Bucket won't stay in position

[netxtown]

BX1850d with LA203 FEL. Today - for the very first time - the bucket will no longer remain in any position. Regardless of start point, it will very slowly rotate downward. I have no leaks around the bucket cylinder, and fluid level is right on the money. That said, it responds to curl without any hesitation.

Now that i am writing this out - I suppose i should try a couple other things to see if the problem is isolated to the bucket - or is it system wide. I'll raise the bucket all the way up....and then see if it stays. Will also pull up the belly mower - and see if it stays.

ugh....I got a nagging lumpy feeling.....

 

[TBush]

BX1850d with LA203 FEL. Today - for the very first time - the bucket will no longer remain in any position. Regardless of start point, it will very slowly rotate downward. I have no leaks around the bucket cylinder, and fluid level is right on the money. That said, it responds to curl without any hesitation.

Now that i am writing this out - I suppose i should try a couple other things to see if the problem is isolated to the bucket - or is it system wide. I'll raise the bucket all the way up....and then see if it stays. Will also pull up the belly mower - and see if it stays.

ugh....I got a nagging lumpy feeling.....

BX1850d with LA203 FEL. Today - for the very first time - the bucket will no longer remain in any position. Regardless of start point, it will very slowly rotate downward. I have no leaks around the bucket cylinder, and fluid level is right on the money. That said, it responds to curl without any hesitation.

Now that i am writing this out - I suppose i should try a couple other things to see if the problem is isolated to the bucket - or is it system wide. I'll raise the bucket all the way up....and then see if it stays. Will also pull up the belly mower - and see if it stays.

ugh....I got a nagging lumpy feeling.....

watching with great interest, I have a similar hydraulic issue on my L5030, lift arm raises/lowers holds. Rear raises/lowers and holds; but bucket droops( I know, I know…a common problem in men my age). I’m new to tractors and hydraulics in general but seems I am losing pressure somehow somewhere in that line. Suggestions welcome!

 

[DustyRusty]

watching with great interest, I have a similar hydraulic issue on my L5030, lift arm raises/lowers holds. Rear raises/lowers and holds; but bucket droops( I know, I know…a common problem in men my age). I’m new to tractors and hydraulics in general but seems I am losing pressure somehow somewhere in that line. Suggestions welcome!

I suggest the little blue pill. Just make sure to take it with a lot of water, because if it gets stuck in your throat, you will have a very stiff neck.

For the tractor, it might be that the seals in the cylinders are leaking down and that the cylinders need to be rebuilt.

 

[netxtown]

I suggest the little blue pill. Just make sure to take it with a lot of water, because if it gets stuck in your throat, you will have a very stiff neck.

For the tractor, it might be that the seals in the cylinders are leaking down and that the cylinders need to be rebuilt.

I looked at the Kubota rebuild kit for the bucket cylinder - and just about fell clean off my chair at the price. $169 !!! A full set of seals for the same cylinder is available from Tornadoparts.com for $21. I am very tempted to rebuild it with the non-Kubota parts....

FWIW - other than the steering cylinder mess - this is the very first "hydraulic" issue of any kind I have had in the 15 years this little orange critter has been here. That said - I can now see that the steering cylinder mess actually sheds some light on this one. The steering cylinder just wouldn't hold - and same thing here. Thank YOU for that thought!

 

[TheOldHokie]

BX1850d with LA203 FEL. Today - for the very first time - the bucket will no longer remain in any position. Regardless of start point, it will very slowly rotate downward. I have no leaks around the bucket cylinder, and fluid level is right on the money. That said, it responds to curl without any hesitation.

Now that i am writing this out - I suppose i should try a couple other things to see if the problem is isolated to the bucket - or is it system wide. I'll raise the bucket all the way up....and then see if it stays. Will also pull up the belly mower - and see if it stays.

ugh....I got a nagging lumpy feeling.....

Bucket leakdown with no external leakage is usually the cylinder piston seals bypassing. Not uncommon and I just fixed an L1630 loader with that problem.

Dan

 

[Henro]

Bucket leakdown with no external leakage is usually the cylinder piston seals bypassing. Not uncommon and I just fixed an L1630 loader with that problem.

Dan

It could also be a control valve issue too though.

What I would probably do is lower the bucket to the ground when it is level or tilted up somewhat, then remove the quick connects for the loader bucket curl (but maybe with the BX there are no quick connects, if the valve goes with the loader when it is removed).

