Diagnosing lift system on my Farmall M

[31Pontiac]

Hi all,

I've got a 1940 Farmall M that used to be my Grandpa's. He put a LOT of hours on her!. I've fixed some ignition issues and have her running pretty good but the hydraulics are sketchy at best. She has a live pump that feeds down to and from the belly pump area and uses the stock control on the right side. The only rams are for the trip loader.

Before she warms up there is no or almost no action when using the control. After waiting a while and fiddling with the control valve it will start to move slowly, eventually becoming useable but slow. There are no pressure gauges. How do I determine if the pump is bad or if it's the valve? I really suspect the valve. Where can I find documentation on the valve and belly pump assembly?

Thanks much,
Kerry

 

[mikeinwi]

Kerry,

The lift on the Farmall H and M are similar. If you go to this page: http://www.farmall-h.com/ and click on the Lift-All section, it shows you how to check out the hydraulics.

Mike

 

[31Pontiac]

Thanks for the reply. I had seen that but was looking for more details. I have ordered a shop manual which will help a LOT.

I've sort of decided to take another tack. Since it gets better as it warms up I'm pretty sure it is the pressure release or the valve giving me trouble. I'd been thinking of building a 3 point for her which opens up a whole different can of worms. Instead of fighting the old stuff I think what I will do now is remove the gutted belly pump / resevoir / valve assembly and make a larger resevoir to replace it. Then setup the hydraulic system from scratch using the live pump and some control valves mounted to the right of the seat.

Thanks again,
Kerry