3-Point Hitch No lift in 3-point hitch

[LD1]

What hole was the toplink in to start with? HAving it in the top now maximizes the lift force.

Next thing I would do is adjust both of the lower lift arms where they connect to the vertical link. Like I mentioned, it appears the design of your bale lifter, you are running out of lift height. So where the lower arms connect (circled in red), move those to the top hole to get more lift height. As long as it can still lower far enough to get under the bale, you will now be able to lift higher.

So do that and give it a try:

 

[McREBEL]

You are getting some good advice here and I hope these guys can get you to the point you can lift those bales. It does seem you are getting close to maxing out the lift (~1500# @ 24"). ~1200# bale (maybe more if wet) + whatever your hay forks weigh = close to maxing out

Wish you well

 

[spareparts1]

Hi Leejohn, Hi Egon! Many thanks for pitching in! Ok... I am fixing to go feed in half-hour or so, so I'll do more pictures. The dealership thing, was that since we bought the tractor at THAT dealership, so the "PREFERRED" labor rate was applied $85 as opposed to $110... Of course... I NEVER thought about it being kept over a MONTH... At the end of the day, I guess you do get what you pay for... Otherwise, you're right... The "best" shops I know of are in the next 1 or 2 counties.

I had a dream about explaining my driverless tractor to teg last night... You see, I take care of several horses. Not mine, but maybe in my heart they are mine. Anyway, I have about 4 1/2 acres cross-fenced. I seperate foals, yearlings, 2 and 3 year olds, and then sometimes 3 or 4 mares that are here to foal out. At one time, I had 27 (and 9 cows), now only 15 (and 5 cows). But I digress... When I'm driving bales to one of the 3 pastures, I have to jump off the tractor, open the gate, jump back on, drive through, jump down, and beat horses (and cattle) the gate to shut it and 'keep the peace'.

As you probably know, the food is ALWAYS better on the 'other side' of the fences, and they have to kick the other ones' asses to get it... And my hips aren't what they used to be... So instead of having to RE-start the tractor 2 times (or 3 or 4, depending on how slick my animals think they are), taking out the "kill" switch improved my life exponentially... The other thing I do, since their primary food is alfalfa, is I move the bales around after I throw the breakfast or dinner alfalfa. Yes (sigh...) I know my mechanical engineer buddy (aforementioned) kind of frowned on my defeating "a vital safety feature", but... he saw a few times what I have to do... funny how non-horse people suddenly realize we "horse people" aren't as crazy about why we do stuff as they think we are...

Sorry so wordy guys... I can't tell you how much I appreciate your all's help!!! Honestly! So, as an aside, here... The hay spear is kind of homemade... So... If I have to alter it, it would be a last resort, but since I weld a little, I CAN do it... Not really pretty. I'm quite the "spatter queen", but most of my work stays pretty good.

 

[LD1]

Dont feel bad, My seat safety dont work either. A simple zip-tie holding that little plastic lever down.

Nice to be able to stand up to see where the tip of the pallet forks are. OR when bushhogging a 15 acre job that lasts most of the day....nice to be able to stand and stretch the legs a bit but not actually have to stop working.

 

[teg]

I have my Clutch and seat safety switches jumped... Gotta do what you gotta do. Wonder what the A-hole shop rate is?? Glad to see you have your tractor back.

 

[spareparts1]

You all crack me up! So Ok... Just got in from feeding and got pictures... Er... Category 1 pins are in the hay spear, so I guess it's cat 1... Of course, I have these magical uni-bits that gradually make holes larger... Oh yeah! The pictures! Sorry...



I can't tell you HOW happy I am to have my tractor back!! Oh my God!! That wheelbarrow stuff was killing me! (Now I have to replace the water inlet valve in my washing machine... The internet is a wonderful thing!)

 

[LD1]

So does that mean you are able to lift the bales to an acceptable level now?

It looks like the design of them forks could be causing you some grief. Where the lower arms hook up to it is pretty high up. The 3PH arms will go almost to the ground with nothing on them. So by starting out with the pins that high, you have already used up a good bit of your lift height just to attach. Dont leave much left to actually lift anything.

IF you still have issues, I would lower the pins on the fork frame. You will also need to lower the toplink mount as well if you do that

 

[geneP]

I've been following this thread with interest to see the outcome. If the 3 point arms raise to normal height without a load and the shop set the hydraulic pressures to spec and it won't lift a bale I suspect that the combination of the bale and the forks is too heavy. Plus, I suspect that the distance behind the lift arms is in excess of 24 inches, too. You said the FEL lifts a 900# alfalfa bale, so I suspect your pressures are close to normal. The FEL lifts the alfalfa bale easier with the bale rolled back because it put the weight closer to the lift pins on the loader, same principal as the big bale being so far behind the ends of the lift arms.

If you are truly at the limits of your hydraulic capacity, I can suggest one modification to help a little if you really need to get the bale higher off the ground. Notice where your lift links connect to the lift arms. If you drill another hole in each arm out closer to the ends and move the links out it will create a little mechanical advantage at the expense of a little less lift height. You engineer friend can probably help with just how far out to drill, how much weight advantage you will gain, and what the lift height penalty will be.

I also noticed in your opening post that the loader nor the 3 point worked, they found trash in a relief valve, and the loader worked better. I couldn't see any more work that would indicate more volume or pressure problems. Also, your bill was up to $4,000, did they adjust it down to the ~$1200 on the final invoice?

I hope you can get this resolved although my opinion is that you need a heavier, more ag oriented machine for your purposes.

 

[LD1]

The FEL lifts the alfalfa bale easier with the bale rolled back because it put the weight closer to the lift pins on the loader, same principal as the big bale being so far behind the ends of the lift arms.

Not entirely accurate.

The 3PH is a totally differnt mechanism than a simple FEL. By design the 3PH is a parallelogram linkage. And a true parallelogram linkage will not loose capacity as the load is shifted farther back.

But there is a lot of adjustability of the 3PH, meaning that while it is a parallelogram design, it might not be perfect. And the farther from perfect, you will loose some capacity, but nothing like the simple ratios of a FEL.

The closer to parallel you can get the hitch to raise the better it will be for max lift. In the OP's case, set it up so the forks remain as LEVEL as possible will get the max lift. The more the tips pitch up as it is raised, the more capacity you will loose (because it has to lift the weight higher with the same given force for input).

If you can get the forks to lift perfectly level, your lift capacity at the tips of the forks would be the same as at the heals of the forks.

 

[spareparts1]

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! I have printed your suggestions and pictures to show my friend. All of the modifications look like, when put together, will help me lift the bales without tearing up my hydraulics.

The $4,000 was reduced 1) because I chose only to hone the cylinder and 2) only replaced the parts that needed to be, like the spring that they lost, and supportive parts for the cylinder - new o-rings and so on. The lift arm "assembly" they wanted to order and switch out was $3,000 (so, that + MAYBE fewer labor hours, but greater FREIGHT costs) would have been... around the $4k. I think...

You know my aim... MOST of the money I make is money I do NOT spend...

That all being said... I think first I will try moving those pins on the toplink to the top (right now on bottom, in the picture). I kind of like making changes like this one thing at a time, and try... that way, I have some traceability if something... er... goes wrong... (Which, with me, happens a LOT. :confused3 By then my buddy will have looked at your suggestions.

In the beginning, the forks really DID lift those bales, though... I get straw bales for bedding, and they weight around 600# to 700#, and these forks practically toss them up in the air by my head. Same diameter, but they are shorter than the Bermuda bales. Hmmmph.

Very good, then... I will keep y'all posted! Many, many thanks!