LS MT225S problems - is this normal?
- Thread starter weehu72
- Start date
- Views: 6575
GS650GL
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2024
- Messages
- 122
- Tractor
- LS XG3025, 1945 Farmall H, Farmall M, Mitsubishi MT2501D, Allis Chalmers B
I'm not going to name the dealership or exactly where they are located, that's not what this forum is about. It's to share information about the tractors and our experiences, to help each other out. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea and think I am promoting them in any way. They have many locations, and have won many sales awards from LS. The sales numbers are real, you can believe or not believe whatever you want, it doesn't matter. Moving on to the important stuff:
The ports on the loader valves have nothing to do with the leaks. Yes, sometimes a bonded seal on the banjo fitting connections might leak and need to be replaced, but that's minor and can be fixed without replacing the valve. The o-rings that leak are under the silver colored metal plate on top of the valve where the lever linkages move the spools up and down. The pictures in the previous post show where the ball joints (or Heim joints if you prefer that term) connect to the spools. The leaks come from around the spools between that silver plate and the top of the valve. If the mounting screws come loose on that plate, it can cause the leaks also. You can sometimes see the blown o-rings sticking out when that happens. There is no parts breakdown for the valve, so the valves are being replaced. If the valve was taken apart, maybe the o-rings could be replaced if the size could be matched, and possibly the valves could be fixed. Don't know for sure, never tried. Maybe could save alot of money if it's out of warranty.
The delay in parts is a big pain in the butt for all of us. According to LS, moving the parts dept. into a different building was only supposed to take a couple of weeks, but complications extended that to a couple of months. Now with the hurricanes and tornados that hit NC, just makes things worse. The port strike only lasted 3 days, but has not been fully resolved and could hit again in January affecting shipments from Korea.
The ports on the loader valves have nothing to do with the leaks. Yes, sometimes a bonded seal on the banjo fitting connections might leak and need to be replaced, but that's minor and can be fixed without replacing the valve. The o-rings that leak are under the silver colored metal plate on top of the valve where the lever linkages move the spools up and down. The pictures in the previous post show where the ball joints (or Heim joints if you prefer that term) connect to the spools. The leaks come from around the spools between that silver plate and the top of the valve. If the mounting screws come loose on that plate, it can cause the leaks also. You can sometimes see the blown o-rings sticking out when that happens. There is no parts breakdown for the valve, so the valves are being replaced. If the valve was taken apart, maybe the o-rings could be replaced if the size could be matched, and possibly the valves could be fixed. Don't know for sure, never tried. Maybe could save alot of money if it's out of warranty.
The delay in parts is a big pain in the butt for all of us. According to LS, moving the parts dept. into a different building was only supposed to take a couple of weeks, but complications extended that to a couple of months. Now with the hurricanes and tornados that hit NC, just makes things worse. The port strike only lasted 3 days, but has not been fully resolved and could hit again in January affecting shipments from Korea.
Last edited:
GS650GL
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2024
- Messages
- 122
- Tractor
- LS XG3025, 1945 Farmall H, Farmall M, Mitsubishi MT2501D, Allis Chalmers B
Cool, glad you found it. I'll bet that piece came loose and unscrewed from the spool. There is a bulletin on that problem now, and it should be fixed after tractor serial 2351002914. Not sure how to figure out what size o-ring, and it has to be a perfect match. Close isn't good enough or it will fail right away. And it also needs to be the correct durometer, which is the stiffness of the rubber. If it's too soft or too stiff it won't last either, even if it's the correct size. It's probably a metric o-ring, but since there's no information for it, I hope you have good luck finding a match. The bulletin does not tell the size of the o-ring, only how the manufacturing process of the valve has been improved to prevent this. And the valve is not made by LS, it comes from a hydraulic supplier. Make sure you clean and Loc-tite the parts when you assemble it so this doesn't happen again.
I'm trying to plan ahead for replacing the rear front-axle pivot bracket. The front driveshaft will need to go through the bracket. I'm thinking the easiest approach will be to disconnect the steering hydraulic lines from the front axle, disconnect the front axle bracket, scoot the front axle forward and off the drive shaft and then slide the bracket on (while keeping the front of the tractor supported by a jack and the front axle supported as well so it doesn't flip upside-down). Is that the best way to do it or am I missing something obvious?
GS650GL
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2024
- Messages
- 122
- Tractor
- LS XG3025, 1945 Farmall H, Farmall M, Mitsubishi MT2501D, Allis Chalmers B
Slide the drive shaft shield rearward and remove the snap rings and pins from the universal joints and coupler on the driveshaft. You should be able to remove the drive shaft which might be easier than moving the axle forward.
Last edited:
Can you access the actuator while the spool valve block is mounted on the tractor. Must the spool valve come out completely. By the way you answered my leaking issue. I have 300th unit produced mt225s. My unit will be 5 years old on April 2025. Very reliable tractor. Have 475 hours to date.
I think it might be possible, but probably more difficult. There's a bit of a gap between the seat and the fender where you can get to the top of it, but there are plenty of obstacles in the area. When the dealer replaced my loader valve, they said it only took 20-30 minutes to swap it out. I assume they took off the rear wheel of the tractor to access it more easily, although I don't know for sure.
Rear wheel was removed.
