There have been a few threads on this site about replacing a Nimco 2S-40272 loader control valve with a replacement, and most of the dialogue I've found has centered on the Brand LV22 valve as a replacement. I've just come through a painful lesson that I thought I would pass on in hopes of sparing you some of the difficulties I experienced.
First of all, it seems that a lot of guys are saying that the Surplus Center's BRAND Model LV22RFSTKAB (9-7401) valve is a direct replacement for the Nimco. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. It depends on how your valve is mounted.
First, let's take a look at the two valves, side by side, Nimco on the left:
You can see that the Nimco is substantially beefier than the Brand. I don't know if that actually affects function or durability though. My Nimco has just over 300 hours on it (9 year old TYM tractor) and has blown o-rings regularly since I bought the tractor (used) in 2010. I finally gave up repairing it and decided to replace it. When I saw that the Brand valve was about half the mass, I was a little concerned. But then I figured the Brand would certainly give me 300 hours of trouble-free use, wouldn't it?
There have been some erroneous suggestions that you can mount the Brand LV22 valve any way you need to and just reroute the working hoses so that your bucket operates correctly. That is not really true. I got that advice from threads on this website, but also I ordered the valve from Northern Tool because their sales rep told me the same thing. Northern Tool has since issued me an RMA because that has proven to be incorrect information.
My Nimco is mounted from the top- i.e. the valve sits below the horizontal mounting plate. If you read the documentation on the Surplus/Northern/Brand valve, you see that it is intended to be mounted to the left of a vertical mounting plate. The reason it matters is that in addition to the boom raise/lower and bucket curl/dump functions, there is a float position (top, past the detent) and a dump regen (past the dump detent to the right).
If you rotate the valve 90 degrees to mount it from the top (which I tried- see photos), you can reroute the hoses so that the boom raises and lowers and the bucket curls and dumps as expected. But you CAN'T move the "float" and the "rapid dump" functions. So you end up with a "float" position at the left extreme of your bucket curl (which makes no sense) and a "dump regen" function past the boom lower position which causes the boom to rapidly raise!! Yes, to learn this, I went through through the complete process of drilling new holes, mounting the valve with spacers, getting adapters for the inlet and outlet lines, and trying it out! :thumbdown:
This photo shows how the valve is positioned below my mounting plate, and specifically how I added a nut and some washers to position it lower than the Nimco, so that the inlet and outlet hoses would line up with exisiting holes in the mounting plate (left and right sides).
This photo shows the completed installation, which is now dismantled so I could return the valve.
Imagine my surprise when I lowered the bucket and pushed the control handle past the detent intended for be used for rapid bucket dump, and the boom went up rapidly!
There is no field modification to move the float and dump/regen behavior. So if you want these features, you cannot use this valve in any position other than the one called out in the diagram. This means that to use it, you have to rotate your mount 90, 180 or 270 degrees to make it work. For me, that was a lot more trouble than re-ordering the correct valve.
Here's the diagram for the Surplus 9-7401. Notice that the mounting plate is vertically oriented, and to the right of the valve. This is where it HAS TO BE for this configuration of the valve.
According to diagrams published by Brand Hydraulics (complete set at http://www.brand-hyd.com/lv/catalog.pdf), if you are mounting the valve from the top, you specifically need the LV22RFSTKA2B version, and guess what- neither Surplus Center nor Northern Tool sell it. This means you need to find a Brand dealer and order it from them- which is what I will be doing today.
I also looked into the Prince valve carried by Surplus Center and realized that it is intended to be mounted with the mounting plate below the valve. So unless you are OK with changing your mount, you cannot use the 9-7401 valve from Surplus Center (or same from Northern Tool). Instead, you need to locate a valve configuration that matches your mounting situation in order to get the float and the bucket dump/regen in the correct position.
I'll put up another post once I get the "correct" valve and verify how it works. I am concerned that it appears to be light duty compared to the Nimco, but then again, as well know, size doesn't matter. :thumbsup:
First of all, it seems that a lot of guys are saying that the Surplus Center's BRAND Model LV22RFSTKAB (9-7401) valve is a direct replacement for the Nimco. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. It depends on how your valve is mounted.
First, let's take a look at the two valves, side by side, Nimco on the left:
You can see that the Nimco is substantially beefier than the Brand. I don't know if that actually affects function or durability though. My Nimco has just over 300 hours on it (9 year old TYM tractor) and has blown o-rings regularly since I bought the tractor (used) in 2010. I finally gave up repairing it and decided to replace it. When I saw that the Brand valve was about half the mass, I was a little concerned. But then I figured the Brand would certainly give me 300 hours of trouble-free use, wouldn't it?
There have been some erroneous suggestions that you can mount the Brand LV22 valve any way you need to and just reroute the working hoses so that your bucket operates correctly. That is not really true. I got that advice from threads on this website, but also I ordered the valve from Northern Tool because their sales rep told me the same thing. Northern Tool has since issued me an RMA because that has proven to be incorrect information.
My Nimco is mounted from the top- i.e. the valve sits below the horizontal mounting plate. If you read the documentation on the Surplus/Northern/Brand valve, you see that it is intended to be mounted to the left of a vertical mounting plate. The reason it matters is that in addition to the boom raise/lower and bucket curl/dump functions, there is a float position (top, past the detent) and a dump regen (past the dump detent to the right).
If you rotate the valve 90 degrees to mount it from the top (which I tried- see photos), you can reroute the hoses so that the boom raises and lowers and the bucket curls and dumps as expected. But you CAN'T move the "float" and the "rapid dump" functions. So you end up with a "float" position at the left extreme of your bucket curl (which makes no sense) and a "dump regen" function past the boom lower position which causes the boom to rapidly raise!! Yes, to learn this, I went through through the complete process of drilling new holes, mounting the valve with spacers, getting adapters for the inlet and outlet lines, and trying it out! :thumbdown:
This photo shows how the valve is positioned below my mounting plate, and specifically how I added a nut and some washers to position it lower than the Nimco, so that the inlet and outlet hoses would line up with exisiting holes in the mounting plate (left and right sides).
This photo shows the completed installation, which is now dismantled so I could return the valve.
Imagine my surprise when I lowered the bucket and pushed the control handle past the detent intended for be used for rapid bucket dump, and the boom went up rapidly!
There is no field modification to move the float and dump/regen behavior. So if you want these features, you cannot use this valve in any position other than the one called out in the diagram. This means that to use it, you have to rotate your mount 90, 180 or 270 degrees to make it work. For me, that was a lot more trouble than re-ordering the correct valve.
Here's the diagram for the Surplus 9-7401. Notice that the mounting plate is vertically oriented, and to the right of the valve. This is where it HAS TO BE for this configuration of the valve.
According to diagrams published by Brand Hydraulics (complete set at http://www.brand-hyd.com/lv/catalog.pdf), if you are mounting the valve from the top, you specifically need the LV22RFSTKA2B version, and guess what- neither Surplus Center nor Northern Tool sell it. This means you need to find a Brand dealer and order it from them- which is what I will be doing today.
I also looked into the Prince valve carried by Surplus Center and realized that it is intended to be mounted with the mounting plate below the valve. So unless you are OK with changing your mount, you cannot use the 9-7401 valve from Surplus Center (or same from Northern Tool). Instead, you need to locate a valve configuration that matches your mounting situation in order to get the float and the bucket dump/regen in the correct position.
I'll put up another post once I get the "correct" valve and verify how it works. I am concerned that it appears to be light duty compared to the Nimco, but then again, as well know, size doesn't matter. :thumbsup:
