LA524 Power

[jewing3227]

Hello all, new to the site and fairly new owner of a L3200 4x4 with the LA524 FEL, HST, R4's(soon to have the rears loaded). Quit a tractor I must start off by saying but like some, I get use to what it has and want a little more. I was reading a post on here about a fella comparing the 514 to the 524. Another guy chimed in and said the 463 is basically a 524 and that the preasure on the 524 can be turned up. To make a long story short I came up with a gauge and turned the preasure bolt on the bottom of the unit "almost" a half a turn and let me tell ya......seems like a totally different FEL now. I've been clearing some brush on the 8 acres we just bought and this little mod if you will, will help out. I'm keeping my eyes on things and hopfully I won't see anything out of the norm that would make me turn it back to the original setting. This might not be anything new but just thought I'd share. Have a good one...

 

[kuboman]

Hello all, new to the site and fairly new owner of a L3200 4x4 with the LA524 FEL, HST, R4's(soon to have the rears loaded). Quit a tractor I must start off by saying but like some, I get use to what it has and want a little more. I was reading a post on here about a fella comparing the 514 to the 524. Another guy chimed in and said the 463 is basically a 524 and that the preasure on the 524 can be turned up. To make a long story short I came up with a gauge and turned the preasure bolt on the bottom of the unit "almost" a half a turn and let me tell ya......seems like a totally different FEL now. I've been clearing some brush on the 8 acres we just bought and this little mod if you will, will help out. I'm keeping my eyes on things and hopfully I won't see anything out of the norm that would make me turn it back to the original setting. This might not be anything new but just thought I'd share. Have a good one...

What did you turn it up too?

 

[teg]

..said the 463 is basically a 524 and that the pressure on the 524 can be turned up....

First, Welcome to TBN... secondly, I pretty sure they are the same in terms of what they can lift. They are just "measured" in different spots, thus, different numbers.

Both can be turned up... AND both can break if they are turned up too much. You might need to replace front axle seals and what not, too.

You said you had a gauge? What did you turn it up to? Again, Welcome to Tractorbynet :thumbsup:

PS... Make sure you have enough ballast on the 3 point hitch!

 

[TallaBota]

I have the fel and I would like to know what you was truning?

 

[TallaBota]

Same fel.

 

[reggiejr]

Welcome aboard
Just wondering where is this adjustment bolt located exactly.
What was the factory pressure set at and what did you turn it up to?
If you had a few pics that would be awesome.
I also have that same loader so i'm curious about how its done.:thumbsup:

 

[Mac in PA]

jewing3227,

Please explain a little more about this adjustment you made. Is it on the hydraulic control valve or elsewhere?

I'm familiar with the L3800, which I thought had the same hydraulics as the L3200. If so there is no relief valve in the hydraulic control valve. The relief valve is located under the right floorboard, just behind and attached to the aluminum block where the FEL hoses attach. A 22mm or 7/8" socket fits the threaded cap located on the bottom of the block. It's adjusted by shims.

Mac

 

[Mac in PA]

Oops, got wrapped up in typing the last post.

Welcome to the board.

Mac

 

[teg]

It's adjusted by shims...

I was able to adjust mine just by tighten up the bolt... Careful to not Strip out the threads... THAT will be costly!!! I only bump up 150 lbs. and 53 psi over the recommended max PSI. of 2347.

Look at the link in my Signature, third post down. Make sure you know what PSI your dealing with or else you can bust your hoses and could damage your pump. It did make my FEL very sensitive/responsive and I'm sure if you have a jerky hitch, it will put more strain on the top link... I reinforced my top link.

 

[ritschner]

His dealer may have been like mine. They overshim the regulator and then set the pressure by adjusting the fitting and letting the o-ring seal it and hold it in place. I had enough adjustment from the dealer to hit 3300psi. I actually removed two shims, bottomed the fitting, and am running at 2650psi and have been for over a year. It is a good idea to have a gauge and check it prior to and after adjusting. In a previous post http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...ng/128908-bump-up-lift-capacity-l3400-15.html it was described in detail how it is done. It seems several of the units are set a little low from the factory. Also since you are dealing with a metal spring. it will fatigue and the loader will loose some capacity over time.

