What did I break?

[Shawn T. W.]

Well it worked just fine for over 4 years, and 780 hours of use . . .

And if I hadn't done this boneheaded thing, it would still be just fine!

I was trying to avoid using my cabbed tractor to put the brush hog up out of the way on the trailer ...
Not much clearance to the kitties bed/shelf, and I wasn't sure of the angle coming up the ramp if it would clear ... It did!

 

[mediplt]

The loader arms don't seem to be bent ...

View attachment 5605284

I'm not home now, so can't look farther ...

The "problem" was the rear section of the brush hog is round, and it wasn't on the right side paddle quite all the way, obviously it lifted it fine, but once it slipped off it either bent something, or I thought that somehow the hydraulic fluid inside skipped past the piston ... Not sure if that is possible ...

I've used both the bucket and forks since this happened, they work fine once I get them hooked up ...

I did the same thing except with different cylinders on my Kubota. Wound up blowing a seal in the cylinder. it would still work, somewhat, but hydraulic fluid would "leak by" when under load, and it lost about 60% of it's lift capacity, and you would notice a "lean" as it lifted. After you get them to line up, "with the tree", cycle them a bunch and measure them for a travel difference, or notice if they get to the end of travel at the same time. Mine cost me around 300$ for a cylinder rebuild at a local hydraulic shop. It is a more common mistake than you would imagine according to the guy that rebuilt mine. New seals and mine is as good as new. Good luck