 

[Yota_85]

Look at your lever for the rear aux remote. If it is NOT in the center, the 3PT will not raise. Sometimes I knock mine back with my leg, and get a dead 3pt lift. After re-centering the lever, all is fine.

good luck.

 

[boggen]

winter is the worst time for me actually. due to extra layers of clothing. and /or perhaps removing them and putting them back on. through out the day. and some times those cloths do not always get tight and snug on me. and end up snagging a lever, pedal, or something that i quickly regretted happening as i hustle to remedy the situation.

as far as levers / knobs / pedals. it doesn't make a difference. i have hit or snagged them un-intentionally.

as far as the "lowering speed knob" yes if it is set to tight, it can cut off all flow of hyd fluid and as a result force the implement and 3pt arms to be stuck all the way up. or at a very wanted position.

 

[robiefield]

So the knob is a plausible explanation. Good. I'm hoping that's it.

So how bad is it for the tractor, leaving the lift arms up high for six days in that position? I've been taught to lower 3PH and loader whenever parking the tractor even for a few minutes.

 

[bearhawk]

So the knob is a plausible explanation. Good. I'm hoping that's it.

So how bad is it for the tractor, leaving the lift arms up high for six days in that position? I've been taught to lower 3PH and loader whenever parking the tractor even for a few minutes.

No problem at all, you took off the attachment.

 

[k0ua]

Fear not friend, lots of guys have rolled that knob with their foot, just open the valve, and watch those arms sink to the ground. They may go slowly without the implement on it just put your foot on an arm for a little weight. That is the most logical and likely explaination.
Sure it could be broken, but not likely.

James K0UA

 

[gilbertmsg]

99.999% it's the knob, I hit mine all the time with my boots. Most of the time it's not enough to stop the 3 point, just enought to slow it down. Just one of many learning moments that you will have with your new tractor.

Eddie

 

[Yota_85]

it's the remotes lever. check lever. has happened to me 100 times. unintentionally turning the 3pt knob enough so that the 3pt stops responding, 0 times.....

 

[lockhaven]

It was the knob on mine, I posted the problem and after reading turned the knob and all worked OK

 

[somguyss]

You may also want to check your DRAFT lever the lever that is directly next to the LIFT lever. If the Draft lever is all the way up and not down it will also affect the rear 3 pt arms and not allow them to drop either. Just a suggestion.
The DRAFT lever I think has a Yellow grip!

 

[George2615]

The guys at work had the same problem with their tractor earlier this spring. I don't operate their equipment and they don't own their own tractors at home but they know I have a tractor and call me when they have a problem. My first thought was the down speed control knob got bumped. They checked that and called back and said that was not it. So I went down to help them figure it out.

What it turned out to be was lack of lubrication, salt corrosion and rust on the 3 pt. lift arms and all moving parts back there. They use a 3 pt. pto spreader to spread salt on sidewalks in winter. Salt residue (and a combination of rust) got built up on everything (pins, swivel balls, linkage arms etc.) After numerous applications of PB Blaster and other penetrating oils I had them set a truck plow blade across the arms for weight and the arms went down. After working the arms up and down with more spray lube the arms finally worked up and down without any weight.
My own tractor sits outside all summer but is in the garage in winter. I lube everything that moves or swivels several times a year to keep mine freed up.

 

[Daguvanuh]

I got so tired of hitting my rear remote and locking up the hydraulics I put a strip of electrical tape vertically on the fender just behind the lever. Now the "SHADOW" (tape) of the lever is in view where it shows instantly IF the lever is NOT in the center position...







Hope your fix is the lever or the flow knob at your feet and all is well.

 

[SPYDERLK]

it's the remotes lever. check lever. has happened to me 100 times. unintentionally turning the 3pt knob enough so that the 3pt stops responding, 0 times.....

It hasnt happened to me either, but his 3pt will go up, just not down. Best fit is the lowering speed knob.
larry

 

[tnewbern]

How do you know it will go up if you can't get it to go down? Did you somehow find a way to get it down then raised it again only to find it would not go back down unless you did the special trick again. If so what was the special trick it may lend some insight to the problem at hand.

If a tree falls in the woods and there is nobody to hear it does it make a sound.

