4200

[Jim_Ambrose]

I have a 4200 that has no down pressure on the bucket. I am not sure it ever did, I have never used the bucket much, it was onlt bought for brush hogging. It seems to have the float position, but no down pressure at all. Any suggestions?

 

[RobS]

Are you pushing the FEL lever too far, into float? If you hold back some from the float position it should have downpressure, though it may not seem like much. Try pushing it down then dump the bucket some. That should raise the front of the tractor and keep it up with the lever re-centered /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[herbenus]

I have a 4200. There's enough down pressure with fel to lift tractor front and walk it when stuck. My hydraulics get sluggish when the filters are dirty. Have you changed filter and cleaned suction screen lately? Is level correct? If fel has been off tractor a while then air may also be a problem. Stroke bucket and curl bucket to both extremes several times. This is usually enough to remove air from cylinders. I'm guessing if you had a leak you would know it, so I won't go there.

 

[herbenus]

And I should have added. RPM helps pressure. Rev up engine when applying down pressure. Just make sure you are on firm ground as the speed with which front lifts may surprise you the first time.

 

[JDgreen227]

Might be a dumb suggestion but are your hydraulic lines properly connected and is the system full of fluid?

 

[Jim_Ambrose]

Not a stupid suggestion, I have not checked the connections under the tractor to see if correct. I just ASSumed that they must be right or it would not work at all. System fluid window appears to be full, it would not lift well if low would it?

 

[RoyJackson]

Does the loader just drop when you push the lever forward?When you push your FEL lever forward, try it pretty slow and not all the way forward (feather it). If the loader has any down pressure at all (before it goes into float), you should be able to lift the tractor. Try it at lower RPM's and, if you feel the loader pushing down, increase the RPM's with the foot throttle slightly. It's important that you do this experiment slowly. If the loader is lifting the front wheels, try increasing RPM and slightly more pressure on the lever.

I'm wondering if you're going right into float. On my machine, there is a distinct feel when the valve goes into float. I'm wondering if the float detent might be set too low and you're going directly into float. Another possibiity is a restriction in the "down" line of the loader.


How many hours have you put on the machine?

Since you use the tractor mostly for brush cutting, there's a remote possibility some debris may have jammed into the QD's and damaged one of them. I would disconnect all the QD's and reconnect them...just to ensure they're fully connected. I really don't think they're connected in the wrong position as that would show up when you're moving the lever.