601 Series Ford Tractor Hydraulics Won't Work At All

rlew2125

New User
I have a 601 series Ford tractor and I cannot figure out what is wrong with the hydraulic system. The 3-points lift will not do anything, I have tried every combination possible of moving the levers. And yes it has fluid. I checked the Hydraulic pressure and it reads NOTHING, but I don't believe it's a bad pump as I swapped with a different one and got the same result. PLEASE help I would greatly appreciate it.
 
rlew2125, Welcome to the Ford board. Have you tried bleeding the system? If not, search this forum for posts on how to do it and give it a try.
 
checking pressure on a system that has an unloading valve setup may not show you much unless you can load the system.

normally you'd chain the lift arms to the axles, screw a gauge into the top hole ont he blank cover, then run the lift up and see where she relieved at.

if the unloader is stuck in the unloaded position.. you probably don't get more than about 40 psi ont he gauge fromt he backpressure valve.

that's assuming you even have flow. if no flow.. prime pump.

post back
 
Thanks for the response. I have primed the pump, and i even ran a hose from the bleeder screw back to the hydraulic system fill plug and i had a good solid air free stream of fluid. I should add that when I took the top cover that covers the 3-point hydraulic cylinder off I had NO fluid come out at all with the tractor running. I've read several posts on here and haven't found any that describe the problem i'm having.
 
I've heard a lot of talk about the unloading valve, but haven't taken it apart yet. Was wondering if it might be something with the check valve, back pressure valve, or one of the safety or relief valves?
 
*Update* I just took the unloader valve out, it was not stuck at all... Will replace o-ring and put back in.
 
When you pulled the round PTO cover plate and looked inside, was the linkage moving as it should. Moving the touch control lever should be moving the valve on the cylinder. If its not moving I would be checking the cam follower pin. It may be badly worn or broken.

Keep us posted.
 
What are you referring too" took the top cover off"? Do you mean the oblong plate with 4 7/16 bolts and one 5/16 bolt holding it on, under the right of the seat.? or the whole lift chest? With these off you had no oil? Did you look in the left hand side cover for oil movement. Some how, I am not understanding this.
 
(quoted from post at 15:39:58 08/14/14) What are you referring too" took the top cover off"? Do you mean the oblong plate with 4 7/16 bolts and one 5/16 bolt holding it on, under the right of the seat.? or the whole lift chest? With these off you had no oil? Did you look in the left hand side cover for oil movement. Some how, I am not understanding this.
Yes I mean that oblong plate, my manual calls it 'accessory plate'. Took that off and followed manual's procedure for Hydraulic Pressure test, NO Pressure. Plugged gauge in at test port on side of hydraulic compartment and at the pump. Took the accessory plate completely off and figured I should have oil pour out when I started the tractor, no oil flow. Took the side round cover off with tractor running and there was kind of a small fountain of oil streaming up in the bottom center of the hydraulic compartment. I didn't see any oil coming from anywhere else. I didn't check the functionality of the control lever linkage while it was in the tractor. Right now I have the hydraulic lift cover with cylinder attached out of the tractor. Control Lever linkage appears to be working fine, but i could be wrong...? The cam follower pin IS WORN it has somewhat of a flat spot on the it's back side, but I can't imagine it's enough to keep the system from working all together.
 
If you can pump oil out of the bleed hole at the pump and don't have oil with the accessory plate off, you have lost oil pressure thought the transmission or out the pipe up the side of the center housing, which you can see with the lift chest off. Actually if as described you should be able to run the engine with the lift chest off and see where the oil is going. Watch the bottom right front corner of the hyd reservoir.
 
I think Wayne is onto something here. If you have the top cover off the center housing, turn the engine over, but do not start it, you should see oil come up the vertical tube in the center section and come out of the top. If you do not see oil, there is something diverting it. About the only thing that can do that is the pressure relief valve in the bottom of the center section or a ruptured tube in the bottom of the transmission. Check the oil level in transmission to make sure it is not over full. The pressure relief valve is replaceable. Drain the oil and remove the plate on the bottom of the center housing to access it.

If you see some wear on the cam follower pin, replace it. Then follow the adjustment procedure in the I&T manual. Most likely it will not need adjustment, but make sure you check it.
 
Just tested it out, I was able to start the engine
and there was no oil coming out of either of those 2
tubes. But there is still a fountain of oil coming
out in the bottom center of hydraulic housing. The
transmission level is correct. If I get time later
on today i"ll drain the hydraulic oil and make sure
I don"t see any obvious problems before I go buy the
relief valve.
 
With the top cover off you should have oil coming out of the tube and no oil swirling at the front right side of the sump. If you want to try replacing the pressure relief valve, remove the plate on the bottom front right of the center section. The valve can be removed by threading a bolt into it and levering it out. The pressure relief valve is available as an after market part, I think this site has them. The gasket for the plate is only available from a CHN dealer. If you don't have a dealer close by, try Messicks. If my memory is any good, I think there is an O-ring on the pressure relief valve that should be replaced.

Good Luck.
 
*UPDATE* I think I have found the problem, just hope someone on here can confirm it for me as i've never been inside this compartment on one of these tractors before. It appears to me the cast iron piece at the bottom of the hydraulic compartment where the two steel hydraulic lines connect to is busted.
a166016.jpg

a166017.jpg
 
What looks like broken cast should be there. Here is a picture of a center housing I have sitting out in my shed. Crappy picture, but you can see the hole.



That opening is there to feed hydraulic fluid from the sump to the pump.

BTW, the cylinder poking up from the bottom behind the two vertical tubes in the picture is the pressure relief valve. You can see the hole in my housing what the valve once resided.
 
*UPDATE* So I took the plate off the bottom of
hydraulic housing belly to access the relief valve
and when I removed the plate this pipe plug
(pictured)fell out on the ground. This seemed very
odd as it didn't seem as though anyone has had that
cover off for a long time. Guess I'll just screw
that plug back in up there where it appears to
go(directly below the one hydraulic tube pictured,
the one on the right center of picture) reassemble
things and see what happens.
a166036.jpg

a166037.jpg
 
I think you found the problem. Here is a picture of the same area on the bottom of the cracked center housing I have out in my shed.



You can see the plug in place. That looks like a drill passage for the vertical pressure tube. Without that plug in place you can't build pressure.

Keep us posted.
 
I just got in from reassembling the tractor.
Everything worked great! I did notice your picture
shows that plug screwed all the way in. I was only
able to thread mine in about halfway and it got real
tight. Down the road i may need to rethread that
hole, just glad to see it working though! Thanks so
much for all the help you guys have given me.
 
rlew2125 and Kurt,
excellent thread with good pictures.
Haven't run into that myself, but it is in my head now, and will be on my 'maybe the problem is here' list for the future.
Thanks
 

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