Tractor help needed please
 

DH borrowed the neighbor's tractor to bush hog around the pasture and move his big Lincoln welder onto a trailer. Everything went fine bush hogging and he even used the front bucket to push some limbs into a pile. When he brought the tractor down to the barn and raised the front end loader up it will no longer move. He can't get the front end loader to go up or down. The tractor still moves and the bush hog still works, but the bucket stays all the way up.

The tractor is a John Deere tractor with the number 2150 on the side. The neighbor is out of town and we have NO way to ask him what to do, or how to get the front end loader lowered. Any suggestions???

Emke,

I once had a Massey with a selector switch to choose if the hydraulics would serve the loader or the lift on the back of the tractor. That does not sound like what you're dealing with, but just in case, look for a switch/diverter somewhere on the tractor that might be used for this purpose. Mine was just under the seat. Good luck.

Hook a heavy chain on to the bucket, have someone hold open the control valve and then 'snap' the chain, this may loosed it. Another way to get it to drop is to release the fluid line but that is a big mess of sprayed fluid and it will come down like a rat trap. A third option is to find a big low horizonal limb and back up under it so it touches the bucket. Wait for more options before trying these, some one else may have a better suggestion.

You really have got to be kidding me. You are recommending these solutions for someone with a borrowed tractor? Unless they want to buy a new front loader and/or hydraulic system and also have a neighbor that never speaks to them again, I would just wait for the owner to return. Yet another prime example of why I never, ever, ever loan out my John Deere tractor. Only my hired hand and I run it period.

jim

......................Both hydraulic cylinders are Bi directional , so to get the FE loader to lower itself the fluid must reverse direction and push Down on the piston(s) . Sounds like the hand controller is not routing the fluid to the proper end of the piston to push down on the arms . .....Or , maybe the hydraulic reservoir is LOW on fluid , there should be a fill hole on the body of the tractor to add more fluid . ....Or , if there is a external filter cannister it maybe clogged for some reason thereby restricting the flow of hydraulic oil too the FE loader . The filter cannister will be on the Return side which is the LOW pressure return to the body of the tractor . fordy... :help:

thats a good point
never borrow something you cant replace

You hubby probably has accidently hit a valve lever with his foot or arm and the hydraulics are diverted away from the front end loader. The owner will know how to reset the valve to control the loader. Check to see that all the hoses are completely seated in the quick couplings. If a hose has become disconnected it will behave in this manner also.

UH - why not call the John Deere rep and ask them. I figure they would know - don't you think.

what ever you do stay out from under the loader!! some deeres had a valve on the pump to disconect the pump so the engine turns over free of torque. fordys idea of the level is well worth checking,just top up with the oil the owner has used in the trany. and agmans poped connecter if hooked up through them.does the three point still lift?

Call the owner and let him know what is going on

You are low on fluid, have had it happen to me more than once.

With the owners input, add fluid, raise it some more, and then it will lower.

DO NOT FORCE IT DOWN IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, FORM, or IDEA!!!

OK some loaders have a prop rod that flips down and locks the loader up, it'll be held in place with a clip pin that may have fallen out. It should go up a little to take off the presure. If not some control blocks have a pretty cheap connector from the handle to the actual valve, perhaps a pin has worked loose (fallen out) between the two. If its not either of those then my money is on a flipped valve closing the system. Does the bucket dump and retract? Hmmm another question (that may void the loose pin idea) is it a 2 handle control block or a single handle multi directional block?

Thank you for your helpful answers.

The bucket won't move either. Both the bucket and the thingy that lifts it are still stuck in full out mode, with both cylinders fully extended. DH checked all the hose connections and they seem tight. He checked the fluid level and it is clean and full.

The control handle moves up and down and left and right. And it is all one unit. Is that what is meant about the multi directional block?

And to BackwoodsIdaho, all of our neighbors borrow and loan all of their tools and equipement. It is what we feel being a good neighbor is all about.

YuccaFlatsRanch, what a brilliant idea! I will look up a number and call first thing in the morning.

As I previously stated, the neighbor is out of town and won't be back for 2 weeks. We have heard that it isn't right to leave a front end loader in the up position. That is why we are trying to find the best way to lower it, so we can inform the neighbor about it when he comes home.

.................When the tractor Mechanic works on the engine he will raise the Bucket ...ALL the Way UP and leave it till he is thru , so it can sit for along time without any harm being done .
.................Also , start the engine , let it warmUP , and THEN , check the Fluid level . fordy... :eek: :buds:

Is this a quick attach loader!!??? Perhaps one of the hoses to the back (or side mounted) hydraulic couplers has popped out! There could be shut off valves there too.

If I was in that position I would call a JD dealer and have them send out a mechanic to fix it. If I borrow something and it breaks then I fix it or pay to have it fixed no matter what.

It does not harm the loader to be in the 'up' position. It is dangerous for people to be around it, so that is the recommendation to always lower them quite low when parking.

Be safe. If there is something wrong here, you never know when that sucker will drop like a rock. Don't be sticking arms around frame members when trying to fix on it, etc.

