I have a BX 25 and it runs well, but starting two weeks ago the lift capacity of the FEL has gone to almost nothing. Since it is about time I dumped the hydraulic oil, new filter and new oil, cleaned the filter screen, cleaned and inspected the pressure relief, and valve body in the transmission. Everything is now clear of air, and working properly except the FEL. There is no leakage of hydraulic oil anywhere, no hose problems and all other bucket functions work as they should, the only problem is lift. I am going to trace the hydraulic line to the control valve block all the way to the lift cylinder. Any suggestions on important things to look at?
FEL slow, no power
- Thread starter pugabral
- Start date
dirtydeed
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Lifetime Member
Equipment
B2650 BH77, U27-4R2, BX23TLBM, box blade, rear blade, flail mower, Stump Grinder
Try swapping the loader hydraulic lines (in pairs). IE, move the lift circuit lines to the bucket control and visa versa. Then see if the problem persists, or if now the bucket curl function is affected.
If the problem "moves" then your issue is with the valve.
If the problem "moves" then your issue is with the valve.
Look for loose linkage causing the spool valve to not travel far enough. There are lots of joints in that linkage!
If your three point is at the limit for raising it can affect the loader speed. It's not supposed to and I think there's some kind of limiting rod to prevent the problem but sometimes the limiter is out of adjustment.
Sounds like air in the lines or cavitation.
I'd start by checking fluid levels instead of swapping hose lines for no reason. If you have a problem after changing filters, did you use an OEM K filter? What kind of oil? Did you inspect the old filer to make sure you got all the old gasket and magnet? Something doesn't sound right.
I'd start by checking fluid levels instead of swapping hose lines for no reason. If you have a problem after changing filters, did you use an OEM K filter? What kind of oil? Did you inspect the old filer to make sure you got all the old gasket and magnet? Something doesn't sound right.
This was my first thought as well. If the 3 point is too high, it will dead head the cylinder causing a drop in lift power. For some reason, it really affects the lift and drop while other operations still function. Easy to check, just lower the 3 point and see if the loader works.
proper adjustment for the 3 point is when fully lifted, you should be able to lift the 3 point arms by hand about 1/2" to an inch. that is how much free play should be at the top of the lift.
The BX24 doesn't have a position control feedback linkage. It has a simple 1/4" inching valve. It is possible that the lever is sticking in the lift position though. In my experience it is usually loose nuts on the loader valve linkage causing inadequate movement of the spool valve that causes them to lift slowly and with decreased power.
I did that first. None of the FEL lines re loose, or leaking, nor are the cylinders. Then I dumped the transmission oil (Tractor supply transmission oil for small tractors hydrostatic drives) replaced the filter with the Kubota filter and cleaned al the screens, bypass valves and regulators inside the transmission. When I started it back up and went through driving the tractor (OK) operation the bush hog on the three point hitch (OK) loader lift (slow) roll and dump (OK); it seems nothing changed.
This morning I am going to start on the linkage, spools and lines from the control lever.
Thanks for your help.
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I always test the FEL with the Brush hog on the ground. When I first noticed the problem I was cutting grass, so I shut the mower off and lowred the bush hog to the ground. Problem still there.
OK, how do you get to the valve body it self? I took off the cover for the control lever and all the movement looked good, not too loose and no real play. I activated all functions and everything looked good. Next following the levers I could not see the valve body under the tractor so I pulled the battery cover and removed the lower black plastic cover and could see the linkage and the top of the valve body, but could not get at the valve body it self. The linkage looked good and the piston rods moved all the way in and out fine. How do I get to the valve body it self to look at the valves themselves. By the way I drove the tractor around for 15 minutes, run the mower and operated the bucket. Everything still functions fine, except the FEL lift power. It raises all the way up and down, just no lifting power.
RCW
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Equipment
BX2360, FEL, MMM, BX2750D snowblower. 1953 Minneapolis Moline ZAU
Did you swap the lift and curl lines (in pairs) yet, as dirtydeed suggested earlier?
We've seen a bunch of folks with fouled quick connectors in the last couple years.
Not to dispel air, 3PH, etc., all good places to look at.
But since curl is normal, but lift is slow/weak, there's something in that lift circuit, whether mechanical or hydraulic.
Could be QC's, cylinder(s) seals, linkage as eserv mentions, or the valve itself.
Eserv knows what he's talking about, but I would at least rule a bad hydraulic connection issue first.
On my BX2360, hose colors white/yellow are lift, blue/red are curl.
Doesn't matter if reversed in the pair, just important you swap the pairs properly (w/y, b/r). If pair is reversed, the joystick will just work opposite normal during this testing.
Important thing is to see if curl becomes weak/slow.
If so, there's a connector/hose issue.
If not, there's a linkage, valve or cylinder issue.
Just trying to rule 1 thing out at a time....
We've seen a bunch of folks with fouled quick connectors in the last couple years.
Not to dispel air, 3PH, etc., all good places to look at.
But since curl is normal, but lift is slow/weak, there's something in that lift circuit, whether mechanical or hydraulic.
Could be QC's, cylinder(s) seals, linkage as eserv mentions, or the valve itself.
Eserv knows what he's talking about, but I would at least rule a bad hydraulic connection issue first.
On my BX2360, hose colors white/yellow are lift, blue/red are curl.
Doesn't matter if reversed in the pair, just important you swap the pairs properly (w/y, b/r). If pair is reversed, the joystick will just work opposite normal during this testing.
Important thing is to see if curl becomes weak/slow.
If so, there's a connector/hose issue.
If not, there's a linkage, valve or cylinder issue.
Just trying to rule 1 thing out at a time....
Do you have a third function valve somewhere and a bypass? That can cause issues on some machines if the bypass is selected.
No the tractor is standard. So far I have reached the point where I have completed all the suggestions including swapped the lines going to the FEL and the lift function still will not lift the tractor. I am wondering if the tractor hydraulic function is not generating enough pressure that all drive and mow functions all work fine at lower pressure but the down function on the FEL has reached a point of not being able to lift the front end of the tractor like it used to?? I am going to order a gage and get a reading of the pressure.
So far I have reached the point where I have completed all the suggestions including swapped the lines going to the FEL and the lift function still will not lift the tractor. I am wondering if the tractor hydraulic function is not generating enough pressure that all drive and mow functions all work fine at lower pressure but the down function on the FEL has reached a point of not being able to lift the front end of the tractor like it used to?? I am going to order a gage and get a reading of the pressure. I think I need a 7J612-66323 coupler and a 3,000PSI gage; does that sound correct?
The pressure should be about 1800 PSI so you will need at least a 2000# guage. You can connect into a loader hose to check it.
Thanks appreciate your help. I am doing the fuel system now, changing the filters, blowing air back into the tank for 10 minutes then polishing the fuel for 20 minutes with a separate filter and pump system I built. That should have everything back up to par. I will get the gauge and quick disconnect tomorrow. I will let you know what happens.