Cold weather loader problem

[Driving Orange]

When I go out to move snow in very cold weather (sub-freezing) I have a problem dumping the bucket on my LB400 loader. All other functions work fine but I cannot get the bucket to roll forward. When I press the control lever to the right it does not move at all, like it hits something. The lever moves freely in all other directions and all the other loader functions (raise arms, lower arms, roll bucket backwards) work fine.

After operating the tractor for 20 minutes or so there will be a tiny bit of movement when I press the control lever to the right and the bucket will very slowly roll forward. Over the next five minutes the control lever will loosen up and the bucket will dump at normal speed and all will be working normally.

i have not had this problem in moderate temperatures. I will add that the tractor, an L-2350, is about 30 years old.

So what do you think is going on here, and how can I fix it.

Many thanks.

 

[85Hokie]

Sounds like you have water in the linkage of the controller - once frozen it will not allow the full movement to release?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Water in the detent caps
Need the serial number off the loader or at least picture of the control valve to know which one you have.

 

[Driving Orange]

The serial number is 13979.

Thanks.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It looks like you have the earlier model of valve.
There is very little information on that valve.
All of the parts for that valve are obsolete too.

I do believe you should be able to remove the bolts to get the water out.
Be very careful as there could be a spring or a check ball under the cap bolts.
I would remove the bolt and spray WD40 In the hole and work the valve and see if that helps.
You might need to heat the valve up to get the water out of the caps if that is your issue.
I would not recommend removing the caps as there will be multiple parts inside and I can't tell you the arrangement of those parts.

 

[Driving Orange]

Ok, thanks for the information.

Big snow yesterday so I will be on the tractor today and can check it out.

it appears to me that the hydraulic fluid only runs when the loader is operated. The fluid will not run, and hence warm the detent to melt the ice, when the tractor is simply idling. Is this true?

 

[Russell King]

The Kubota tractors use an open center system (for most models). That means the pump is just pumping the fluid into a pipe that goes to valves and dumps back into the sump. This is happening anytime the tractor is operating. The flow is really low pressure fluid until a valve diverts the fluid to a cylinder (or motor) and then pressure will build up between the pump and that cylinder causing the motion. Therefore, it will heat up but will be a slow process since there is no work being performed except to overcome friction in the pump and lines. But if you start to use it it will heat up faster. Just at idle it will heat but not fast or much.

You can use a blow dryer, heat gun or heater to heat just the valve body. But be careful not to heat it in any one spot too much to avoid melting any rubber parts inside (which is really unlikely to happen).

 

[Driving Orange]

So a small update on my problem. We had to move snow yesterday and the loader and bucket worked just fine from the start. Temperature when I started the work was 27 and overnight low was 16.

I checked records for the last time in January when I actually experienced the problem described and that day was in the mid-teens when I worked after an overnight low of 9. Apparently formation of sufficient ice in the detent caps to interfere with proper operation requires a more intense cold than I thought. Makes sense.

I was thinking of removing the bolt on the side of the cap and squirting in some antifreeze. The antifreeze I have on hand is RV antifreeze, propylene glycol. Would this be a good idea?

 

[JonM]

what i do is as soon as the temp gauge starts moving i drive the tractor slowly this will use the hst to heat up the hydraulic fluid. after a bit start moving all the conrrols through their ranges this will distribute the warmer fluid faster

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I was thinking of removing the bolt on the side of the cap and squirting in some antifreeze. The antifreeze I have on hand is RV antifreeze, propylene glycol. Would this be a good idea?

BAD idea (well good idea bad fluid type)
Use WD40 or a good spray lube or just oil.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

what i do is as soon as the temp gauge starts moving i drive the tractor slowly this will use the hst to heat up the hydraulic fluid. after a bit start moving all the conrrols through their ranges this will distribute the warmer fluid faster

NO HST on an Old L2350