Well I am back to the site after some extended leave. I look after two elderly parents and last December my 93 year old mother fell in the night breaking her arm and because she was confined to a walker had to be put in rehab.... and a month later a series of strokes claimed her life. I had planed rebuilding the Z851 in my gray market L1801. The scheduled start date was January 1 .... and then my mother fell and that changed everything.
Was needing the L1801 with loader this year for market farming and other projects and so decided to pick up a 2wd L185 to use until I get L1801 rebuilt next winter.
So I find this nice clean almost one owner tractor with 866 hours and it even had the optional extra deep under-drive in it.... which I need when transplanting. Tractor came with a diy underbelly grader blade with 3 spool valve to operate 3 cylinders to independently raise and lower each side of the blade and to swing left and tight just like a real grader. Also came with a 5 foot 3ph flail mower which needs some repair. Got it with new battery for $1900 which was reasonable. Orange was repainted once and blue still factory and dry rotted original tires.
I have no need for the grader so I took it off and decided to take the quick attach Bush hog loader off of the L1801 and mount onto the L185.
So I examined the hydraulic system to understand how the diy grader blade units 3 spool valve had been combined into the system. The pressure hard line from the pump crossed over the tunnel just behind the tranny and there is a block mounted right on top of the tunnel (do not know if "tunnel" is correct nomenclature so correct me if I am wrong). There is a hard line exiting the block and connects to the rock shaft cylinder housing to supply that unit. On the side of the block there are fittings with soft lines attached.... those lines were pressure to and return from the 3 spool grader blade set-up. Those lines did not quick couple to the 3 spool valve but the quick attach loader I have is quick couple so I decided to to put quick couplings on the supply and return lines for easy hook up to loader valve which is a wobble stick.
This system is open center so..... oil must circulate through system constantly. So when I observed the block I wondered if the grader blade system and the 3ph system were in series .... OR was that block a divider valve. I assumed the block was a divider block and if so I would still have oil free flowing through through the 3ph system even though the grader/loader circuit would be closed when valve was removed !
Oops ... that assumption was a big mistake by this wannabe mechanic!!! Block was not a divider but just used to break into system .... so now I know the grader/loader system is in series with the 3ph system

Tried to start tractor with quick couplers on lines but not attached to valve... tractor would chug chug chug and then stall !!!!!
Oil not free flowing through system ... so I go to local hydraulic shop and get fittings to connect two quick couplers end to end.
Get back home and connect the couplers and start tractor and I get chug chug chug and stall .... same symptom
So I take the quick coupler off of the supply line and start tractor ... it starts and runs normally as oil discharges from the line into a bucket.
So I get air hose and blow through the lines but there is a blockage ... so I break lines to locate blockage and find no blockage. Sooooo I put 3ph lever in down position dropping the lift arms .... hook up lines and put 3ph lever in "up" position .... then blow air into system and lift arms raise and then air ceases to flow through !!!!!!!!!!!!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooo now I must have developed a second problem ???
This tractor was bought new used on a five acre horse farm to clip pastures and maintain a long lane back to the farm house. Five years ago the original owner sold the property and the tractor went to a second owner who rented the o house and seldom used the tractor .... soo tractor may have sat idle for a long time.
Sooo help help help .... what is the problem ???
Maybe a valve stuck in the 3ph system ?
With 3ph lever in down position air will not blow through.... and I did remove the oil fill plug so air could pass out of the case without restriction.
Was needing the L1801 with loader this year for market farming and other projects and so decided to pick up a 2wd L185 to use until I get L1801 rebuilt next winter.
So I find this nice clean almost one owner tractor with 866 hours and it even had the optional extra deep under-drive in it.... which I need when transplanting. Tractor came with a diy underbelly grader blade with 3 spool valve to operate 3 cylinders to independently raise and lower each side of the blade and to swing left and tight just like a real grader. Also came with a 5 foot 3ph flail mower which needs some repair. Got it with new battery for $1900 which was reasonable. Orange was repainted once and blue still factory and dry rotted original tires.
I have no need for the grader so I took it off and decided to take the quick attach Bush hog loader off of the L1801 and mount onto the L185.
So I examined the hydraulic system to understand how the diy grader blade units 3 spool valve had been combined into the system. The pressure hard line from the pump crossed over the tunnel just behind the tranny and there is a block mounted right on top of the tunnel (do not know if "tunnel" is correct nomenclature so correct me if I am wrong). There is a hard line exiting the block and connects to the rock shaft cylinder housing to supply that unit. On the side of the block there are fittings with soft lines attached.... those lines were pressure to and return from the 3 spool grader blade set-up. Those lines did not quick couple to the 3 spool valve but the quick attach loader I have is quick couple so I decided to to put quick couplings on the supply and return lines for easy hook up to loader valve which is a wobble stick.
This system is open center so..... oil must circulate through system constantly. So when I observed the block I wondered if the grader blade system and the 3ph system were in series .... OR was that block a divider valve. I assumed the block was a divider block and if so I would still have oil free flowing through through the 3ph system even though the grader/loader circuit would be closed when valve was removed !
Oops ... that assumption was a big mistake by this wannabe mechanic!!! Block was not a divider but just used to break into system .... so now I know the grader/loader system is in series with the 3ph system
Tried to start tractor with quick couplers on lines but not attached to valve... tractor would chug chug chug and then stall !!!!!
Oil not free flowing through system ... so I go to local hydraulic shop and get fittings to connect two quick couplers end to end.
Get back home and connect the couplers and start tractor and I get chug chug chug and stall .... same symptom
So I take the quick coupler off of the supply line and start tractor ... it starts and runs normally as oil discharges from the line into a bucket.
So I get air hose and blow through the lines but there is a blockage ... so I break lines to locate blockage and find no blockage. Sooooo I put 3ph lever in down position dropping the lift arms .... hook up lines and put 3ph lever in "up" position .... then blow air into system and lift arms raise and then air ceases to flow through !!!!!!!!!!!!
Soooooooooooooooooooooooo now I must have developed a second problem ???
This tractor was bought new used on a five acre horse farm to clip pastures and maintain a long lane back to the farm house. Five years ago the original owner sold the property and the tractor went to a second owner who rented the o house and seldom used the tractor .... soo tractor may have sat idle for a long time.
Sooo help help help .... what is the problem ???
Maybe a valve stuck in the 3ph system ?
With 3ph lever in down position air will not blow through.... and I did remove the oil fill plug so air could pass out of the case without restriction.
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