# David Brown 880 3 point linkage lift issue



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Hi I recently bought a David Brown 880 Selectamatic year approx mid to late 60’s…

It has an issue I hope someone can help with, as I don’t have a manual.

The 3 point linkage will not lift when the tractor is facing downhill, the oil level is correct, does anyone know why this would be?

I have heard it said, that many people run them quite a bit over full, what do you think about this? Would it fix it or would it damage it and blow seals out?

Or is there a simple reason as to why it will not lift facing downhill?


I would very much appreciate some light on this, thank you. DGS


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Good possibility that the pump pickup could be broken off or even a hole part way up the pickup tube, if you have a parts or workshop manual, have a look and see how the pickup is orientated in the transmission, how steep is the hill in question??.


----------



## deerhide (Oct 20, 2016)

That 3pt system is the most technical in the world! Get the books and when you see it you will take the tractor to a trained DB (Case IH) shop.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

FredM said:


> Good possibility that the pump pickup could be broken off or even a hole part way up the pickup tube, if you have a parts or workshop manual, have a look and see how the pickup is orientated in the transmission, how steep is the hill in question??.


Not steep at all this happens on any downhill slope.
Also what do you think about running it overfull, would it fix it or would it damage it and blow seals out?


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

deerhide said:


> That 3pt system is the most technical in the world! Get the books and when you see it you will take the tractor to a trained DB (Case IH) shop.


Great! thank you kindly for the advice


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Re my David Brown 880 Selectamatic year approx mid to late 60’s…
Does anyone have more input to this thread? The 3 point linkage will not lift if the tractor is facing downhill. The oil level is correct; does anyone know why this would be? Or is there a simple reason for it?
I would very much appreciate any input, thank you. DGS


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Your most common cause is as I stated before, a hole or crack in the pickup tube, another cause could be the pump is losing prime because of no oil at the pickup screen, a hole or crack in the tube and when you point downhill, the hole or crack is exposed.

Try more oil, but don't over fill the transmission, I wonder if the 880 has the correct dip stick?.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Thank you kindly Fred for your input... I have tried more oil, an extra few litres, no different. How would I know it the dipstick is the correct one or not?
Do you know, is the pick up pipe located in the transmission sump where the round internal filter is? Or if not do you know where it is?


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

50 years ago I could have told you anything you wanted to know about David Brown tractors, I had a 990, 995 and a 1210 in our tractor fleet plus an Inter 554, Nuffield 10/42 and a MF35 gas, and in my workshop I had workshop and parts manuals for these tractors, I feel certain that if you were to remove the PTO housing, you will find the hydraulic pump there .
What ever you do, don't change any settings on the lift and draught linkages inside the housing, troublesome to reset.
You say you tried a few litres extra, how much extra did you put in?, another question is, when you have the tractor facing downhill and you are trying to raise the 3 point, does the pump sound like it is squealing or making a noise ?.
http://vieux.tracteurs.free.fr/pdf/David_Brown_selectamatichydraulics.pdf
See if you can open this, it shows quite a lot inside the transmission housing, if you can't open let me know and I will see if I can attach some other way.

yes, the pickup is above the cover, have a good read of the PDF and print this out if you are able, its gold mate.


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Another thing you could try is with the tractor on level ground, try and make a temporary mark on the outside of the transmission housing of the oil level, grab a spirit level and drive to the slope and drive the tractor to where you have trouble, shut off the engine and leave in gear and apply park brakes, place the level on the mark and see how far the oil level drops at the rear of the tractor by placing the bubble in the level marks.

There is a trouble shooting section in the PDF, but nothing on the 3 point not working downhill, but there are "O" rings in the pick up line that can cause loss of prime too, it is all there for you to read and anyone else who owns a DB tractor.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Fred thanks so much for your help… I put about 2 extra litres of oil in, as said no difference.
It doesn’t appear to make any noise when I attempt to lift facing downhill.
Fred the link you attached doesn’t want to open


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

DGS, 2 litres of oil over the length of the transmission and diff housing will not make much difference to the oil level, that is a reasonably large area to raise.

I may have to attach the pdf in parts to your post, leave it with me and I will get it done, you will be able to save from this page to your computer desktop for future reference.


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

having trouble attaching the pdf file, might be too large, I am fairly certain that I can send by email, could you PM me your email address and I will get the whole 19 pages to you, well I hope so.

well look what happened, you have 2 copies to open now.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Yes correct, I wouldn't think 2 litres would make much difference.
Re the oil level, you mentioned the dipstick could perhaps be the wrong one... How could I tell if it is or not?
Yes got the file ok twice thanks.
Thank you Fred I really appreciate your help.


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

I guess the only way to check the dip stick is to find another person on this forum with an 880 and ask them, or google DB tractor forum in the UK, and ask someone there to measure their dip stick.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Yeah good idea Fred, thanks again for all your help much appreciated.
I'll let you know if and when I sort the issue.


----------



## FredM (Nov 18, 2015)

Your welcome.
have a sit and read the PDF and look at the drawings that covers from the filter to the pump before stripping down, the first thing I would be doing is checking the oil level on the slope as I wrote previously just to be sure that the top of the pump doesn't become exposed from no oil, if that was the case, I would say maybe the O ring between pickup and pump has failed allowing air to be sucked in, if this was so, just an unusual problem.


----------



## DGS (Oct 9, 2020)

Thanks again Fred


----------

