3 Point Hitch Only Raises When Curling Bucket Up

[aczlan]

I believe that he is saying that somebody may have the bucket quick connects and the loader arm quick connects mixed up such that there is one of each on each circuit.

If your three point hitch only moves when the loader is moving you have a hose connected in the wrong place. Most likely your Power Beyond hose is connected to the Tank port and your Tank port is connected to the Power Beyond hose.
That can be dangerous because in many cases the Tank port is only rated for a few hundred PSI whereas the Power Beyond port is rated for the full 2500 or 3000 psi that the rest of the system is capable of.

Aaron Z

 

[josiahgarber]

I suggest you try disconnecting the quick connects for the loader cylinders and then see how the 3 pt hitch responds.

Relying on the color tags can be misleading. With two bucket quick connects disconnected completely it will be interesting to see if the loader arms work properly.

I do not recommend mixing hydraulic fluids. Especially if you have a HST or GST.

Dave M7040

I disconnected all 4 loader quick connects and could not raise 3pt hitch.

 

[Dave M7040]

Good idea. I will try the 3pt hitch after disconnecting the loader cylinder quick connects.

Can you explain a little more what you mean by the below? Are you saying I should disconnect only 2 of them and test?

By removing the bucket lines from being able to operate, it will reveal if the loader hoses are in the correct position. You said you checked the loader arm and bucket cylinder hoses are in the correct position by relying on the color caps and plugs attached to the hoses and quick connectors. By doing so you are depending upon the work of someone else to have installed these color devices correctly. I think your checking cannot assume these are on the correct hoses and couplers.

With loader valves having features like float and quick dump, there are internal passages within the loader valve that can allow the loader to operate but not properly and weird things like your 3 pt hitch get affected

Dave M7040

 

[WranglerX]

Distilling down all the comments and your responses, I really think you have a problem with the power beyond (PB) port which usually leaves the loader control valve body and goes to valve body for 3PH.... The confusing issue is when you say all the FEL lines are correct, but when you disconnect them the 3PH does not operate... The loader controls should have no effect on way 3PH operates because in a flow through (open circuit) system if all loader controls are in neutral, hydraulic fluid should flow through loader control valve to 3PH control valve via the PB port......

Dale

 

[josiahgarber]

By removing the bucket lines from being able to operate, it will reveal if the loader hoses are in the correct position. You said you checked the loader arm and bucket cylinder hoses are in the correct position by relying on the color caps and plugs attached to the hoses and quick connectors. By doing so you are depending upon the work of someone else to have installed these color devices correctly. I think your checking cannot assume these are on the correct hoses and couplers.

With loader valves having features like float and quick dump, there are internal passages within the loader valve that can allow the loader to operate but not properly and weird things like your 3 pt hitch get affected

Dave M7040

That makes sense. What's the best way to know which lines are the bucket lines? Should I just trace them to the bucket?

 

[WranglerX]

That makes sense. What's the best way to know which lines are the bucket lines? Should I just trace them to the bucket?

That is what I would do....

Dale

 

[josiahgarber]

That is what I would do....

Dale

Topped off hydraulic fluid this morning, but still have the same problem.

Traced loader quick connect lines and found bucket lines. Disconnected bucket lines and loader will not raise or lower.

Disconnected all quick connect lines to disconnect front end loader from hydraulic system and 3 point hitch will still not raise.

If I connect all quick connect lines for loader the 3 point hitch will raise, but only when I am curling the bucket up.

 

[josiahgarber]

I believe that he is saying that somebody may have the bucket quick connects and the loader arm quick connects mixed up such that there is one of each on each circuit.

If your three point hitch only moves when the loader is moving you have a hose connected in the wrong place. Most likely your Power Beyond hose is connected to the Tank port and your Tank port is connected to the Power Beyond hose.
That can be dangerous because in many cases the Tank port is only rated for a few hundred PSI whereas the Power Beyond port is rated for the full 2500 or 3000 psi that the rest of the system is capable of.

Aaron Z

Aaron,

Do you know a good way for me to confirm if those are connected correctly or incorrectly?

 

[rScotty]

Just got a used tractor this week. Tried to raise the 3 point and nothing happened.

Strangely when curling the bucket up, the 3 point will raise to the position I had set it at with the lever. It's the only way I can find to raise the 3 point hitch.

It seems to me like perhaps some lines are crossed somewhere. Any advice for how to fix?

Note: I did reply to a previous post with this same issue, but thought I'd create a new thread for all the people searching for a solution in the future who have the same problem.

I'm not saying that this is what is happening with yours,
but maybe what you have is not a mistake with crossed hose lines, but is deliberate.

After all, the action you are describing - where one loader function - usually curl - has to be powered up to use the 3pt - used to be a fairly common way to plumb the hydraulics when putting an aftermarket loader onto a tractor that has only a single 3pt hydraulic circuit.
Mechanically, it's a bit of a backyard & funky solution, but nothing really wrong with it. Sure a lot better than the alternative....

Plumbing an 3pt tractor for a loader that way was quick and less expensive, especially when the loader control valve set either didn't have a Power Beyond port (many don't). If so, plumbing it so that curl also powers the 3pt avoids the hassle of also plumbing in a priority valve.

Or maybe the control valve has a PB port, but the mechanic couldn't track down the special PB bushing/adapter needed when one uses that port - those adapters they are all different by brand and can be hard to source.

Anyway, I'm not saying this is how yours is, but what you are describing is something all old tractor mechanics have seen on older farm tractors where a loader is added to an ag tractor that doesn't have remote hydraulic outlets.

I'd suggest you simply make a drawing of your hydraulic circuit and post it here. Then we can point directly to why it is working as it is.
rScotty

 

[josiahgarber]

I'm not saying that this is what is happening with yours,
but maybe what you have is not a mistake with crossed hose lines, but is deliberate.

After all, the action you are describing - where one loader function - usually curl - has to be powered up to use the 3pt - used to be a fairly common way to plumb the hydraulics when putting an aftermarket loader onto a tractor that has only a single 3pt hydraulic circuit.
Mechanically, it's a bit of a backyard & funky solution, but nothing really wrong with it. Sure a lot better than the alternative....

Plumbing an 3pt tractor for a loader that way was quick and less expensive, especially when the loader control valve set either didn't have a Power Beyond port (many don't). If so, plumbing it so that curl also powers the 3pt avoids the hassle of also plumbing in a priority valve.

Or maybe the control valve has a PB port, but the mechanic couldn't track down the special PB bushing/adapter needed when one uses that port - those adapters they are all different by brand and can be hard to source.

Anyway, I'm not saying this is how yours is, but what you are describing is something all old tractor mechanics have seen on older farm tractors where a loader is added to an ag tractor that doesn't have remote hydraulic outlets.

I'd suggest you simply make a drawing of your hydraulic circuit and post it here. Then we can point directly to why it is working as it is.
rScotty

Thanks Scotty. That is very interesting.

What is a hydraulic circuit? Do you mean just draw all the hydraulic line connections and where they connect to?