TO 30

[Lukie]

My "54 TO 30 lift will not stay in one place. It is either up or all the way down. I would like it to stay in place like my friends 9N Ford. Is this possible and how do I correct it? Thanks for any help, Keith

 

[Jerry/MT]

The lift system in the 9n and 2N Fords and the T0-30 are the same so I have to asume that you have a problem with your hydraulic system or your friend has an after market positioner to hold position. You realize that the Ferguson Hydraulic Systems only have draft control and do not have position control. They control the depth of a ground engaging implement like a plow. The Ford 8N has position and draft control. That is, you can set a position and the system hold that position.

Most of us flunked Mind Reading 101 so you need to tell us more about your problem if you want help.When you put your control lever in the up position does it hold there or does it sink? Is that the problem?

 

[Lukie]

The lift stays up as long as it is running but leaks down when cut off. The main concern I have is when I want to keep the lift between all the way up or down, such as pulling a trailer with my draw bar. I've rebuilt my pump, built up the wear that was on my control lever on the inside of housing where it had worn a groove over the years. When the lift is about 2/3's up I get a shaking from trying to keep it at the same height. It's been like this from the day I bought it. I've tried to adjust the lever at the 4 bolt pattern under the seat area, maybe I didn' get it quite right. Thanks for any help

 

[Jerry/MT]

Thanks for the response. Now we have something to work with. How fast does it leak down with the engine shut off. The standard is it should not leak all the way down any sooner than 15 minues. I have a '54 TO-30 and it takes hours to leak down.
You obviously have the instruction for adjustng the mechanism by the reply you sent and so you know that about 1/3 of the distance from the full up position there should be a neutral point where the lift neither drops nor raises. make sure that your control spring is properly adjusted before you start doing the recommendations below. If you have to adjust it, check and see if your problem goes away.

The most common cause for failing to stay up is a worn or leaking lift cylinder. Open up the right side plate on the hydraulic compartment and start the engine and engage the pto to drive the pump.UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES STICK YOUR HAND INTO THE HYDRAULIC COMPARTMENT WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING!
Get a flash light and watch the linkage as you move the lever from full down to full up. At the full up position, look up at the lift cylinder for fluid coming down. Any more than a few drops is a leak. if you have a leak here it could be worn rings or a cracked or scored cylinder. the lift cover has to come off to fix it.

Move the lever back and forth and watch the linkage. It should move smoothly. Move it to the point where it "shakes" and see what's happening. Using a mirror, look into the right front corner of the compartment and see if the vertical tube that carries pressurized oil to the lift cover is leaking.
Look at the bottom of the pump. Is there a lot of turbulence in the fluid and maybe some noise? If so, the relief valve maybe partially open due to some dirt, etc.

Now shut down the engine and reach down and feel the end of the control fork and make sure it's on the "T" shaped control valve stem. Sometimes they partially slip off. See if you can move the control valve in and out. It might have some dirt in it and may not move full range, allowing some leak down.

Hope this helps you.

 

[Anonymous-0]

your lift cyl.might be lose it has 4 bolts that bolt it to the cover and if the bolts are lose it will leak past the gasket or blow the gasket out

 

[Anonymous-0]

More weight will make it creep faster. You need to get the arms that hold the drawbar up. They mount to the top link attaching hole and replace the top link. They pretty much all creep down when the engine is shut off. Dave

 

[Lukie]

Thanks so much for the help, will try that.

 

[Lukie]

I don't have the instructions for the lift arm adjustment, I just saw that it could be adjusted and worked with it. Any advice for that would be appreciated, just in case I missed something. Thanks