There are many things that could be wrong. Most are pretty simple, from just a level flicked the wrong way or a loose or dirty hyd connection, air in the pump. But, some can be more serious. Bad pump, sheared pump drive, etc. Or in between, like a sticky or broken hyd joystick valve issue (that single lever that moves in 4 directions), or a bad popit valve (relief valve), etc. It is not the cylinders itself since both sets are not working - it is something between the engine & the loader valve that is not working. Likely it is something simple. But it is hard to say without being there. Does the 3pt still work? Does the pump strain when you try to raise or lower the bucket? Is there any jerking or banging or anything happening when you move the lever?

How did it happen - any jerk or noise & it was done, or just out of the blue, or did he lift as high as possible & bottomed out the lift cylinders, or???? There are 20 clues that were given to you if you were familiar with the machine, but hard to know when a person didn't see it happen...... You know how it is.

I'm not so familiar with JD hydraulics - usually closed center which is a little different than the old open center type I'm used to. If they have a single pump for everything then it would help us to know if the 3pt is working up & down - but possibly the loader has it's own pump.

Until you get it figured out, I would not use the tractor at all. If the pump itself is not pumping oil, but trying to - it will run dry, and wear itself out. This is not good. Some JD's use this pump to send oil across several rock shafts in the tractor, and if no oil is moving these shafts will seize up - at $4000 a piece to get repaired. I don't _think_ your tractor is designed that way, but I wouldn't take the chance - as small as it is.....

You can go to www.ytmag.com and ask about it in the JD section. Be as specific as you can with all the symptoms you can possibly remember from what I said. How is the loader joystick hooked up to the pump, quick connects, or a seperate pump, or? Etc. Lot of smart folks there.

--->Paul

A better website would be tractorbynet.com, ask in the jd section, there are several owners of that model of tractor that frequent that website.

Call your local JD dealer, they should be able to help you.

More than likely a lever or control knob has been moved shutting off hyd fluid flow to the front end loader controls. I wouldn't worry that anything has been broken. It won't hurt to leave the loader up, just don't be underneath it.

Does the 3ph still work? Is this a gear shifted tractor or a hydrostatic one?

If the 3ph still works then the hydraulics are working, fluid just isn't getting to the front end loader control valves.

I really appreciate all the answers. The owner must be a mind reader or something because he called this morning to ask if we could run by and check on his house and horses. :clap: When DH told the neighbor about it apparently this has been happening to the neighbor frequently and he has another quick connect on order to repair the return line. He told us what he does is take off the return hose, put something to hold open the ball, in the quick connect, to relieve the pressure, as he is working the control. The bucket it now on the ground and we lost about a gallon of fluid which we will replace before we drive it back down to his barn. Another neighbor is going to come over with his tractor and load DH welder onto the trailer.

So I feel much better about him knowing that it happened and understood it wasn't our fault. The neighbor even told us to charge the fluid to him, since it was his tractor's fault, but DH is going to pay for it, since it was on our place when it happened.

Thank you once again for all the help you have given us.

Good for you. The same thing happens here in Idaho. The difference is that one, people don't borrow something they don't know how to use or service two, they don't borrow something that they could not pay to repair if broken and three, they have enough sense to call someone knowledgeable for help not post to a web site when they have a problem. But then again, this is Idaho, not Arkansas so I guess I am not surprised.

Well, I guess I can honestly say I am glad I DON'T live in Idaho. Because if all people were as "nice" as you, I would soon find a kinder state. Have a nice day. ;)

Guess BackwoodsIdaho isn't familiar with Homesteading Todays "Be Nice" rule. Glad you got it worked out emke!

Wow, that was some reply!

Anyhow, glad you got it figured out. It is not uncommon for those quick-connects to give problems. Would be ways to get it reseated without losing much fluid, but as long as no one got hurt & you got it working, good to go. :)

--->Paul

Repair
 

Same thing happened to us with a neighbors tractor. It had all sorts of things break down on it each time we borrowed. My husband would fix them then we would return it to owner which would say "Oh forgot to tell you about that problem it has". Needless to say we finally got our own tractor and quit borrowing.

Why not just call a JD dealer, and ask them for some info about the tractor?
I wouldn't allow them to work on it, and it would be very expensive, but, it is an alternative.
You could also use a search engine, and look it up on the computer. I did that with out old AC dozer, I even got some very good info about it.
Sharon

emke,
You sound to me like a wonderful neighbor..and your neighbors sound like wonderful neighbors too. I'm happy to hear that you and your neighbor were able to figure the problem out over the phone.
Indeed........Good neighbors-good friends help each other..look out for each other..do things for each other.......but they don't expect miracles from each other.

I'd loan my JD tractor to a good neighbor/friend anytime. Not saying Every neighbor..but certainly a good neighbor/friend. I wouldn't expect them to be experts on any equipment I'd be willing to loan them either.

I'm happy for you and your DH..and happy for your neighbors. You all sound like good down-to-earth folk who really enjoy helping each other.

Take care.

An excellent point was made to ask if a particular piece of equipment is prone to a certain problem now and then. Also helps to inform those using them. Hired help had my Ford 4000 up in a remote field helping to drag fence row trimmings to a brushpile. Walked all the way back and then had to wait until I come back from town to tell me tractor wouldn't start. Problem with this tractor is the safety switch on top of the transmission is subject the wires coming off if brushed against. Since it is under a rubber cap, hard to see. Problem took less than a minute to fix, but cost me a couple of hours of his time.