# more hydraulic problems on a ford 3000



## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

Hi all,
I replaced the PTO shaft seal on our Ford 3000 and was told it still leaked, so now it' s back...and a new problem has shown up....

the 3 point lift arms begin to lift as soon as the tractor is started, regardless of where the lever is moved. It goes all the way up, then there is a whining noise that comes from the assembly that bolts to the top of the rear end that houses the 3 point lift arms (Sorry I don't know what it is called). Just under the seat, there is an additional device bolted on that has a handle and closed off ports that would be used to direct pressurized hydraulic oil through hoses. The whining comes from in or under that device and then hydraulic oil seeps out from underneath it. 

I need to buy a good manual, I know, but in the mean time, are there any tricks or ideas of what's stuck in there and if it can be repaired without dissassembling or rebuilding it?

ray


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

WEll, I'll reply to my own post. Roy Kidd, down at Gum Springs garage says the valve body (the device with the handle and the closed off ports) is a device notorious for going bad. when it does, it causes the symptoms I have. he says to take it off, throw it as far as I can (that's my idea, actually) and just put a plate back in place. He says that aught to fix it. And Yes, I ordered a manual while i was there, too.

ray


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## SouthernSon (Jun 14, 2008)

I am not familiar with tractors. Hydraulics in general, yes. A valve sticking and allowing fluid to partially bypass would give the symptoms that you describe. the older that hydraulic fluid gets it breaks down and forms "varnish" over moving surfaces. Industrially speaking, hydraulic fluid should probably be replaced every couple thousand hours of use. Unless you use a micro filtration unit to clean the fluid to remove metal particles.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Ray, when you changed the PTO seal did you notice any wear mark on the shaft? I suggest that you do some research on the seal OD and ID and find a double lip seal with the correct dimensions and install that. One of the lips should be on a virgin surface creating a seal. Put some grease on the seal prior to installing. I would like to help on the lift but that is outside my comfort zone on that model of tractor. The noise appears to be from the draft control bypassing oil pressure. Have you tried to shift the lever to see if it stops whining?


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## Gideon (Sep 15, 2005)

Has your control rod gotten bent or the adjustment slipped allowing it to go all the way up?? wc


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Ray, you are aware if the draft control lever is set way incorrect that the lift will climb as you described? The lift is influenced by the setting on the draft.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

I was going to mention the draft control lever as well. Read up on it in your manual, it may have been moved to the 'draft' setting instead of 'postion' setting. You want it in 'position' most all the time, unless you know what you are doing.....

--->Paul


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

i have tried replying to this post 3 times now. I'll try again...
thanks for the information. I just got the shop manual and feel like i should read some before asking more questions.
I'm beginning to think i have the control knob set wrong or the draft lever up or some such, we'll see.


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## hintonlady (Apr 22, 2007)

Hintonladys DH says:


The lift arms going up as soon as the tractor starts indicates the control linkage is damaged or the control valve spool is stuck. This is all under the lift cover. The added remote valve bolted to the top of the cover actually gets oil first and whatever is not used by it goes to the lift cover to work the arms. If there was a problem with the remote valve on top then the lift arms would not work at all. DO NOT throw that remote valve away. If you don't use it you can install a block off plate in its place but someday down the road someone will want that valve on there and to buy a new one will run several hundred dollars.
To repair your problem the lift cover will need to be removed from the tractor. Either the control linkage is damaged or came apart or the valve is stuck inside. To make it work properly after repairing it you really need a couple of special setting tools from the manufacturer. It can be adjusted without them but is difficult and must be done before reinstalling the cover assembly onto the tractor.


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

Hintonlady, thanks for the explanation. I did find that the draft lever was flipped the wrong way. Now it's back to working properly, although the lift does fall slowly after it has been set. Also, oil still leaks from underneath the remote valve. In the manual, it looks like it has many o-rings for seals. i'm thinking I'll remove it and check and replace the o-rings. Hopefully that'll solve the leak. I need to figure out about why the lift slowly falls next.
Sheesh, it seems like this tractor has decided it is going to teach me about what can go wrong with tractors until I can fix the things for a living.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

ray,
A checkvalve (steel ball and spring) or the rings in the lift cylinder is leaking oil past the area it should be sealing. This is an internal leak so it cannot be seen. If the amount of leak at the remote valve is excessive, that could be influencing the leak down but I doubt if the leak is that bad. My best guess would be a broken or weak spring not holding a ball in a checkvalve in place.


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

Thank you, agman. Now it's up to me to decide whether to work on it now or save it for winter...we have another tractor to use.


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## raymilosh (Jan 12, 2005)

An update, I replaced the o rings in the remote valve body. It was quick and easy. (I bought a kit of O rings from harbor freight for cheap and it has hundreds of o rings in a wide variety of sizes).
The tractor no longer leaks any oil from there. 
I will work on the lift problem in the winter, following agman's suggestions.


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