I have an 07 S185 bobcat and the loader arms settle very fast. If you raise the loader all the way up it only takes about a minute for it to sink to the ground. This machine has a valve next to the seat to do this, I'm wondering if there's something wrong with that valve or if there's an internal leak somewhere else that could be causing this. Is there a way I can just plug off the valve next to the seat to see if that's the cause?
If your seals are good at the loader arms (not leaking) .It is your control valve. The dealers sell the rebuild kit.
I suppose it could be either valve though, the one next to the seat or the one on the top of the pump. Is there an easy way to tell which one is causing it to settle?
The valve next to the seat is a lift bypass. If it is leaking internally it could cause this problem. With the arms down you can remove and cap the inlet to the bypass valve- it is the line coming from the control valve- the outlet line is going to the tank. Once line and fitting are capped lift the arms and see what happens. If it still drifts you could have bad lift cylinder packings, port relief problem or other internal valve problem
Looks like part sman nailed it. My 963 loader arms were settling with a load and a rebuild on the control valve solved my problem. It sounds like he know's S185 much better since I don't own one. Good luck and post up when the problem is solved.