Hey team, new to the forum. I recently purchased a 2005 Bobcat S150 on auction. It was not operational upon purchase so I had to forklift it onto my trailer. I’ve got it started but upon start the tilt cylinder goes into dump mode, lifts the front wheels off the ground, and the tilt pedal seems stuck. I can unhook the lines from the cylinders and lift it manually back into place. Start it up, same thing. I lubed everything up with Free All hoping something was just stuck. I pulled the side plate and everything is actually really clean around the control valve. The machine had an engine replacement shortly before I bought it and the job wasn’t finished (all brackets not hooked up, drive belt wasn’t adjusted). I finished all of that to get it running. What do I need to check? Air in the system? Solenoid issue? Thanks.
Have same issue on my S250, but it's the boom up/down. If I let it run for a while it thaws and works fine. Not sure what has water in it, but just started a few weeks ago.
The symptoms are similar to aux hydraulics stuck in on position A quick test is to connect something to aux lines that is capable to rotate forward and reverse If whatever you hook on aux hydraulic lines spins as soon as engine runs , then check it out
Bobatack, thanks. I’ll give that a look.
Are you saying upon starting the engine that the tilt function is dumping on its own uncommanded?
Yes, that’s exactly what’s happening.
The tilt pedal is hard but doesn’t seem stuck in the tilt dump position and the control valve doesn’t like the valve is open.
i'd disconnect the tilt linkage at the valve and see if theres movement in the spool. maybe the centering spring at the back of the valve is the problem
Crew chief, thanks. I will definitely give that a shot and report back.
Disconnected the linkage at the spool, I have movement in the pedal but the spool seems stuck. I know there’s not a ton of travel in those spools, but it was barely moving either way. Can I pull the port relief/anti cavitation for the tilt to relieve pressure on the tilt and check it for signs of wear before moving onto the tilt spool. I’ve yet to find a good troubleshooting flow chart for this issue.
The tilt spool valve turns clockwise/counterclockwise by hand fairly easily. I’m going to check the tilt spool lock solenoid since it’s pretty easily accessible. Could the solenoid be holding the spool open into dump mode? I was a truck mechanic and have also worked on tractors around the farm. This is my first skid steer and I’m feeling a bit out of my element.
I tested the tilt spool lock solenoid and I’m getting 5.3 ohms. Does anyone know the appropriate range of the lock solenoids?
Thought I’d post an update although it seems like it’s me responding to me since my initial post. So I checked the lock and BICS solenoids and they all tested good. I took a step back and thought about the machine and how I got it, purchased from auction, new engine partially installed and thought what else hasn’t been finished or was maybe in the works. My initial look at the hydraulic level sight glass looked like it was full maybe too full (ball at the very top of the glass). I hooked everything back up, turned the key on and was able to move both pedals so I worked each pedal to their maximums for about 15 seconds each direction. I did this a few times, got out and checked the sight glass again. Now it was low (ball at the bottom). I topped it off to normal operating range, fired the machine up, and everything worked as normal. Like I mentioned before, I’m new to the world of skid steers. Has anyone ever seen anything like this happen? Hydraulics can be fickle and it was obvious there was a bunch of air in the system, just seems odd that it would lock into full dump mode upon startup. I’m ecstatic it’s working now, just puzzled.