Ferguson TO-20 Hyd. lift control very hard to move

Merrit · Jun 26, 2015

Purchased a Ferguson TO-20 and the lift lever is very hard to move, in fact so hard I bent it once. Also on this tractor the Hyd. is either up or down, is there no holding in between ?

Fatjay · Jun 26, 2015

There's a very narrow inbetween. Lever up lift up, lever down lift down. But I've found that if you raise it a little bit, then put the lever just below lift, it will hold in the middle.

It won't opperate with the clutch in, and neither will the PTO, so plan your stops or be prepared to let out the clutch in neutral if you want action while you aren't moving.

BobinArizona · Jun 26, 2015

What Fatjay says . My TO-30 is the same but you get used to it after operating it a bit . My lift slowly leaks down which creates another problem when trying to make a nice even cut with a blade so I'm constantly compensating with the lever . PITA .

As to why its stiff I dont know , mine works real easy . If the lever isnt bent or tweaked it must be an internal problem . Somebody on the forum will know .

Steve@Advance · Jun 26, 2015

Sounds like the shaft the lever attaches to is rusted inside the housing. I've got a TO35, the draft control
was rusted solid. Had to disassemble it, beat the shaft out, wire brush the shaft, and clean the rust out of
the bore.

Charles in Aus. · Jun 26, 2015

Same thing occurred to mine as had Steve's , the quadrant lever was so stiff that it slipped on its mount or bent . There is a surprising amount of corrosion build up in that area , no oil ever gets to it . It is easy to remove the quadrant [ four bolts ] nothing will fall in or spring out . Clean the area and apply a good gob of thick water pump grease to it .

georgeR · Jun 28, 2015

it shouldn't be as hard, I rebuilt my pump last year, cant remember but there is a fork inside that operates the valve, that fork I believe its directly bolted to the lever there is also a spring in there, holding it, you should open it up not much to it, however to have a better look at it all, you are best to pull the dipstick plate off, there is a similar cover on the other side also, you can pretty much see it all through those holes

as for the in between, mine has a butterfly bolt on that semicircle marking the sweet spot, its a little off but yeah for the most part its up or down, last year I tilled some raw land with it, pulled lots of roots, rode with my hand on it making small adjustments all the time.

rbhuntn · Jun 30, 2015

(quoted from post at 14:11:13 06/26/15) What Fatjay says . My TO-30 is the same but you get used to it after operating it a bit . My lift slowly leaks down which creates another problem when trying to make a nice even cut with a blade so I'm constantly compensating with the lever . PITA .

As to why its stiff I dont know , mine works real easy . If the lever isnt bent or tweaked it must be an internal problem . Somebody on the forum will know .

If the 3 point leaks down during use you can always put a chain from where the top link mount to the tractor to where the lower link arms attach to the implement so that the implement can only lower a certain amount.

This is an old school remedy that we used to prevent bush hogs from lowering to far.

Just a thought.

BJ

Ferguson TO-20 Hyd. lift control very hard to move

Merrit

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Fatjay

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BobinArizona

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Steve@Advance

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Charles in Aus.

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georgeR

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rbhuntn

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