March 2009....

After a cleaning the fuel tank and fitting the fuel tap we managed a short bit of running of around a couple of days until the time came to use the plough again and the hydraulics would not lift.

 

For a year or so we noticed adjustment may be required for the hydraulic system as operating the main control leaver became less responsive, the upper stop on the quadrant was actually removed to allow the main leaver past to allow the full lift for the implements.

 

As usual the breakdown was not in the most convenient location being in the middle of a field. After checking the oil level, which was very very low we decided to lift the top cover as something didn't look right. First impressions were not good. The remaining oil was thick and had emulsified in to lumpy mayonnaise, obviously a problem so no new oil was going in there without a good clean down. Our attention then turned to the hydraulic lift cylinder and control mechanism which looked barely serviceable covered in rust and the qualitrol selector leaver was seized. See images below.

 

September 2009....

A number of months passed and in September 2009 we decided to get the old girl in to the workshop and make some progress. A couple of day were spent spooning out the remains of the oily goo from the transmission and hydraulic pump housing. The PTO shaft was removed to gain access in to the rear diff section as the oil is shared with the hydraulics. The rear hydraulic mechanisms were removed and stripped, cleaned and regreased ready for painting. One of the automatic hitch vertical link rods had been bent years ago so with the help of the sledgehammer and my Grandfathers forge anvil we set the rod true.

 

The hydraulic control gear gave more of a fight to take apart; all the cotter pins and clevis pins were rusted in solid. The control quadrant was ceased on to the shaft - all problems to overcome.

 

By the end of September the Hydraulic control components in the top had been stripped cleaned, lubricated and repainted. A repair job was carried out on the main control shaft housing (to lift quadrant) where we had to cut and opening to get the woodruff key from the shaft - removing that woodruff key was the most infuriating thing so far.

 

October 2009....

The hydraulic lid is back together after sourcing suitable replacements for the destroyed clevis pins. New cotter pins fitted all round along with all new O-rings and a new return oil filter. Both the return and relief pressure valves were stripped, cleaned and reassembled.

 

The flow control valve unit was stripped but unfortunately we couldn't free the seized locking screw mechanism. The external service unit also got the same treatment.

 

The main qualitrol control spring was removed buy cutting the rod its supported on as the threads were seized. The rod was refabricated, painted and fitted back to the top cover using a new felt washer from R.H Nuttall (a new cork friction pad for the main control leaver was purchased from here also). Many other linkage parts got an undercoat and two top coats of Empire Blue. A new external service knob and gaiter were purchased from Agriline, some thing the tractor had never had in our ownership.

 

November 2009....

Very early on in November the hydraulic we rebuilt; using the hydraulic setting instructions from the Fordson Tractor Pages wiki we adjusted the draft and qualitrol springs ready for refitting. We had a little debate as to what Dad and Rich interpreted the instructions to mean regarding the different measurement faces. Eventually we agreed on a method and checked the settings over and over to be sure we got the settings as close as possible to the published clearances - we didn't get the setting perfect but we were both happy enough to refit the hydraulic top cover and test.

 

We were side tracked before testing the operation of the hydraulics so we could strip the brakes and respray the whole rear end blue and paint the rear wheels orange. At the end of November once we were happy with the painting job we rebuilt all of the rear linkage and filled the transmission with oil. On testing the hydraulics the tractor started beautifully and the hydraulics functioned perfectly, our only mishap being leaving the auxiliary service port open and engaged resulting an a puddle of oil on the workshop floor. Videos can be seen of the first test here and also a demonstration of the qualitrol functioning here - both videos are also available on the Videos page of this site.

 

So far without any load on the lift arms we are very pleased with the results of the rebuild. Everything is functioning as it should. We have much more control over the lift and its also lifting higher than it ever has before. To finish off we treated her to new check chains and 'D' shackles. - JOB DONE!