I recently purchased a 1998 JCB 214 Series 3 backhoe that I am experiencing some hydraulic issues with. It has a certified rebuilt pump that was installed 2 weeks ago (previous owner (paving company) had overheating issue with the hydraulics, pulled the pump and sent it off for a rebuild). I purchased the backhoe without the pump installed, the PO installed the pump and delivered the backhoe to me. I am not experiencing overheating however, I have noticed that when I roll the shovel down and try to raise the loader, it stops about 1/2 way. If I roll the shovel back up, the loader will raise to its full limit. It also seems to be lacking power...with a shovel full of dirt, it struggles to raise it more than 4 feet. I have also noticed that when I raise the front of the tractor with the bucket and raise the back with the stabilizers, the front will drop back to the ground (and vise versa). Hydraulic oil is full. The hoe appears that it is weak as well but I dont have any issues with range of movement on it... Please help!
You need to start with the basics is the hyd filters changed when pump was installed was there any contamination from the pump fault, you will need to fit a hyd pressure gauge to see what pressure you have as far as it only lifts so far is the engine / fuel system good condition as a poor fuel filters will make a load of difference as well as far as the rolling of the bucket when you go to lift sounds like under the levers there is a universal joint to allow the levers to move in the correct orientation look to see if this has come loose it should run back and forth and side to side like a cross and not diagonal. Over heating could be caused blocked hyd filter ,a hyd service stuck in extender pedal or so also engine condition and radiator and hyd cooler , Also check suction lines from hyd tank to pump are tight not sucking in air also there is a strainer filter in the tank on hydraulics. These will have a unloader valve on the hyd valve block so if you raise boom all the way up to the top and keep lever pulled it will releive some pressure but if you then release the lever a small amount you will here the engine come under load again and by moving the lever in and out of this you can here the hyds coming on and off load best seen with a gauge on there .You may have a switch on the dash to dump this pump flow it was designed for when roading to give you more speed and less heat build up.