Talon 304 G2 FELI Slow and Weak

David,

Thanks for your input.  I had my wife p/u a hyd filter in town today and changed it after supper.   Yes, the FEL has its own pump – power steering has its own for sure and rear lift and rear remotes are run from final drive . . . .correct?  That's what it looks like anyway.  Also, rear lift was working same as always – fast and strong. Only the FEL was slow.

The filter had brass particles in it.  Flow is better, but now I have to face that I have a larger issue.  Seems like it could be anywhere as the sump is the case for the entire drivetrain.  There's gotta be quite a few brass pieces in there.

I'll have to drain the system and see what I have from there.  Any advice or heartfelt condolences are most welcome.

Andy

Yes, both lifting and curling were slow.  Operation seems to have improved since changing the filter.  I'll know more tomorrow after I give it a better workout with a load on it.  I'll turn the compost pile with it and see if it's good as new, or just marginally better.

I'm more concerned about the particles that were present in the filter.

David,

Thanks.  A guess is still helpful.  

It would seem unlikely that issues would develop with 4 hyd cyl all at once.  However, is it possible to get air trapped in them (or just one of them)?

Regarding the pump . . . first a correction from a previous post of mine.  There are 2 hyd pumps on the tractor.  1 for power steering, 1 for everything else.  The rear lift is operated off of the same hyd pump as the FEL and it has always, and continues to, work just fine.  It's got lots of oomph and is good and speedy in its travel.  My issue is with the FEL performance only.  This would seem to eliminate the pump from being the source of my trouble.

I've seen sometimes manufacturers tout lift time and dump time for their FELs.  I've been trying to find those stats for this FEL, but have not had any success.  It would be nice to compare the operation of my FEL against such metrics to take the subjectivity out of my assessment of the FEL operation.

I have had intermittent trouble related to the valve body, usually when lowering it though.  I'll move the joystick to the bucket down position and the bucket lowers slowly – like the valve is only part open.  I have to move the joystick back past neutral and then into the down position again before the bucket will lower itself at a normal rate.

Questions –

Any idea what cycle time should be for this FEL?

If I were to try to measure pump pressure, what is considered a normal output?  

What can I do to rule out all other possibilities before buying a new valve body?

Thanks to everybody who have chimed in with knowledge and personal experiences with this type of issue.

Old Fart – I hear you about the quality of the stock disconnects.   I had them off – ready to replace – but after getting them working again by soaking in clean diesel, I opted to reinstall them (for now).  I don't think they contribute to my loader issues as the rear lift and rear remotes work fine and are plumbed thusly – hyd. pump–>quick discon–>valve body in–>valve body out–>quick discon–> rear lift/ rear remotes.  It seems my issue is in the two valves that operate the loader.

Tinbender – Thanks for your input . . . . my  valve body looks as you described yours.  My plan right now is to remove the valve body, disassemble the thimble ends  ( . . .more if required) inspect, clean, and repair if possible.  

If I screw it up, I'll replace it, if I can fix it, I'll reinstall it.

David – thanks for saying a brand of disconnect you have found to be reliable.  Last thing I want is to be standing in the aisle at Princess Auto getting talked into buying the same low quality that I already have  and not having a clue if it will be any better than what's already on there.  I will look for Pioneer brand to replace existing.

I might disappear for awhile until I get the work completed and/or get parts etc., but I'll be back to let you all know how it turned out.

Thanks again,

Andy