Ford 8000 Hydraulics

This is a re-post from the general tractor forum. One of the guys there said to post here to see if anyone had any more information. Long story short our "new" 1968 8000 only builds about 500 PSI at the remotes. Nothing would actually work until we pressed on the brakes while trying the 3 PT or remotes. The fluid was way over full, and full of water. New fluid and a filter change and still no change in pressures. The owner ordered a new pump, but we don't have a manual for this tractor. Any idea on how to get to the pump? I really don't want to just start taking things apart to find it. Any idea on if it could be something else we are missing? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Micah

that happened to fil 9000, brakes were bad and sent brake lining parts thru out the whole hyd system totally destroying it. He had it worked on twice in 1 year. They could not get it clean enough to stop destroying pumps. finally traded it or a 7080 AC. Good luck with it.

I know that the brakes are working well on it. Around 4600 hours on the machine. I really need the hydraulic pages from the manual. We need to get it fixed so we can start working dirt with the thing.

When the pump is removed you will see sq oring mentioned on tractor talk. It's likely the pump, what he means about the brakes is the brakes are in hyd oil and any wear from disc is in the oil. Heavy brake use row crop farming [planting,cultivating] wears the pump fast. There was a factory update in '75 as needed for tractor with history multiple pump failures.

We have an 8000, 9000, and TW10. All have 2 pair of remote connects on the rear, plus the 3 pt lift arms. One or both of the remotes have a float position which is a push beyond the normal "down" position. IIRC, if one of the remote valves is not in the center "neutral" position, the other one and the hitch will not work. I have occasionally found one lever bumped into this "up" or "down" position, but did not realize that I must have accidentally bumped it. If the tractor has sat all winter, it sometimes causes one or both of the remotes to "lock" into its set position. I can usually get it loose with penetrating oil sprayed at the valve spools close to the right tire, and then wait, then jiggle, repeat a few times and it will free up. The spools have replacable O-rings which may be stuck or damaged. The right side remotes takes priority over the hitch lift. I can't remember if the left side takes priority or not. Check all this stuff before digging into the belly.

The main hydraulic pump is in the belly, located behind the hydraulic connection plate just forward of the right rear axle trumpet. It also has a small hyd pump mounted piggy back which gives the hyd flow and pressure to shift the Dual Power and diff lock. My experience has been that the small pump wears out sooner than the main pump, as it has very tiny gears within an aluminum housing. The housing gets scored from the crap in the oil. I have not had any problems with the brakes, but then I don't ride the right brake either.

I suspect your problem is in the remote valves or their control circuit. Have you changed the big hyd oil filter? It is a very good filter. The smaller filter just catches crap coming back from the remote circuits, like maybe some junk from a seldom used remote cylinder on the plow or disc.

To get to the main hyd pump, you need to split the tractor behind the tranny. Although I was told by someone that the pump in the 8000 is just barely small enough to come out through the right side hydraulic plate. I imagine you'd want to take off the right rear tire and wheel to get enough working room. I kept the wheel "on" and did the rear split and replaced the small pump.

One other possibility is the female quick connects at the top rear of the tractor may have a "lock" lever on each connect. I don't remember if the 8000 had this style, or if this was on one of the later tractors. Each lever (about 3" long) is labeled "open" and "closed". The little lever can lay flat or stand straight up. If you have this system, be sure to set both levers to "open" when you have a remote cylinder hooked up. I have screwed this up on occasion.

Hope the problem is solved with the remote valves.

Paul in MN

Thats a huge help. I should be able to get down there tonight to check some things out on it. We did change the fluid and spin on filter. The 3pt arms are spongy now at best. The issue regarding the remote levers makes sense. I can tell where the detent is for the float position, but the entire mechanism is stiff.