Loader slowly lowers

[Summitsrule]

My L3940 tractors loader seems to slowly lower.

Meaning, if I let the tractor sit while running and the bucket is in the air, say holding small hand tools while I work on the fence or something, it will drop a few inches. The heavier the tools, the worse it is. This is minor because I rarely do this.

Same when I shut it off. The bucket will always be on the ground after a few hours of sitting, if I left it in the air for some reason, again, rare that I do this.

The 3 point hitch stays up forever, no matter what implement is on it.

Is this normal? Should I take it in for warranty or will it be a waste of my time?

 

[PILOON]

Not normal, bucket should stay parked, Probably a bit of crud in the FEL valve or a bad O-ring.
If you are under warranty have them correct this issue.
In fact working around people that could prove dangerous.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Slow leak down is going to happen on a Kubota. They just don't put quality valves in their tractors. My FEL leaks down but it takes quite a while to go all the way to the ground from about waist high, like overnight, but it will drop an inch or more in an hour. All the valves on the backhoe leak by. The stabilizers, bucket, boom, dipper, even the hydraulic thumb creep with the boom and stabilizers being the worst of them.

Should they leak down, NO WAY. Do they, you bet your ***** that they all leak a bit, some worse than others. MY LS P7010 will hold the FEL up for weeks but it too will eventually leak down on the FEL, however the 3 PH will stay put forever. I have left the bush hog lifted for months and not drop an inch.

 

[cartod]

That leak down is under warranty and I would not live with it. Mine did it when it was brand new, had to send it to the shop for a week but it came back perfect. Like said, it could be hazardous.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Regarding warranty, I can just about guarantee that the dealer is going to tell you that a little leaking in the valves is normal. Go for it, but don't bother taking your tractor in till you get a definite answer and a guarantee that it will be fixed when they finish. If they have to pick it up for you, they WILL charge pick up fee and delivery fee and likely it wont be any different.

 

[BeezFun]

None of my hydraulics leaked down for about the first 5 years, now my curl cylinder will leak down if I have a load in the bucket, but only if the tractor is turned off. I always assumed it was the seal in the cylinder wearing out, I guess you could figure it out by switching hoses on your loader valve to see if the problem follows the valve or the cylinders.

 

[k0ua]

It sounds like your leak rate is excessive to me. If you are saying the loader goes from full up to on the ground in a few hours. If you said it dropped an inch in a few hours, I would think that would be in spec. I have never measured mine, but I have left it up for a few hours, and not really noticed any drop. I am sure it drops some, but is not noticeable in normal working around it, as in your example of using it for a "workbench" or tool shelf. I would talk to the dealer and if necessary the regional rep.

James K0UA

 

[radioman]

as JJ says to test :

If you want to test the cyl, add a needle valve to the base end of the cyl.

Then raise the lift arms and turn the needle valve closed.

Shut engine off.

If leak down occurs, then you know the weight of the arms is forcing the fluid to bypass.

 

[Summitsrule]

Thanks guys. I will call the dealer for sure. The loader, when there is weight in the bucket, with the tractor running, will settle. I was moving my holiday trailer around using the forks, and stopped for 5 min to go take care of something. Upon return I found the hitch sitting on the ground. I can accept this if it's shut off, but not while running. Granted the loader was nearly maxed out to lift the trailer, but this does not seem normal to me.

When I park it for the night, bucket empty, say 2' in the air, I always find the bucket on the ground in the morning. I'm not sure how long this takes though.

Will update when I know more, but I probably won't take it in till the spring, as I take the loader off and put on the snowblower soon.

Thanks again.

 

[gwdixon]

I agree with the others. The leakdown you describe is excessive.

I have a FEL that leaked down VISIBLY over several minutes. The leakdown could be seen and heard. It was due to a heavy stump dropping on the forks. Anyway, with Kubota insurance the cylinders were replaced and the FEL is now rock solid.

Point is, it can, and should be, fixed.