Another 3 point help request!

[Auswoody]

Hi guys, I am hoping you might be able to help a tractor newby in Australia with an issue with my 3 point hitch.

I have owned my kubota L2002DT for about 6 month, in that time learned about the grey market stigma and lack of documentation It has worked great for me this whole time, but has decided to start throwing a few challenges my way.

I have a 4 in 1 loader up front, and I have been using the 3 point for a slasher and more recently an auger. I have had no issues at all and have used it on a fairly regular basis. Last weekend I moved some soil with the bucket, parked it up beside the house when done and left it there until this weekend. The auger tip was on the ground as usual, but on starting up the tractor, the 3 point did not lift. No matter what I do I cannot get it to lift now.

I have checked and topped up the transmission oil, checked the valve under the seat to ensure it is screwed all the way to anticlockwise (this is what I was told when i bought the tractor), looked for leaks, checked the filter (cartridge filter at motor) but no sighs of anything untoward.

If I lift the 3 point up while the lever is up, I can lift the attachment in stages and it "latches"so to speak and holds itself. Once I have lifted it, I can use the lever to lower the 3 point as per normal, but it will not lift.

This is the valve that I was told to leave in the anticlockwise position.

Hydraulic filter with main line feeding into the bottom. Lines out of here are for the loader controls.

This is the take off to the hydraulic filter

Left side of the gearbox. I read somewhere on OTT that there is a inline filter here somewhere, I cannot find it though

Drain plug still wet after I fumbled with it when ensuring the oil was clean

Any advise would be greatly appreciated guys, I'm at a loss now, and my wift really wants those fence post hole dug

Thanks, Andrew

Oh, one last thing, what is this for??

 

[MagKarl]

My tractor is pretty similar to yours. My hydraulic screen is in the bottom of the case, comes in from the left hand side behind a small cover with two bolts, directly across from the suction line. In the pic you posted it would be hidden by the clutch linkage. I suppose it's possible you don't have one, as my tractor does not have a spin on filter at the pump like yours does.

The valve under the seat does not need to be fully open. All it does is control the rate at which an attachment drops when you drop the lever.

The last pic looks like a fuel shutoff above a spin on fuel filter bowl.

 

[Auswoody]

Thanks for the reply MagKarl.

Ok, so still no luck with this, but some developments.
- I had definitely overfilled the fluid. That's now rectified.
- When I increase the tractors engine RPM to very high, the 3 point hitch does indeed lift on it's own, all be it a bit slower than normal.

So, I am assuming that either a, my screen is dirty/clogged or the pump is failing. I really hope this is not the case. I still cant find the damn screen though

What's your thoughts guys?

oh, btw, temps here are very warm. thick fluid is not an issue.

Thanks again,

Edit: Just been under the tractor with the torch and can confirm, there is no screen on the LHS of this unit. There is a defenate position where one may have gone if the casting had been different (perfect matched in shape to the main hydraulic line take off as per picture above) and directly opposite. However, it's just a shape on the casting, there is no cover plate, no bolts, nothing. It's just the casting.

So, low pressure due to spin off filter? It seemed spotless and sparkling lean when I had it off for inspection, I'll replace it none the less, a blockage in the main line? or of course the pump itself.....

 

[kubotasam]

Does the loader work? If it does and I understand your discription of the tractor to be that the loader runs from the same pump that the 3point does. Then the issue could be in the flow divider (if your tractor has one). Or it could be the relief valve bypassing on the 3 point hitch control.

 

[Auswoody]

Hi Sam,

Yes mate, the loader works, although it does seem to have slowed a bit over the past months. Still very usable though.

From what I can tell, and please remember, I am new to this, Th eMain Hydraulic line feeds from the transmission to the inlet of the screw on filter at the enginge. The filter supplies clean oil to the pump. The pump supplies to the levers for the loader which then returns back to the transmission via the smaller of the two hydralic lines. This returns up adjacent to the under seat valve as seen in the first picture. This valve only (from what I am told and have observed) controls the rate of decent of the hitch.

I'm not sure about the flow diverter or relief valve?

Thanks mate, Andrew.

 

[kubotasam]

From your description of the path of the lines from the pump to the loader then to the 3 point I do not think you tractor has a diverter valve. If the loader works then the problem is not the pump or filter. It has got to be in the control or relief valve for the 3 point hitch. You show a picture of the drop rate control for the 3 point but not the valve that controls the lift/lower on it. I can't help with specifics because I am not familiar with your tractor. However somewhere built into the control valve is a relief valve that is supposed to open and let hydraulic fluid bypass the 3 point piston if the pressure gets to great. (this is what you hear squealing if you try to lift to much weight with your 3 point hitch). It is my guess that the relief valve is stuck open and most of the fluid is bypassing the 3 point hitch piston and flowing back into the transmission.

 

[gpreuss]

From my recollection of my L185DT, the filter screen would be behind those two bolts holding on that circular plate in photo 3 - on the right side of the transmission housing down below the seat, way at the bottom. The plate is about 2" in diameter. The screen filter is conical, about 4" long. When you pull it, expect all of your hydraulic fluid to come gushing out. It would be a good idea to drain the fluid first, for eventual reuse.

 

[Auswoody]

Back on this

Thanks for the replies guys, each one gets me thinking and looking, so thats great.

@kubotasam I "think"the control/relief valve you mentioned is on the side of the drop rate control. There is a large bolt on the front of it, as you can see in picture 1, which tensions a spring which pushed on a piston within the casing. I've pulled it down, it was a bit sticky, but it's free moving now. Put it back in and no joy with the tension right off on the spring, the 3 point does nothing, even at high revs, with the tension full on the spring, the 3 point will lift, but only at maximum revs.

Any more ideas, or have I missed something in the piston?

Thanks guys,

 

[Russell King]

In the second picture in the first post of this thread you can see the filter on a L185 (similar).

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9299&highlight=transmission

The picture is from above the tractor, looking down and back on the left side of tractor (sitting in the seat it is the left side) near the top of the transmission. The lever you see is the hi/low speed selector, you can see the rear end of the foot board. Then you can see the linkage to the pedal (left brake I think). You can barely see a red cover (partially). The screen is behind that cover. It has two bolts holding it on, an o-ring to seal it, a spring to hold in the filter and then the filter.

The filter will look kind of like the end of a tube and you may need to use needle nose pliers to get it out. The filter is really just a fine screen cylinder.

I do not have a spin on filter so you may not have the screen.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It sadly is sounding like it's either a 3 point valve problem or a 3 point piston or ring problem.
The #1 reason I'm thinking this is because the loader that shares the same hydraulic line and pump is working.

 

[Auswoody]

I couldn't leave it alone today so I pulled the (what I believe to be) the control/relief valve out again as it was definitely stuck the first time I pulled it out so was thinking maybe I had missed something. What I did notice the second time is the sleeve for the piston has holes in it, to allow for the oil flow depending on the position of the piston. What I hadn't done right the first time was to reassemble it careful enough to ensure the hole lined up with the journals in the casing. (They were not even close) So I reassembled it again, correctly this time, and she's a goer! I don't think it's 100% as I still need to raise the revs a bit, but I just finished slashing the paddock

Thanks a million to all who offered help along the way.

 

[dwaineclark1]

Did you ever get your 3 point working? In having same problem.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Did you ever get your 3 point working? In having same problem.

What exact issue are you having, details are important, like it was working and suddenly quit, it never worked, things like that.