Just some food for thought.

 

[robiefield]

Look at your lever for the rear aux remote. If it is NOT in the center, the 3PT will not raise.

Opposite of my problem. I could still raise the 3PH. Just would not go Down.

FWIW, I did cycle the rear remote level. Dealer removed detents on aux remote lever before initial delivery, so if it gets bumped, it returns to center position.

 

[robiefield]

You may also want to check your DRAFT lever the lever that is directly next to the LIFT lever.

Wasn't the draft lever. Tried that right away -- as soon as the lift lever wouldn't respond to down. Tried it 4-5 times. Definitely not the draft lever.

All linkages seem to be moving without binding. No leaks, dangling arms or anything mechanical appearing to be jammed, loose, or disconnected.

But good to go through the troubleshooting list. Not the aux remote lever. Not the draft lever.

 

[robiefield]

The guys at work had the same problem... <snip>
...What it turned out to be was lack of lubrication, salt corrosion and rust on the 3 pt. lift arms ...

This is a five-week-old tractor, not quite 50 hrs, stored inside, never seen salt or snow. All the 3PH hardware still has shiny paint and barely has dust on it. Probably not going to be a corrosion or lack of lube problem.

 

[robiefield]

How do you know it will go up if you can't get it to go down? Did you somehow find a way to get it down then raised it again only to find it would not go back down unless you did the special trick again. If so what was the special trick it may lend some insight to the problem at hand.

Just some food for thought.

Fair question.

I'd been using a PTO chipper all afternoon, which involved going to a pile of slash, setting the chipper down, chipping the slash, and then moving to the next pile. So, I'd been picking up and setting down the attachment all day.

No need to raise the chipper all the way up to move it. No sense in putting that weight so high up, only need to raise it enough to clear the terrain while moving. So the 3PH lift adjustment lever was perhaps at 3 or 4 out of 10 when I discovered it would not go down.

So moving the 3PH lift adjustment lever down wouldn't work. But it sure worked to lift it from 4 to 5, and from 5 to 7. But even at 5, and then at 7, the 3PH would not lower from its new height.

So I thought, maybe if it goes all the way up, THEN it will come down. So I moved the 3PH lift arm from 7 to 10 (or whatever the highest setting is) to see if it would come down. Nope!

So that is how I knew it would go UP but not DOWN. And that is how I ended out with the thing stuck in max UP position. (I had to get a second tractor to remove the attachment from the 3PH; since I couldn't get it down, I didn't want to leave 825 lb of chipper on the raised 3PH from Sunday till this next Friday evening.)

Not the aux hyd remote lever. Not rust & corrosion. I'm hoping it will be the 3PH descent rate knob and a fat foot.

 

[Coyote machine]

Robiefield,
I'm sure your current situation is very frustrating, but we will stick with you until it's solved.:thumbsup: I'm just throwing out some random thoughts: What about a linkage having come undone that controls the lever that allows your 3pt hitch to disengage and lower. After all it was working all day prior to it's stopping working. You know what Sherlock Holmes would say: paraphrase 'when all else seems futile seek out the most improbable, and there will be the answer' or something to that effect...
I like to try to retrace everything I was doing when things were last working and see if anything strikes me as different than what I did later that no longer worked...

BTW, I don't believe anyone mentioned the lever at the 3pt hitch location that allows one to operate the 3pt hitch from near the right rear fender/well. It is referred to as the External Position Control Lever on page 4-35 of the owner's manual Part#DH14-001 March 2010. This lever ought to be checked too to make sure it is not forcing the hitch into the full up position.
Also on page 4-36 the Lifting Arm (Lower Link) Control Lever, otherwise known as a KNOB! (It is actually mistakenly referred to as a 'lever' in the description below the picture). When turned clockwise to its end can fix the implement to a certain position. In re-reading this section I think somehow you may have disconnected this knob from what it screws into, thereby possibly having hung up the ability to lower the hitch at all; which seems to be what you're describing?! Pull back the rubber boot and verify that the knob and it's shaft are screwed into the port of the valve which can control the implement's position; including holding it up from coming down. Unscrew it until the hitch lowers.... Problem solved!
Think it through, it may become clear, and it may not. Good luck.