# International 574 Hydraulic Problems



## adam montague (May 12, 2020)

Hi, good to be on here.. got my dads old international 574.. it’s always had hydraulic problems, my dad drove it for 20 years without breaks and jumping/slipping 3 point linkage.

anyhow, bead the breaks, now they work!

changed the hydraulic filter, was full of crap, sludge.

main problem now is power steering not working.!!!! Only works a little better when dead heading the remote hydraulic rear line.

Gears all work fine, it drives fine, no issues with T/A (PTO) .. the link arms can jump or keep dropping when you put a weight on.

I have no pressure testing equipment so looking at doing what I can without.

been told get the flow divider valve out and clean as it as maybe stuck open! Apparently it’s not replaceable due to being paired with the MCV housing.

been told to overfill the oil by 20 litres. Did this and oil started coming out of a join on the dipstick tube. Still no change to the steering. There are no other leaks on the system .. steering ram and hand pump are dry.

wondered if I should buy another old 2nd hand MCV - pull all the valves, tho I don’t have any special equipment. Clean them, re fit, even buy a new pump for the back of the MCV.

Any thoughts?


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## adam montague (May 12, 2020)

Some photos from my year down on the 574 .. the filter was BAD!!!


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## Dave Pease (May 13, 2020)

Hi Adam,

You do NOT have a good situation and you will continually be plagued with hydraulic “gremlins” until you get your system cleaned out.

My ultimate recommendation is to remove the three drain plugs in the bottom of the transmission and completely drain it. Then pull the top of the transmission and thoroughly clean all three compartments. In other words completely remove the crap before chasing your steering problem. Your system is simply way too contaminated. Certainly following a potential steering fix, something else is sure to follow. The tolerances in this tractor are way too tight to handle the crud shown in your photos. Once you have completed the cleaned and replace the oil in the transmission then move to replacing the filter (it will take several changes based on the crud your photos show) Sill, it is no guarantee following the oil change that you will not need to disassemble specific circuits that continue not to function.

If by chance you want to remove the flow divider as recommended to you, it is the largest hex plug on the bottom of your MCV Valve. (see below) Be extremely cautious when you are removing these spool valves as the order of parts and assemblies is critical, loosing a spring, a ball detent, changing the order of the parts upon reassembly, even slightly scratching a spool or housing and you will likely be replacing the valve. I can't caution you enough on a careful disassy. 

If you do not have at least the IT shop manual, I would not even start into the project.

The good news, your tractor hydraulics can be returned to “good as new” but unfortunately it will require a lot of cleaning effort. 

Hope this helps, Stay well


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## adam montague (May 12, 2020)

Hi, thanks for the information. After seeing the state of the old filter I already decided to try and flush the system & oil cooler, new filter and oil. On a positive note, the crud in photo was soft, no hard bits or ground metal I could see.

I can get hold of a 2nd hand working Complete MCV so think it would be a good idea to grab that.

As for removing the valve, I’m a bit worried about that in case I loose bits, from my research it does sound like that’s the steering problem tho. I have a shop manual for the tractor, it doesn’t go into massive detail but does show and list the valves



Dave Pease said:


> Hi Adam,
> 
> You do NOT have a good situation and you will continually be plagued with hydraulic “gremlins” until you get your system cleaned out.
> 
> ...


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## adam montague (May 12, 2020)

Ok, an update...

took out the flow control valve and found it had got stuck ,see photo. gave it a good clean up and polish popped it back in and steering is fine now. 

So everything’s working apart from 3 point link arms lifting slow with a weight on and they do begin to drop when raised with a weight on. Any ideas? 



Dave Pease said:


> Hi Adam,
> 
> You do NOT have a good situation and you will continually be plagued with hydraulic “gremlins” until you get your system cleaned out.
> 
> ...


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## Tom Whitman WHITMAN (Apr 13, 2020)

Is there a back flow check valve in that rear system? Had a similar problem with older Cub tractor and found check valve was corroded and not sealing well. changed and ok.


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## adam montague (May 12, 2020)

Tom Whitman WHITMAN said:


> Is there a back flow check valve in that rear system? Had a similar problem with older Cub tractor and found check valve was corroded and not sealing well. changed and ok.


Can’t see one in the manual! I’ve been focusing on the MCV and pump.. was wondering if the pump is not holding pressure. Tractors been worked hard all it’s life and My dad had it for 25 years and done nothing to it, I’m now fixing the problems, it does run nice tho considering


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## Tom Whitman WHITMAN (Apr 13, 2020)

Thanks


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## SWheeler (Jun 9, 2021)

Have to agree the system needs to be cleaned--thoroughly. A last step would be replacing the valve and steering assembly (a lot of work). I had a similar issue on a 454 (not quite as bad as your photos) after fully opening all three drain plugs on my 454 and removing the filter, cleaning the screen and then putting the filter housing back without a filter and tightening up the three plugs. Then pushed through 7ish gallons of diesel fuel (right up to the filler cap) . Let the fuel stand overnight then drained again--all three plugs. Then poured 2 gallons of oil through until it came out the open plugs. Then put in a clean new filter, cleaned screen again and added fresh oil. Repeated complete drain, fluid change, filter change and screen change after 5 hours. Everything works MUCH better now...will change again before putting her to bed for the winter.


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