Ford 4400 3pt hitch not working

Ryan in FL

New User
I parked my tractor for a few weeks and the 3 pt hitch will not raise. A year ago when I got it, the 3 pt hitch was stuck in the up position. Last year I pulled the lid off and cleaned the cylinder up. The seals seemed to be in decent shape so I didn't replace them. It worked fine until now. Any ideas where to start? I am guessing it might be the pump. The three-point hitch can be raised and lowered by hand so I know the cylinder isn't seized again.
 
Stuck unload valve, lifting lift arms and let drop hard with engine running sometimes knocks loose. Lift arms are not connected to piston.
 
Troubleshooting this depends on what style hydraulic pump you have. That model could have the piston style pump located on the Left rear corner of the engine or it could have the gear pump located down on the Right side below the foot board.
If you have the side mounted piston pump I would try bleeding it.
See what that does. If it works for a while then stops working again I would start looking at the seals on the ends of the suction line and/or for any tiny pinholes or rust spots on the suction line.
If they suck any amount of air they will lose prime and your lift will not work.
If you have the lower, gear pump I don't know why it doesn't lift but would put a pressure guage on the system to see how much pressure it's making. For both styles of pump a pressure check will help you determine if it is the pump or something under the lift cover. Possibly a stuck unloader valve?
All of this assumes you know it needs oil in the rear end as that is the reservoir for both styles of pump.
Post back with your findings/progress. We're all of us learning here.
 

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