Loader dk 55 loader control

uglydukwling · May 18, 2015

The bucket on my loader went up and wouldn't go back down.( Fortunately, it's only a couple of feet off the ground, so the tractor still works for everything else.)

When I push the joystick forward, there's no resistance, so it feels like a broken cable. Oddly, when I pull back on the joystick to raise the bucket, it works. Since pulling back pushes on the cable and pushing forward pulls the cable, I wonder if the cable could be broken, but the broken ends will push against each other. Naturally, they will separate when I try to pull.

Now the problem is how to get the cable out. At the joystick end, I can't see how to get the ball ends out of the slots in the controller. (Mine came with the metal balls, not plastic) I gather from the discussion on this forum that the ends are supposed to unscrew, but I'm not sure if that applies to my tractor, since there doesn't seem to be any way of gripping them. The cable sheath unscrews from the block all right, but that doesn't seem to accomplish anything.

At the valve end, the valve looks a little different from the pictures on this forum which I gather are for another model. The pictures show the cables threaded into caps on the valve. The caps are held by 2 capscrews and are removable. On my tractor, however, the caps are held by 4 capscrews and at least one of them is inaccessible.

I have the factory shop manual, but it's not very useful. It seems that the valve isn't part of the tractor or part of the loader, so it's not covered in any detail in either section. Are there detailed instructions anywhere on-line covering removal and replacement of the cables for the dk 55?

Or am I possibly looking at the wrong solution? Is there anything other than a broken cable that could be causing this?

ritcheyvs · May 18, 2015

I'd be inclined to check all the quick disconnects first. They can look OK even when they have come lose. Physically disconnect and reconnect each one to be sure. Based on your perceived lose feel, this probably isn't the problem but it's easy enough to check before disassembling anything.

uglydukwling · May 19, 2015

I'll try the disconnects, but I don't have much hope that that 's the problem. If the disconnect that lets oil into the "down" side of the lift cylinders was closed, it wouldn't let oil out, either, and oil has to get out of the "down" side to let it into the "up" side. The "raise" function works, so oil must be getting in.

I'm afraid I'll have to get the cable off. I was hoping that someone had ,or could direct me to, a more comprehensive manual than mine, that shows how to get the cables off, specifically for a dk 55,

uglydukwling · May 21, 2015

Maybe a picture of what I'm up against will help.

At the joystick end, the cables look like the ones described elsewhere on this forum. I just can't see how

to get them loose.

At the valve end, things are a little different. It's hard to see the valve n the picture, and almost as hard to see it on the tractor. Disconnecting a hose or 2 might help, but probably not enough. It looks like the caps that the cables are threaded into have to come off the valve body. The problem is that the screws that hold the caps to the valve body are inaccessible. If I can get the caps off, is the cable connected inside the cap? I have the shop manual for this tractor, and it has a nice picture of the valve, but no information on how to disconnect it.

whis · May 21, 2015

before you go removing anything have someone move the joystick and see if cable ends are moving, may only be missing a pin or something else loose. if you have to take them off they should attach under the joystick, not at the top like in your picture

uglydukwling · May 22, 2015

The cables move at the joystick end. The balls and plungers go up and down. At the valve end, the cable ends appear to be hidden inside the caps that the cable sheaths are threaded into. Are you saying that there is a way to see them without removing the caps (barely visible behind the hoses in the first picture)?

ritcheyvs · May 22, 2015

As you note, the older service manuals are pretty poor. I think that the newer EX manual may show the detail you need (correction: make that p10-68 in this edition). I expect the basic components (like joystick and valve) are very similar to your DK. The link in this post will lead you to a page where you can review the hydraulic section of the EX manual.

I need to use the EX manuals for parts of my DK45s because (for example) the only published DK45s service manuals only cover the previous engine. The EX service manuals are outstanding, compared to the old DK manuals.

whis · May 22, 2015

you should be able to get plungers off with pair of channel locks on bottom of plunger, might try taking top side loose and see if you move cable by hand, if its easy it might be broke

uglydukwling · May 25, 2015

These manuals look like what I need. The cover of the workshop manual the dealer provided with the tractor says it's for a dk 551c, although the specification page is for a dk 55. It's dated 2003. The dk 551 manual at the site you linked to (dated 2006) is marginally better. The ex manual at the same site (dated 2009) is still better, even though it's not for the exact same model.

I got the cable off the valve and found that the clevis end on the cable (it looks like Kioti calls it a "joint") had broken and partly crumbled. Hardly surprising, since it was made of "white metal" ( zinc). There was water in the cap, so corrosion was doing its thing. Now I know why it took a few minutes of running on below-freezing days, ever since the tractor was new, to get the valve warm enough to allow the loader to operate. It wasn't just thick oil.

Now I can start calling dealers to see if the part is available. The Michigan Iron diagram shows it as a separate part with its own part number, so I shouldn't have to buy a whole cable assembly to get it. If it's available, I'll probably buy it, even though it looks like it shouldn't take much longer to make one out of stainless steel, than to drive to the dealer. If it was out in the open, I'd just buy a generic clevis end, but it has to fit inside the cap, so it has to be exactly the right size. Because it has to fit inside the cap, it has to be thin, therefore weak. So naturally, they compensated by making it out of the weakest material they could find.

rd_macgregor · May 25, 2015

I think I have the same problem in my DK45. For me, it is the dump function (up, down and curl all work OK). I haven't yet been able to loosen the nut on the bottom of the control, but I'll give it another go tonight. In your picture, the handle sticks up straight with the balls all at about the same level. In mine, the ball for the curl/dump function is lifted up over an inch, so I suspect the cable is disconnected inside the control.
I have a cab model. How do you get at the other (valve) end, in case I need to replace the cable?
Bob