Anyway to make my loader lift more
- Thread starter ironpig70
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texasjohn
Super Member
When I got my tractor, used, I had the same situation... needed to pick up more but relief valve was popping.
Took tractor to dealer for pressure test...cost $35....they discovered it was slightly under spec...added a shim....now just at high end of spec, barely over. It has made a TOTAL difference in what I can lift... be sure you have sufficient rear weight to balance the front load.
Recommend taking tractor to dealer... will cost you more to purchase the pressure gauge than pay the dealer.
Took tractor to dealer for pressure test...cost $35....they discovered it was slightly under spec...added a shim....now just at high end of spec, barely over. It has made a TOTAL difference in what I can lift... be sure you have sufficient rear weight to balance the front load.
Recommend taking tractor to dealer... will cost you more to purchase the pressure gauge than pay the dealer.
J_J
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I don't believe your FEL valve has work port reliefs, so installing the gage at the input to the FEL valve is a good place to monitor the system pressure and trouble shoot the system.
You dealer probably will not go above the the recommended pressure.
texasjohn
Super Member
In my case, spec is a range of something over 200 PSI... one thin shim (washer) increased pressure from under to just over spec...dealer didn't have thinner washer, left it in.
Looked at the loader control valve and mine has 4 hoses each connected via a quick connect (like an air fitting).
Was thinking of hooking up a pressure gauge to each one and see what I get. I feel this is an accurate test. Is my thinking on the spot or will I need a loaded bucket?
Was thinking of hooking up a pressure gauge to each one and see what I get. I feel this is an accurate test. Is my thinking on the spot or will I need a loaded bucket?
jonyyuma
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Yes, tire and bearing failures, Plus broken front axles, be careful handling max loads.
jlsmith
Veteran Member
You could check it there. If your in specs i would leave it alone, if you increase the psi you could start blowing seals and glands in your cylinders.
After reading all your post I see that somebody way smarter than me designed this to carry a certain amount of weight and exceeding this amount can cause serious issues with the tractor and my safety.
I plan on checking the pressure and if it specs out then great. If it is below the specs then it will be sent to the shop for the pros to fix as this is not something I understand and am not comfortable trying to fix.
I plan on checking the pressure and if it specs out then great. If it is below the specs then it will be sent to the shop for the pros to fix as this is not something I understand and am not comfortable trying to fix.
Ford tractor
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To test the pressure, take a hose off the control valve that goes to the cylinder. Then actuate the valve to pressurize the gage.
You have 2 choices to increase capacity. Bumping up pressure from 2400 psi to 2600 or 2800 will give you a boost and that's about free, shims are cheap and easy to add. It's literally a 5 min task. That will also boost the 3pt capacity a bit too.
The other way to increase capacity is to replace the cylinders with larger diameter cylinders. That's costly as cylinders are about 200-250 each.
Moving larger loads you will be more prone to tipping and potentially faster wear of the bearings etc. You'll need more caution and better maintenance. Spreading the rear wheels to the widest will be helpful and using a larger 3pt weight will be needed to keep the rear wheels down.
texasjohn
Super Member
Ironpig, don't worry, your tractor was designed to be USED. Do it.
Just be sensible.... think for a second about how to baby it when it is under extreme load. Think of your rear wheels as a fulcrum. With lots of weight hanging off the 3ph, you can lift front wheels off the ground, thus no stress on front but all tractor, FEL and 3ph weight is on rear axle. Alternatively, insufficient rear weight and extreme weight in FEL will lift rear and combined tractor and FEL contents weight is on front axle. These are the extremes and of course you don't want either.
So, simply prepare for the load when you are going to do heavy FEL work.
Max pressure in front tires to keep them from rolling off of rims.
Heavy, heavy 3ph counter weight to reduce/avoid strain on front axle and tires. I hang about 1000lbs on 3ph when doing FEL heavy work.
Trust that with hydraulic pressure at high end of spec range the relief valve will protect you from overloading the FEL/hydraulic system.
Go have fun!!
Just be sensible.... think for a second about how to baby it when it is under extreme load. Think of your rear wheels as a fulcrum. With lots of weight hanging off the 3ph, you can lift front wheels off the ground, thus no stress on front but all tractor, FEL and 3ph weight is on rear axle. Alternatively, insufficient rear weight and extreme weight in FEL will lift rear and combined tractor and FEL contents weight is on front axle. These are the extremes and of course you don't want either.
So, simply prepare for the load when you are going to do heavy FEL work.
Max pressure in front tires to keep them from rolling off of rims.
Heavy, heavy 3ph counter weight to reduce/avoid strain on front axle and tires. I hang about 1000lbs on 3ph when doing FEL heavy work.
Trust that with hydraulic pressure at high end of spec range the relief valve will protect you from overloading the FEL/hydraulic system.
Go have fun!!
