Loader GC2310 FEL very weak

[crazyjncsu]

I teed in the test gauge, but the bucket stalled when raising, so it was effectively capped.

 

[crazyjncsu]

Pulled the pump. What a nightmare of a job. Really bad access to the stud nuts on the pump, among other difficulties. Took about 3.5 hours. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I may have been missing an o-ring on the Inlet side of the pump ... But like an idiot I peeled off one o-ring without checking whether it was the inlet or outlet I was peeling it off of, so I'll never know for sure.

And a freaking 3/16 or so ball bearing dropped out of somewhere, likey the inlet side of this stuff. It was clean and oily. I don't see any floating ball bearings in the diagram.

Splines were ok, but only about 3/8" or so contact. I wonder if the new pump has a longer shaft or if it's just the gear that's different.

 

[irvingj]

Thanks for keeping us posted! If I can help with pics from the service manual let me know.

 

[crazyjncsu]

Pump shaft:



Gear:



Trying to do a bit of a visual inspection of the pump vanes:



The mystery bearing:




I'd like to get the pump tested, but I'm not sure how to go about that. It would seem from the lower pressure overall and the much lower pressure when warm, something is wrong with the pump. I'll probably just shell out the 350$ for a new one.

I'd like to get at the root of the air issue, but I don't think I'll be able to do much to solve that with this thing apart. It seems I just need to put it together right with special attention to the suction side of things.

 

[crazyjncsu]

Thanks for keeping us posted! If I can help with pics from the service manual let me know.

The process for pump removal and installation would be nice. Thanks!

 

[crazyjncsu]

BTW, I should have looked at this before removing the pump:
Gear Pump Failure Detection

The "real life" approach is much more fun - you let the machine cool down to "warm", then you start it, put your hand on the body of the pump, and raise the pressure (by extending one of them jacks till it hits the end of stroke, for example). If the pump is the "guilty one", you will feel the pump temperature increase instantly - in a matter of seconds you'll have to take your hand off of it. However if the pump is not the problem, you'll feel no significant temperature rise.

He has a good suggestion here though:
Three Steps to Perform Before Testing an Unknown Hydraulic Pump

You take an air gun, improvise some kind of a sealing accessory (a piece of cloth) and blow compressed air into the pump's inlet. If there is a serious damage to the rotary group, causing excessive internal leakage, it will be easily detected by the generous quantity of air passing through to the case drain port or suction port (or the opposite line of the closed loop pump). Some previous experience might be needed to determine how much exactly is "generous" for a certain pump model. Of course, in case of a vane pump this test is useless.

I'll try to see if there is much leakage.

 

[ray66v]

Pulled the pump. What a nightmare of a job. Really bad access to the stud nuts on the pump, among other difficulties. Took about 3.5 hours. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

I may have been missing an o-ring on the Inlet side of the pump ... But like an idiot I peeled off one o-ring without checking whether it was the inlet or outlet I was peeling it off of, so I'll never know for sure.

And a freaking 3/16 or so ball bearing dropped out of somewhere, likey the inlet side of this stuff. It was clean and oily. I don't see any floating ball bearings in the diagram.

Splines were ok, but only about 3/8" or so contact. I wonder if the new pump has a longer shaft or if it's just the gear that's different.

My understanding is, the "new pump", has a longer shaft, and the gear has a longer spline.

The "mystery ball" could be a check ball. Does it seem to have any area that is machined to seal against it?

No one in your area can test the pump for you?

I would not advise throwing a new pump on, just to see if it is the problem.

 

[crazyjncsu]

I called a guy about testing the pump, and he was super helpful trying to diagnose it and find a way to hook it up on his bench. Then I mentioned it was a $300 part and he said I'd be wasting time and money running around town when he felt like it had the symptoms of a bad pump.

I figure if the new one has a longer shaft, I'd want it anyway. And once installed, I don't think it'll ever need to come back off. If a new pump and suction o-rings don't fix it, I'll start looking down the lines on the pressure side of the pump.

I'm giving it about a 70% chance of fixing things ... we'll see.

This could be a good exercise determining whether it's worth it to preemptively replace a pump. It'll depend on how much longer that shaft is, and I can give an exact measurement. If it's more than 1/8" or so longer, I think it'll be worth it.

 

[ray66v]

This could be a good exercise determining whether it's worth it to preemptively replace a pump. It'll depend on how much longer that shaft is, and I can give an exact measurement. If it's more than 1/8" or so longer, I think it'll be worth it.

That information would be very much appreciated. :thumbsup:

 

[irvingj]

"The process for pump removal and installation would be nice."

Got the book out and looked-- not much there, in fact the only mention of the pump is removing it in the process of tearing down the transmission. Of course, that's with the tractor completely broken down and the transmission section separated & sitting by itself where everything is nice & easy to get to! Only two not-too-good photos show removing the pump, but they do suggest removing the pump and the control valve on top of it as an assembly.

Sorry, I thought there'd be more.