piper184
Platinum Member
My tractor does a lot of stacking of stuff. Snow (most winters), manure and sometimes dirt or brush. Since I don't have a lot of area the piles need to go up rather than out. As the piles get higher than about 6 or 8 feet I run into the issue of running out of hydraulic fluid. The loader cylinders are full and the 3 point is usually full up and full as well and the tank just isn't big enough to have any extra capacity. As the climb angle increases the suction port located at the front of the tank uncovers and the pump sucks air. Then I lose the ability to roll the bucket back as I reverse down off the pile, dragging the stuff I just dumped back down again. I used to have a problem with the tank vent spitting out excess fluid but I made a "recovery tank" for that problem. I have tried running over full but it just leaks out around the 3 point rocker shaft.
This is the "old style" tank with no cover on the top, just the 3 bolt suction screen cover. Which is a pain to clean because you have to remove the seat. Not a big deal but a stupid thing to have to do for service.
Anyway, I was thinking about putting an elbow in the suction tube and moving the port to the rear of the tank, but that has issues with the strainer holding the port up off the bottom. Then I realized that the rear remote port return line is just a banjo fitting into the left rear bottom of the tank. See photo. The only thing I have ever used a rear port for is my scraper and it has a one way cylinder and only used the top port. The pipe on the return is threaded 1/2" NPT where the coupler screws on. Hmm...
If I flip this pipe over and point it forward, I think it will fit without any modifications. I could then put a hose fitting on it and run a suction hose forward to somewhere convenient to mount a spin on strainer housing with vacuum gauge and easy maintenance. The two big things to deal with is hose/strainer size for proper flow in really cold conditions and connecting standard hose fittings to the pump.
Another option is to replace the banjo fitting at the tank with one that has a hose barb on it already. I think I found one that will fit and use a -10 hose (5/8") if that will provide sufficient flow.
Eliminating the "mile of pipe" should help with heat retention in winter and would open up the old screen cover to be used as a remote return point if it was ever needed.
Let me know if you think I am off my rocker thinking about this modification or if it might be worth it. Also any ideas about how to do it would be appreciated.
This is the "old style" tank with no cover on the top, just the 3 bolt suction screen cover. Which is a pain to clean because you have to remove the seat. Not a big deal but a stupid thing to have to do for service.
Anyway, I was thinking about putting an elbow in the suction tube and moving the port to the rear of the tank, but that has issues with the strainer holding the port up off the bottom. Then I realized that the rear remote port return line is just a banjo fitting into the left rear bottom of the tank. See photo. The only thing I have ever used a rear port for is my scraper and it has a one way cylinder and only used the top port. The pipe on the return is threaded 1/2" NPT where the coupler screws on. Hmm...
If I flip this pipe over and point it forward, I think it will fit without any modifications. I could then put a hose fitting on it and run a suction hose forward to somewhere convenient to mount a spin on strainer housing with vacuum gauge and easy maintenance. The two big things to deal with is hose/strainer size for proper flow in really cold conditions and connecting standard hose fittings to the pump.
Another option is to replace the banjo fitting at the tank with one that has a hose barb on it already. I think I found one that will fit and use a -10 hose (5/8") if that will provide sufficient flow.
Eliminating the "mile of pipe" should help with heat retention in winter and would open up the old screen cover to be used as a remote return point if it was ever needed.
Let me know if you think I am off my rocker thinking about this modification or if it might be worth it. Also any ideas about how to do it would be appreciated.
