Did I cause the shaft seal to blow?

[lhfarm]

I think I have a fix. The top return spring on the control valve had gotten out of the groove and was only provide a small amount of return, so the control was not being return to full neutral position. I don't have a new seal yet, put I hooked up the plow. The lift was nice and smooth and no pressure in the reservoir. I didn't want to run the pump long with the bad seal, but I'm feeling confident.



The second picture is of the control lever with the rod under the reservoir. In the first you can see the small return spring. That spring was in the correct position. With a mirror, I could see the top spring was not in the correct location. There are just 2 bolts holding the side of the lever in place. You can see I had started to remove one when I took the picture. It took a couple of minutes to get the side off and an hour to get it back on with the 2 springs in the proper place.

A few years back, when I had the valve out for a cleaning, I tried to find replacement springs and failed. Someone suggested a gunsmith, but none of them where able to help. The springs are small, but strong.

I'll report back after I get a seal in the pump. JJ, I'm also think I should add a small vent pipe in place of the filler plug. And I'm also going to consider an external relief valve.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Leejohn]

That was just about the only thing left, sounded like you had done about everything else. I looked the control valve drawing over real good that was the only thing I could come up with, after I understood how it worked.