Bucket Drop (Valve Leakage?)

[swarris]

Just received my new 4310 with 430 FEL. As a first time tractor owner I was surprised to find the bucket doesn't stay up! The first night of storage I left it about 12" off the ground only to find it on the ground in the morning.
The dealer told me this is normal and the factory "tolerance" is 3-4 inches of drop an hour.
This seems unreasonable (and unsafe) to me. Wouldn't this point to a leaking valve? Why would JD design a valve that allowed bypass leakage?
Any comments??

 

[Richard]

I'm by NO means an expert, but presuming the valve to be "tight", it also might mean leakage by the seal within the cylinder itself? As the pressure keeps pushing, the fluid seeps from the one side of the cylinder past the seal, to the other side of cylinder?

now.. that said, my neighbor leaves his loader jacked up roughly 10 feet in air... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I've thought about asking him, but (he isnt really "neighbor" but 5 miles away) he recently passed away, so it currently isnt an issue.... back to the point, His would seemingly stay up for DAYS with no sign of dropping. With Brutus (industrial loader/backhoe), I can be using it near our wall and put it up in air (to gain access to bucket at top of hill) and it has seemingly also, never gone down over time. Sad to say, I can't say that about the backhoe end, but the front bucket seems to ALWAYS stay up there (having never left up overnight, nor unattended).

I'm sure others will chime in with their thoughts.

Richard

 

[gator]

Don't know if this will make you feel any better or answer your questions but click here for what JD says is acceptable and excessive for leakdown on cylinders. Don't know if mine drops when off as I always lower it, shut off engine and wiggle joy sticks to relieve pressure.

 

[Bob_S]

First of all, welcome to the forum. Second your issue doesent sound too concerning. I suggest lowering the bucket whenevery your not in the seat never mind overnight. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Be safe and enjoy

 

[JerryG]

Your bucket drop does sound to be within spec. If there was no leak by, then you couldn't move the joy stick. All loader valves leak some. the higher end TLB use more expensive valves that leak less. It is a trade off, for the right amount of money a valve could be had that has very min. leak by, but how many would buy it on a compact tractor for $200-$700 more.

 

[rancar]

<font color="blue"> As a first time tractor owner I was surprised to find the bucket doesn't stay up!...I left it about 12" off the ground only to find it on the ground in the morning...The dealer told me this is normal and the factory "tolerance" is 3-4 inches of drop an hour. This seems unreasonable (and unsafe) to me. </font>

The hydraulic leakdown is normal. Your JD dealer is correct. It's my understanding that JD has designed it this way to prevent unnecessary stress on the valve cylinders when the tractor is not in use. Why would it be unsafe? It would be unsafe if you were under the FEL bucket for whatever reason.....and this you should never do anyway. Actually, it is much safer to have this hydraulic leakdown to prevent the FEL bucket from accidently dropping when the tractor is unattended.

...Bob

 

[BB_TX]

My tractor is by no means new. My FEL does leak down, although quite slowly. If I am mowing for more than an hour, I may have to raise the FEL slightly to get it back where I started. I keep it fairly low when mowing. When I park it, I always drop the bucket to the ground and "jiggle" the controls as previously mentioned to relieve the pressure.

 

[JTC]

I consider it unsafe to store the FEL in a raised position since an inadvertant bump of the joystick could make it drop unexpectantly.

Jim

 

[normde2001]

"This seems unreasonable (and unsafe) to me. Wouldn't this point to a leaking valve? Why would JD design a valve that allowed bypass leakage?"

I think everyone is in agreement that the "unsafe" part is in leaving the bucket off the ground in the first place. That sounds about like the normal drop rate.

 

[swarris]

Thanks for all the great responses. Obviously, it is clear this is the "normal" operation and safety would dictate to always lower and release pressure when unattended.