Jerky emplement lift

[orange1]

Kubota model L3000DT with about 250 hours on it. The lift does not come up smoothly when I try to raise an emplement. If I move the lift lever very slowly, it will only move the emplement up in increments and causes it to jerk and overshoot.

Any ideas ?

 

[cappy]

Your hydraulic fluid may be low or the hydraulic filter is blocked and may need to be changed. Many times, this is the problem.

 

[orange1]

Thanks for the info. I have previously added hydraulic fluid because the previous owner had a hydraulic hose blow off and the fluid was low by about 2gallons. I did not check the filter screen, however. I have been reading about changing the filter and found I will need to capture a lot of fluid and reuse it.
I will try this idea first.

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Also check the hydrulic flow knob just under the tractor seat. Might need to be adjusted to get the correct flow of things

 

[Bulldog]

Just for a shot in the dark, how stiff is the control arm to move? You may want to lubricate all the linkage on the control arm. I have found on my 3000 that it makes a huge difference in how it acts when using the 3pt. It only takes one tight joint to cause the problems that you are describing.

 

[orange1]

There was a problem with the flow control knob when I first got the tractor. I put the three point hitch up an down many times before I knew what that knob did. I checked it out and found it was in the closed (transport) position. I opened it back up but the emplements went up and down even in the closed position. It could be that some internal damage has been done.

 

[orange1]

I removed the hydraulic screen and cleaned it. There was a lot of paint particles in both the fluid and the screen. After replacement, the lift worked much better but was still a bit jerky. I wonder if some of the particles could have gotten inside the pump components.

 

[Bulldog]

Have you ever changed the hyd oil before? With 250 hrs on it you are approaching the second sceduled oil change.

 

[orange1]

The former owner has alzimers and is in a nursing home. I do not know if he properly maintained the tractor or not. It had 200 hours on it when I bought it from his son. I bought new transmission fluid but I have not replaced it. I did notice a lot of particles in it when I drained enought to clean the strainer.

 

[Bulldog]

If it was mine I would change it all out. If you are seeing metal at the filter screen wait until you drain the oil. Be sure to change the front end as well. You will get quite a bit of metal out of the hubs and the chunk.

 

[orange1]

Eric, I think you nailed it. I decided to change out the hydraulic fluid since I found a lot of trash in it when I cleaned the strainer. It was also a recommendation from one of you guys on this forum. Anyway, I decided to turn that control knob one more time because it was hard to turn. I put the pliers on it and turned it about 1/2 turn in the open direction. To my amazement it began to turn easily and I was able to take a couple more turns on it without the pliers. When I warmed the fluid up and tried the emplement lift, it was smooth as silk. I am declaring this one fixed. Thanks for the good help.