Hi:
I have the same tractor and similar problems. Now, I really like this tractor for the most part - it's the right size for my place, is very maneuverable, carries pretty much what I need it to, and runs forever on a tank of fuel. It is my first tractor and has had no mechanical problems until now (a stabilizer cylinder seal started leaking after more than three years of use - a fairly easy fix, I imagine).
However, I have some problems similar to yours:
(1) The backhoe is pretty weak. Nearly all the digging power comes from the bucket (as it should be, I believe), but the dipper has very little power and the boom is even worse. There is no way I can move anything other than maybe packing peanuts with the boom - up and down or sideways. Further, I can't drag the bucket through anything using the dipper unless I am very actively working the bucket. And although this thing isn't a crane, I tried to lift a Chevy 4.3 engine (minus a lot of its parts - maybe 300 pounds?) - no way - the most it did was slide the engine stand.
(2) The loader control is fairly decent, except that the motion to dump the bucket is much longer than the motion required to curl - it stops dumping halfway and I have to push it to its stop to get it to go over the rest of the way. I can completely curl the bucket with any amount of movement of the control - it just goes faster if I pull it in more. HOWEVER, the backhoe controls are weird. The movements of the bucket, dipper, and boom swing are fairly consistent with their controls and with each other, but the boom 'up and down' is WAY out of proportion. If I move any of the other three controls, say, two inches, I better not move the boom control more than a quarter of an inch - it doesn't even feel like the valve is fully open. If it is moved more than that, the boom will fly straight up in the air (or hit the ground) with all kinds of clanking as the thing crashes into its stops. Obviously dirt goes everywhere. It's like the valve for boom up and down is made for something else. Very annoying. You have to learn a strange technique to be smooth with this thing.
(3) I just discovered this a couple of days ago, and I signed up for this forum so I could ask about it: Although my loader is rated to lift 1402 pounds, it simply won't. I put twelve 80 pound bags of concrete in the bucket, and it just sat there - no lift. I curled the bucket all the way (since the lift is rated at the pins) and again nothing. That was 960 pounds, a far cry from the 1402 pound rating. I took one layer of bags off and moved my concrete 640 pounds at a time. (And the power steering would NOT turn the wheels unless I was moving.)
I know my pump is supposed to put out 2000 psi. I have read (maybe on this forum?) that people have bought these tractors and discovered that pressure was 1800 psi or even less. So I am wondering:
- Where do I plug in a gauge to discover my working pressure (I get the impression that it is actually much less than the setting on the final safety valve). And I assume I would only get the right measurement when trying to lift a load heavier than maximum rating?
- If I discover the pressure is reduced, where would I find a place to adjust it and set it right?
- Would this in any way indicate a failing pump? I started thinking about that when I could barely turn my front wheels with the eight bags of concrete in the loader.
Are these problems really problems? Am I expecting too much? Anybody else have these issues? Are there solutions? Should I worry? Should I get a bigger tractor?
Thanks for any insights, suggestions, solutions, and any other help!
Dan.
