Just purchased a 1998 New Holland Lx665 w/ 2800 hrs on the meter. Overall good condition for the year. Here's the problem I'm having: After being warmed up and lifted from the rest position, the loader arm will creep down fairly quickly. I don't think it is the cylinder packing because I cannot duplicate the problem with down pressure. Also, while loader arm is creeping down, if pedal is pushed very slightly forward (to move loader down) the loader arm will actually come up. Has anyone experienced this problem before? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
So I ran the machine again today and realized I made an error in my previous statement. While the loader arm is creeping down, if you push the pedal very slightly BACK (to move the loader up) the loader arm will actually move down more quickly then it is already moving.
I try to stay away from skidsteers but if nobody else is chiming in I'll give it a shot. As far as I can tell, when you slightly raise the control, the valve is opening up the port from the rod side of the cylinders to the return, if the seal is bypassing, then this will reduce the pressure and let it settle faster. If you want to test this, safely hold the boom up halfway, remove the line from the rod side of the cylinder, and lower the boom onto the cylinder. If the cylinder piston seal is good and the valve is leaking then there won't be any oil coming out of that end of the cylinder. If oil comes out of the loose hose, try the other side. There is usually one seal facing each way on a piston, one can leak and the other be fine.
from your desciption it sounds like a leaking load check... not familiar with your machine or the control valve thats in it...
Thanks guys. My mechanic thinks its the lift check as well, so I'm going to replace it as well as repack the lift cylinders. Hopefully parts will arrive and get installed this week. I'll let you know if it fixes it.
Problem solved. The mechanic installed the load check first and it did not change anything. So he repacked both lift cylinders and that fixed it. The piston seal on one side had a nick in it and we think it was the culprit. Thanks for the help.