# Ford 1500 Hydraulic problem



## rlt0698 (Jun 5, 2015)

I have a 1979 Ford 1500 compact tractor. The bucket valve was leaking so I had it rebuilt. They pressure tested it and it did not leak. Reinstalled it and still leaked. Took it back and they found the spacer/retainer plate on the bypass valve was warped. They flattened it and sent me on my way. Only this time they sent me with a pressure gauge to install on the outlet line. According to them it was supposed to read 50 psi or less when the engine was running. When I started the engine the gauge read 110 psi and I shut the engine off. Any ideas what might be causing the extra psi? Is maybe the control valve on the tractor bad or stuck open? Is there an adjustment on the tractor that I am not aware of?


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Greetings rlt698, welcome to the tractor forum.

They must suspect excessive backpressure on the return line to the sump as the cause of the leak. Is the leak fixed?? 

I've never measured return line pressure, so I have no idea what it should be. BUT it goes through the return line at a high rate, so I wouldn't be too concerned with 110psi backpressure.


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## rlt0698 (Jun 5, 2015)

*Thank you. This seems like a good forum.*

The problem has not been fixed. When I was told that the return line should not exceed 50 psi and I got 110 psi I immediately shut it off. I did not want to cause another leak. I know nothing about hydraulics but I also thought 110 psi on a return line was not much considering the hydraulics run in the thousands of psi. Don't know what to do at this point and I really miss using my tractor.


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

What did the hydraulic shop say about the 110 psi backpressure? If it was my tractor, I would go ahead and use it. Monitor the gauge for increasing pressure. IMO, the return line connections should hold much more than 110psi backpressure.


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

What are you calling a "bucket valve"? Is this an added on valve for a loader? If so, how is it connected into the hydraulic system? The 1500 is old enough that it did not come with the factory installed power beyond circuits the newer tractors have. A loader valve needs to be properly connected into the system in order to prevent the type of problems you're describing.


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## rlt0698 (Jun 5, 2015)

*Loader (bucket) valve*

Yes it is the loader valve. I have attached a drawing of how it is installed. Hope you can understand it and help me.


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## rlt0698 (Jun 5, 2015)

They felt it was excessive and recommended I not use it until I find the problem of which they had no idea what it was.


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

In your diagram you show two hoses connecting the loader valve to the tractor. I suspect this is your problem. Any number of tractors were sold this way over the years. With only two hoses, the valve is not being used in a power beyond capacity. MOST LIKELY, the loader valve is first in line for oil flow from the hydraulic pump. This means the return flow goes back into the tractor system into any remote valve(s) if so equipped, and then through the three point lift. All this adds some restriction(and back pressure). With a gauge in the loader return line as you described, you're reading whatever pressure is required to move oil through all these circuits. If you put a load on the three point, you will see this rise far beyond 110 psi. The loader valve may well have been capable of this when it was new, but perhaps not at this point. I see this play out many times over. A two port loader valve can, and will, create more than one hydraulic problem downstream, and the owner has a hard time understanding why. Just because "it's been that way for years" doesn't mean it was ever right in the first place.


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