L4300 FEL hydraulics getting weak

[Bob_Young]

When at idle, the FEL will no longer lift the arms even when bucket is empty (bucket curl "seems" OK...but may not be). When I go to remove the FEL by lifting the front wheels off the floor, there is barely enough power to do it with either lift or bucket curl, even when revving the engine.

The tractor's an '04 and only has about 150 hours on it. Fluids and filters changed IAW the manual. It's always been kept inside. There was no problem with any of this when new.

Would like to look at the easy solutions myself before spending money at the dealer.
1)Fluid levels seem to be OK.
2)Today I swapped curl and lift functions at the control valve to see if the lift valve was failing. Loader performed the same; still could not lift the arms at idle.
3)Anything else??

I'm thinking of changing the hyd. filter next. Is there a pickup screen that should be checked?

Thanks in advance.

On edit: FEL operation has been slowly degrading over the past year to 18 mos. Today was the first time I noticed it wouldn't lift the arms at all at idle. Previously it was slow and getting slower. Had it back to the dealer last year and was told it was operating normally. (it wasn't)

 

[wdchyd]

Does the cyls in the FEL lift circuit hold a load when it finally lifts..??...don't overlook blown lift cyl seals

You should use a pressure guage to go any further......

Kubota Flow/Load Meter Test - Tractor Videos - Kubota, John Deere, New Holland and More

A healthy hyd system should go to max pressure without revving....although slower but it should still pick up with full pressure....

 

[Bob_Young]

Does the cyls in the FEL lift circuit hold a load when it finally lifts..??...don't overlook blown lift cyl seals

You should use a pressure guage to go any further......

Kubota Flow/Load Meter Test - Tractor Videos - Kubota, John Deere, New Holland and More

A healthy hyd system should go to max pressure without revving....although slower but it should still pick up with full pressure....

Yes, the cylinders will hold a load when lifted.

Where can I get a gauge like you used in the video...or did you make it yourself?

 

[wdchyd]

Hydraulic guage you can get anywhere.....TSC, good auto parts store, industrial supplier, local hyd shop....

They are great to have in this situation....

The flow meter is special and pricey......best to find someone that has one rather buy one....

Flow meter

 

[wdchyd]

Flow/load test meter is valuable to my situation cuz I'm expected to find the troubles quickly without guessing.......many times it takes longer to hook up the hoses than it takes to give the pump a thumbs up or down.....very quick

It does show how healthy the pump is and can induce a load without running any controls on tractor......when operating the controls you can monitor pressures that are needed for each individual circuit....

The video shown was on a new tractor (mine last year) so it represents what a healthy, strong, efficient and new pump looks like when testing.....

Many repair shops do not have them and are going in blind when troubleshooting hydraulics......It would be like trying to troubleshoot an electrical problem without a volt/ohm meter or amprobe.......

 

[LD1]

Definatally put a pressure guage on it. A guage with the appropriate fittings should only run you $20-$30.

Pressure = power
Flow (gpm) = speed.

So if it is just slow but still has power to lift, it is flow related.

If it indeed lacks power, it is a pressure problem.

And reving it should only increase speed, not power. Because it should be making full PSI even at idle. But the more revs you give it, the more GPM and should make things faster.

 

[wdchyd]

And reving it should only increase speed, not power. Because it should be making full PSI even at idle. But the more revs you give it, the more GPM and should make things faster.

If he has a bad pump, revving may give him enough pressure to barely lift it up if the pump is going south....

 

[LD1]

If he has a bad pump, revving may give him enough pressure to barely lift it up if the pump is going south....

possibly. All the more reason to put a guage on it to be sure. But if it were the pump, the 3PH would be giving problems also, which he makes no mention of.

 

[Bob_Young]

Well, I've got the FEL off the tractor for a week or so to catch up on my bush-hogging. Not having any trouble with the 5' Woods cutter on the 3PH, but I think it weighs only a fraction of what the hitch is rated for.

Thanks for the input. Looks like I may try to scrape together the money for a flowmeter. Have located what I'll need in the Northern Tool catalog. Figure it's a good investment. The shop bill and transport for the "nothing wrong" visit would've nearly paid for the flowmeter.

Will report back if anything further develops.