HELP! QA won稚 disengage.

   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #1  

CreativeGuy

Bronze Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2011
Messages
78
Location
Newport, Oregon
Tractor
PowerTrac PT-425
Greetings.
With just two hours on my 425 I need to change my attachment. The 4-in-one is on (as it arrived from the factory). I did have to switch the lines after I engaged the QA so that I could operate the 笛aws? I switched back to the QA lines but it wont disengage. I致e Wiggled everything, Unhooked and reconnected the lines but nothing seems to work. There is just a very slight movement when I engage the lever. The clamp doesnt seem to be binding so I’m without a clue.

Ideas?
Steve
 
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   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #2  
The only time I had that happen was when the hose wasn't quite reseated. I had disconnected the quick attach when it was cold out and had worked in sun all day and just couldn't break the pressure to relink by hand. End up giving the stopper doh icky a little love with a punch and mallet and to release pressure and all was well.

I did see someone on here talk about bending the cylinder on their qa... that for certain isn't the case? When you try to activate it, does the engine / pumps sound like when you hold it a sec after it is closed or does it sound normal?
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #3  
Try operating it in the "enagage" position. You should see a slight movement on the plate, the engine should bog down.

Anything?

Try undoing and remaking the QA couplings.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage.
  • Thread Starter
#4  
Hi guys
I left for lunch then frustrated but came back ready to tackle the problem. It was pretty much as Impulse mentioned, the connector was not quite seated all the way. It took more force than thought it should take to get it that last 1/8? up the sleeve. But that did it. I?m much relieved.
Thanks for your responses I?m fairly new to hydraulics.

On a related note, since I have the QA couplers disconnected when I?m running the 4in1 and cement mixer, I?m surprised the PT doesn?t provide extra dust caps or plugs. Currently I put the loose couplers in plastic bags secured with rubber bands. I don?t want to contaminate the lies with dirt.
Are they 1/2? NPT couplers? I?ll order some proper caps.

Cheers and Thank You.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #5  
I'm always impressed at the way when one PT owner has a problem other PT owners rush to the rescue.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #6  
It’s the collective... you will be assimilated.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #7  
Hi guys
I left for lunch then frustrated but came back ready to tackle the problem. It was pretty much as Impulse mentioned, the connector was not quite seated all the way. It took more force than thought it should take to get it that last 1/8? up the sleeve. But that did it. I?m much relieved.
Thanks for your responses I?m fairly new to hydraulics.

On a related note, since I have the QA couplers disconnected when I?m running the 4in1 and cement mixer, I?m surprised the PT doesn?t provide extra dust caps or plugs. Currently I put the loose couplers in plastic bags secured with rubber bands. I don?t want to contaminate the lies with dirt.
Are they 1/2? NPT couplers? I?ll order some proper caps.

Cheers and Thank You.

Glad you got the quick connects resolved. Try to get into the habit of shutting off the machine, then once its off, flip the AUX PTO lever (by your right knee) fully in both direction for a second or two. This should relieve the pressure on that circuit and make it easier to disconnect and reconnect the QA/AUX PTO hoses.

Keep a flat punch, a hammer, and a rag handy. As mentioned, if an implement or the tractor itself sits around in the sun, the fluid in the hoses can heat up just a bit and just a bit of pressure will build up in the hoses, putting enough back pressure on the fittings to make it pert-near impossible for you to connect them with your hands. Look inside one of the fitting ends. Set the flat punch on the tip inside the fitting. Wrap a rag around the punch and fitting and tap the punch with a hammer once. A tiny drop of oil, and I mean tiny, just one, will pop out of the fitting and that’s enough to reduce the pressure and you’ll be able to connect it with your hand then.

I’ve had that problem on my snow plow power angle hoses that operate off the quick attach circuit. I’ve had it on the QA cylinder hoses. I’ve had it on the finish mower attachment hoses and the brush cutter hoses.

So it happens on big and small hoses. I was scratching my head too, until I posted it on TBN and was told about the hammer, punch and rag solution.