I would then raise the loader off the ground and watch what happened. If the bucket still did the same thing a cylinder issue would be indicated. If it held position, then a control valve issue would be indicated.

 

[netxtown]

WoW! Holy Toledo! I took a shower last nite with Dr Bronner's Heal Earth Peppermint body wash and today - MY BUCKET DOESN"T DROOP!

Fired her up this morning and parked it with the FEL all the way up and the bucket positioned so that gravity had the controlling hand. I also pulled the belly mower up which also brought the 3 point arms up. FIVE hours later.....everything is right where it is supposed to be!

It's a miracle! My little orange critter did heal thyself! (Now what do I do with that $21 hydraulic piston seal kit??)

 

[Henro]

WoW! Holy Toledo! I took a shower last nite with Dr Bronner's Heal Earth Peppermint body wash and today - MY BUCKET DOESN"T DROOP!
(snip)
It's a miracle! My little orange critter did heal thyself! (Now what do I do with that $21 hydraulic piston seal kit??)

Save it because tractors likely self heal only for a while before the symptoms come back...

Glad it is working for you now though...

 

[netxtown]

Save it because tractors likely self heal only for a while before the symptoms come back...

Glad it is working for you now though...

Your so right. I fired her up....just kind of ran the bucket fully in both directions. Came inside. Door bell rang from FedEx delivery. Went gathered up the packages - came back to the house - and the droop has returned. 10 minutes!

But the good news is all the other stuff stayed up, which means its going to be just a rebuild on the bucket cylinder - and i had already ordered the seal rebuild kit. And that's all ok...but i have never ever done anything with a hydraulic cylinder past looking at it. I'm hoping there are some YouTube videos on how to do it.

 

[Henro]

Your so right. I fired her up....just kind of ran the bucket fully in both directions. Came inside. Door bell rang from FedEx delivery. Went gathered up the packages - came back to the house - and the droop has returned. 10 minutes!

But the good news is all the other stuff stayed up, which means its going to be just a rebuild on the bucket cylinder - and i had already ordered the seal rebuild kit. And that's all ok...but i have never ever done anything with a hydraulic cylinder past looking at it. I'm hoping there are some YouTube videos on how to do it.

Just keep in mind that each section of the loader valve is essentially independent of the other, so without isolating the valve from the cylinders, you are playing probabilities.

I would think that with two cylinders, and one valve section, that the probabilities are in favor of a cylinder being the issue...

 

[DustyRusty]

With age, your cylinder gets leaky, and it just doesn't stay up for very long. At some point in time, your cylinder will not go up at all. When that happens, it is time for a rebuild with new parts. Todays modern technology can fix just about anything.

 

[netxtown]

It could also be a control valve issue too though.

What I would probably do is lower the bucket to the ground when it is level or tilted up somewhat, then remove the quick connects for the loader bucket curl (but maybe with the BX there are no quick connects, if the valve goes with the loader when it is removed).

I would then raise the loader off the ground and watch what happened. If the bucket still did the same thing a cylinder issue would be indicated. If it held position, then a control valve issue would be indicated.

there are 4 quick-connects on the right side of the FEL. I'll trace back to disconnect the bucket lines. One thing I noted when it started this was a quirky chirp coming from just under the display control panel. That chirp has now stopped. And if I am any where near right in my assumptions - that chirp was coming from the control valve.

Is this when I go apply for another bank loan for orange critter repairs??

 

[jyoutz]

BX1850d with LA203 FEL. Today - for the very first time - the bucket will no longer remain in any position. Regardless of start point, it will very slowly rotate downward. I have no leaks around the bucket cylinder, and fluid level is right on the money. That said, it responds to curl without any hesitation.

Now that i am writing this out - I suppose i should try a couple other things to see if the problem is isolated to the bucket - or is it system wide. I'll raise the bucket all the way up....and then see if it stays. Will also pull up the belly mower - and see if it stays.

ugh....I got a nagging lumpy feeling.....

I recently had the same problem. Of course it it the seals in the cylinder. I removed my cylinder and took it to a hydraulic shop. They repaired the cylinder (replaced seals) and I re-installed. Solved the problem. When you remove the cylinder, turn off the tractor, set the bucket on the ground, and cycle the joystick with the engine off. This relieves hydraulic pressure.