Ford 3000 Lift Issue

RickandTinaWms · Jun 7, 2020

Hello,

Our 1965 Ford 3000 has been down for about 9 months. When we started it up today the lift won't work. It was working fine when we last used the tractor.

I don't know where to start.

Will you help me know what to do please?

Thank you,
Rick

Roadworthy · Jun 7, 2020

You could start by checking the hydraulic fluid level. After that there is probably a screen which may be plugged. It's old enough it may not have a hydraulic filter as such.

mickeyw · Jul 11, 2020

I have had similar issues on our 3000. I dug into the top chest and found everything was spotlessly clean, plenty of oil and so on.
I am pretty sure that my problem was a air leak and the system was loosing it's prime. I replaced all the seals in the chest and on the pickup pipes.
After bleeding the system it seems to have been ok.

wolc123 · Jul 11, 2020

I had some similar hydraulic lift trouble on a Ford 2000 from that era. I think that the inlet filter was plugged. Rather than cleaning/changing that filter, which involved a bit more work than I was willing to invest in that machine, i just added about an extra 1/2 gallon of hydraulic oil. That allowed the flow to get into the pump using another path (over the top). I ran it several years like that with no further issues. Whenever the lift started to act up, I would just pour in another quart or so. Hydraulic oil is cheap.