One of the frustrating things about the smaller quick attach implements is that PT puts identical gender ends on them, instead of opposite gender ends, whereas they put opposite ends on the main PTO so you can’t reverse direction the motors on the implements. I don’t know why they do this and you will quickly become frustrated when you hook up things to the AUX PTO connections opposite of the last time you used it, and the AUX PTO lever works opposite of the last time you used it.

A quick solution is to paint a color stripe on one of the sets of hoses both implement and tractor side so you can visually identify them when hooking them back up.

If they had made them opposite gender, you could just hook the hoses together when not in use and there’d be no need for plugs! GRRR!!! :laughing:

End of rant...
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #8  
I replaced mine with flat face connectors (one of each gender) which are easier to connect. Using the joy stick on my secondary circuit while connecting also helps.

Ken
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Thanks for all the great suggestions.

Resistance Is Futile.

Cheers
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #12  
So Hydraulics. Creative, I think you own another tractor, but it should be said that oil under 3000PSI of pressure is pretty dangerous stuff. Not wanting to scare you, cause all tractors a pretty dangerous (well, they aren't but the jobs they are requred to do can be). Use caution when tapping on a valve. Definitely a rag. Keep your flesh out of the line of oil cause it will remove it. Eventually you are going to rupture a hose (it happens, just go with it). You may want to run hour hand along the hose to find the leak. Do it with the engine off, and be careful, hydraulic hoses are wrapped in wire and that will stick you pretty bad.

I swapped all of my connectors for a different manufacturer that I could find locally (Parker). PT uses these weird italian ones that don't seem to be on the west coast (at least on the bigger machines). I also swapped one side so that all my implements can hook up only one way.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #13  
On the Q/A hoses, I use a colored zip tie on one that matches a zip tie on the tractor. That way, I consistently get the same 4N1 behavior. Thanks to whoever here suggested it. I have had smooth sailing since I put them on.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #14  
So Hydraulics. Creative, I think you own another tractor, but it should be said that oil under 3000PSI of pressure is pretty dangerous stuff. Not wanting to scare you, cause all tractors a pretty dangerous (well, they aren't but the jobs they are requred to do can be). Use caution when tapping on a valve. Definitely a rag. Keep your flesh out of the line of oil cause it will remove it. Eventually you are going to rupture a hose (it happens, just go with it). You may want to run hour hand along the hose to find the leak. Do it with the engine off, and be careful, hydraulic hoses are wrapped in wire and that will stick you pretty bad.

I swapped all of my connectors for a different manufacturer that I could find locally (Parker). PT uses these weird italian ones that don't seem to be on the west coast (at least on the bigger machines). I also swapped one side so that all my implements can hook up only one way.

I didn't even think about the pressure that could be in the QA hose (and didn't use a rag as suggested). I had released the pressure with the QA lever prior to disconnecting and then the pressure was from heating up in the sun. So to totally show my lack of experience with hydraulics as well (prior to this machine), is it still potentially dangerous in this situation? I figured it's only got to be a few drops that comes out to relieve that pressure and that it couldn't be much. I don't want to be the guy who loses an eye in a freak accident involving a single squirt of 15w-40...err 5w40.
 
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   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #15  
Heat pressure = injury pressure? I would really doubt it, but why risk it. I am pretty pedestrian, if it is the male end I just put a rag over it and smack it on some metal. Usually the females loose pressure by just jamming the male in (OK, none of us are going there).

But, I store all my implements by connecting the hoses (I can as one side is male, the other female) so all my implements hoses are connected. Well park one in the winter and then try and unjam it in the summer and the cursing will be heard down the hill. I once had to loosen the connector at the motor to relieve sun heat hose pressure.
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #16  
I’d say err on the side of caution and don’t look at it when you rap it with the hammer, just in case one stupid drop would somehow shoot out and hit you in the eye. Wrap it with a rag or just look away while you hit your hand with the hammer.... :shocked:

Thinking back on it, I recall it was Bird that first told me to rap it with a hammer. That was probably 2002. :thumbsup:
 
   / HELP! QA won稚 disengage. #17  
I store my rough cut mower with the ends connected together too. The plow has the same ends, so they get a plastic bag on them. Haven't had a problem with the plow, probably because i usually us it in the winter, so no pressure buildup.
 

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