FORD 3910 SLOW HYDAURLICS

My neighbor has a Ford 3910 and the hyd lift is
slow. We figure it may be low on fluid and he does
not have the manual. Where do you add and check hyd.
fluid? Any other ideas of problem would be
appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time and
response. Allen

Being low on fluid should not cause it to move slowly. If it is low enough to cause problems, the symptoms would be jerkiness from air bubbles in the lines or lack of movement altogether if it was extremely low.

A few things to check first.

1. There is a flow control knob down on the right side just below the spot where the lift control handles pivot. It looks like a half circle and has "F" and "S" marks on it with arrows. Try moving it all the in the direction of the "F" arrow. ("F" is for fast and "S" is for slow).

2. There are 2 handles that control the lift. The outboard handle (the one farther to the right) is for position control and the inboard handle is for draft control. If you want position control only then you should leave the draft control handle all the way down. Having the draft control handle part way up while you move the position control handle can slow things down.

3. The hydraulic fluid may be too thick in the cold weather. You don't say where you're located, but if you're anywhere that the temperatures are below 40 degrees or so this time of year, then the fluid may be thickening up on you from the cold and not be able to flow as fast. If you run the tractor and use the hydraulics for a half hour or so, do the hydraulics speed up some?

The rear axle is the hydraulic reservoir for the 3 point hydraulic system. Since that model has wet brakes inside the rear axle as well, you must use a UTF that meets or exceeds the Ford/New Holland M2C134D specification. This type of fluid should not thicken up in cold weather unless it gets way down below zero.

Anyway, to answer your questions on filling and checking the level.

If it came from the factory with a cab, then it will have a fill tube with a plug in the end and another tube with a dipstick for checking the level peeking out from under the cab on the left side near the rear axle.

If it did not have a cab from the factory, then the fill plug is on top to the rear axle center housing under your right butt cheek when you're sitting on the tractor, and the level check is a hole down on the right side of the center housing with a square headed pipe plug in it, near where your right heel is when you're sitting on the tractor. Fill it until oil just starts to drip out of that hole.

Thank you Sean for the most helpful response. I will
pass this to my neighbor. Regards, Allen