Loader self-leveling works going up, but not down

Harley Monster

New member

Equipment
L47 Backhoe,Loader, Forks, Top&Tilt, scraper box, rake
May 9, 2011
16
0
1
Temecula, CA
I have a year old L47 with just over 400 hours on it and I am having a problem with the loader’s self-leveling function.

After adjustment the bucket or forks stay level as they should going up, but there is no compensation when moving in the down direction. If I start with the forks level at max height they are nearly vertical when they touch the ground. Kubota says no negative angle is acceptable.

I have the Workshop Manual, there is an adjustment for raising and another adjustment for lowering. I have adjusted the up motion so the forks are staying perfectly level as the boom goes up; however, no matter how I adjust the lower leveling adjustment there is no change. I have screwed the adjustment all the way in and all the way out and either way the forks do not compensate at all and are almost vertical by the time the boom is all the way down.

The factory specs are 0 to 4 degrees rollback going up and 2 to 6 degrees going down. No down or negative angle is acceptable.

I believe the problem is in the controller.

I had the self-leveling problem before the 400 hour service when all fluids and filters were changed, changed with all Kubota filters and Super UTD2.

Does anyone have any ideas?
 

Harley Monster

New member

Equipment
L47 Backhoe,Loader, Forks, Top&Tilt, scraper box, rake
May 9, 2011
16
0
1
Temecula, CA
Solution found: The lever switch used to engage loader self-leveling control uses a push/pull cable down to the loader control valve, it is the center cable of three. I loosened the bulkhead nuts on the cable and let it take a relaxed position while the switch was in the self-leveling position then tightened the nuts in that neutral push/pull position. The cable had been set so the self-leveling spool was not able to engage fully.

When testing it was the first time since I have owned the tractor, since new, the down self-leveling was working, then it was just a matter of trial and error adjustments to get forks to stay within factory specs. Now I have about 2 degrees of roll back during lifting and lowering. The forks will now be a joy to use.

I hope this helps someone else.