Three point lift on my NAA Ford tractor

Hello Everyone!
I wanted to check in with you for some advice as to what may be going on with my tractor"s three point lift.

A while back, it wouldn"t lift unless I cranked up the throttle to full speed on the engine. So, I took the top off (under the seat) and put a kit in it. Which included new gaskets and new o-rings on the piston. I found the problem to be in the gasket near where the pressure comes from the pump. It had blown out. So, replaced, put it back...and presto...it worked like new.

Well a few weeks later, I had roofers come out to re-roof my home. In the deal that I made with them...I would use my tractor to lift the singles onto the roof. I had NO idea just how heavy those shingles were going to be.

So, on the first try, the rear wheels came off the ground. So unsafe. I decided to put some counter weight on....so I hooked up my three point mower for the extra weight. It wasn"t enough. So, ended up stacking cinder blocks on the mower deck...and lifting all of it with my three point for added ballast. And the back wheels stayed on the ground and I was able to lift nine packages of singles to the roof at a time.

But, when the three point was lifting all that weight, I could hear the squealing of the relief valve inside the three point. I had no choice but to get the singles on the roof...so I continued on until I got the job done.

The next morning I started the tractor...the three point wouldn"t lift. The lever below the right hand side of the seat seemed to work much more freely then before. I worked with it for a while...finally the lift raised. But it was slow...and when I moved the lever just a bit to lower...the three point would fall to the ground.

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what I did to my three point life. By using it...it seems to be getting better at lifting...but when I turn the motor off with the three point raised...it falls to the ground immediately.

So, I am looking to the experts for advice. What should I be looking for? Anyone else run across this? Just know...I will NEVER miss-treat my tractor in this way again. I gambled and lost on this one. Thanks so much for your help!

Roland Jackson

Oh, I wouldn't beat my self up too bad, even though I might have thought that maybe 3 at a time was OK instead of 9 at a time. Fact is that if trying to lift too much weight with the three point broke it, it wasn't good to begin with.......you just uncovered its weak spot. Now, you need to find where the fluid is leaking when it drops. Look inside. Mirror/light.