# Lift not 'holding'



## Dinebito

1952 Ford 8N Tractor.

This is my 1st Tractor so please pardon my ignorance of terms, etc... I know I'll make many mistakes.

Here's the Deal:

- There's a rather large, longer 'throw' handle w/ a gray knob to the right of my right buttcheek that makes the rear thingy go Up or Down. I believe this only goes up and down when I'm in Neutral with foot off clutch (or some other combination I'm forgetting -- neverthess, I can get it to work at some state)

- It'll make the rear thingy up all the way and all the way down just fine, as long as I'm operating the handle.

- If I pull the handle Up so it goes all the way Up, then level the handle to "hold" it in the Up position (hand off handle now) , it'll bleed down rather quickly (say 20-40 seconds w/ no load).

Note: It appears that there could've once been an 'operating range fence' for that handle to 'work' in, but it seems if there was once a stop mechanism there, its gone now. I see a wingnut thingy on outboard side, but the handle can, and does, move beyond any kind of a 'fence'. I need to move the handle out in this region to get it to go up and down.

- I yesterday hooked up the [rather heavy] plow to try it out for the first time. I attached it so that in the 'down-most' position, the blade was barely ground level. (I did this because I was unsure about this 'bleed-down' of the lift mechanism and didn't want this monster dragging on the ground too much).

- I could get the thing to go all the way UP by pulling back on that big lever, then putting lever to a 'hold' state, then goto clutch... but by the time I'd get it into gear and start do de-clutch, the darn thing would be back down on the ground.

* Am I crazy, and this lift is only a 'temp hold' feature?? It can't be, right? It must be broken, yes? (note again, 1st tractor ever). I'd expect I can put the rear lift at ANY position I desire (w/in range), and it should hold for a significant amount of time (hours before a bleed-down).

* If so, I'd expect that I can 'force' any implement down and below grade level, right? (I'd assume to do this by installing the implement/blade at a 'mid' position of the Lift Mechanism, yes? Then, once moving, drop the Lift Mechanism down forcing the blade below grade.


Thank you for any insights and suggestions you may have for me. I appreciate all input!!!

andrew in almont.


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## Hoodoo Valley

Well, first off, welcome to the forum! It sounds like you are refering to the 3 point hitch. It should hold in the up position, when the lever is moved toward the rear of the tractor. The 3 point hitch arms moves up in relation to how much the lever is moved back. If you keep moving the lever back until the hitch begins to lift, it will stop when the lever stops, and left as the lever is moved back. In other words, the lever works by position. It will not do anything as it's moved back, until at a certain point. If you put the lever in such a position as to lift the 3 point hitched impliment off the ground 6 inches, and leave it there, as the hitch drifts down, it will trigger the hydraulics to lift the hitch back up to that point again, based on the position of the lever. Does that make sense? The 3 point hitch on your tractor does not apply any down pressure whatsoever. Just gravity makes it go down.


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## wjjones

Sounds like what i have heard reffered to as a (2 party clutch) i think. It only powers the hydro/lift arms when the clutch is engaged/ up. When you press the clutch it kills the lift..anyone here that can verify this? or am i thinking of a different model and year?


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## Hoodoo Valley

Could be. You'd sure think that the hydraulic pump would operate from the engine rather than the PTO?


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## mowrey1999

*8n*

As far as I know the 8n does not have a live PTO or Hydraulics. On my 8n and a few others I have seen the Hydraulics only work when the clutch is released and your either moving or sitting with the clutch released, If you want live hydraulics I believe you have to move up to a 600 or 800 series which would be a 53 or later model when they used live hydraulics. As far as hydraulics not holding or a position control problem that is usually due to wear in the cam follower pin ,Since it seems the lift is working I would look at that and if you have an F04 manual which you can get online its not to hard to do , Just remove the top cover and linkage to replace , hope this gives you a place to start


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