 

[Mac in PA]

I was able to adjust mine just by tighten up the bolt... Careful to not Strip out the threads... THAT will be costly!!! I only bump up 150 lbs. and 53 psi over the recommended max PSI. of 2347.

Look at the link in my Signature, third post down. Make sure you know what PSI your dealing with or else you can bust your hoses and could damage your pump. It did make my FEL very sensitive/jerky and I'm sure if you have a jerky hitch, it will put more strain on the top link... I reinforced my top link.

Okay, so we are talking about the same thing.

This nut is the cap for the relief valve and compresses the spring in the valve. It should be threaded in until it stops. I can see how your pressure increased since the cap was not tight.

Removing this cap will reveal the relief valve and shims. Shims are in the very bottom of the cap. There should be one silver washer that the spring rests against and several brass shims under it.

Mac

 

[reggiejr]

How is the HYD PSI determined?Hook up to loader quick coupler and then raise?

 

[teg]

...or curl, depending on which one you hook up. Remove the quick connect and put the gauge on, hit the valve, since only the gauge is on, pressure deadheads and goes into relieve... that's the reading.

I'll post photos of it farther away...

 

[reggiejr]

Seems easy enough thanks for the explanation much appreciated.

 

[jewing3227]

Sitting on the tractor, it's under the right floor panel. Teg put some really good pictures up as well as posts and this is where I found out how to do it. I turned the valve in ALMOST 1/2 turn and ended up with 2435 or round abouts. However I did not measure my factory setting which stinks. I should have done that. I was looking forward to the increase in power and forgot. I read a few post about guys changing the washers out to #10's but like Teg I choose to take the easy way out and turn the plug. I wonder what the max preasure is by leaving the factory washer in and just turning the plug?

 

[Mac in PA]

There is a lot of good info presented in this thread, although I want to point out that increasing the relief pressure will not make the hydraulics work faster nor will it make it more jerky.

The relief valve remains closed during normal operation providing maximum oil flow through the system. It opens only when the system pressure reaches the preset value. At this point it dumps the unwanted pressurized oil back into the hydraulic sump.

Increased pressure will provide the ability to lift more weight. The pump volume (gallons per minute) determine the speed of the system. A faster engine speed will provide more GPM causing the control valves to be more sensitive requiring a gentle touch for smooth operation.


Mac

 

[jewing3227]

Mac---Thanks for chimming in and what you have to say is very true. I'm happy with the speed of it, matter-a-fact I didn't have a problem with the speed, I was just looking for a little more lifting power. I know the L3200 is not a huge tractor but for it's size, to me, I thought it should have a little more than it did. As far as the "cap" you are refering too, since I didn't take it apart, I understand it more now. Loosen the cap up and the factory shim sits down in the cap with the spring on top. By removing the cap and the factory shim and then placing a #10 washer in it (which should be 1.2 mm thick), it sounds like a few guys have done this and they all are achieving 2500 psi consistantly. Good info

 

[jewing3227]

It's been awhile since we've discussed on this thread up until now. As I previously stated when I hooked my gauge up AFTER i got about a half turn on the cap, I was around 2400-2450 psi range. I forgot to check it before I tweeked anything.

I was outside piddleing around earlier and pulled the 23mm cap along with the spring/shims and valve and dumped the cap into a towel exposing the shims. I haven't really been able to find on here where someone with a L3200/LA524 has checked their shim pack under their spring before. These are the shims that was in my cap....... 3 - .75mm shims and 1 - .20mm shim. I seen where one member only had one .5mm shim and ended up taking it out and adding 2.0mm and came up with between 2750-2800psi range.

My question to anyone out there with a LA524.......what kinda shims was under your spring in the cap.

I was gonna mess with the shimming again but I guess my 4 year old has managed to run off with my gauge.............or so thats my story

Talk to you fellas later
Josh