Toro/WH 522xi Snowblower not raising

fpappal · Dec 30, 2017

I put the snowblower on my uncles Toro/Wheelhorse this afternoon. After about 10 minutes the snowblower would not lift up. It was working just fine until then. Everything appears to be loose/free, I can lift the blower with a 2x4 under it. It is almost as if the hydraulic lift of the tractor does not have enough power to raise it. I disconnected the lift arm that connects the blower to the tractor and the lift bar moved just fine. I checked the hydraulic oil and it is right where it needs to be and looks clean. It is 18 degrees, the warmest it has been in a while, negative numbers at night.

Coincidentally a guy I work with is having the exact same problem with his JD. I have no way of warming up the machine to see if it is temperature related. Temperature has never been an issue in the past. Any suggestions?

gab · Dec 30, 2017

Takes about 10 minutes warm up time before my 520 Wheel Horse will raise the blower. Have 10/40 oil in the trans/ hydraulic sump. Was going to try 10/30 this winter but didn't think about it until now.

fpappal · Dec 30, 2017

What's odd is mine is doing the exact opposite. It worked great for first 10 minutes then it stopped lifting the blower. I have no idea what oil is in it.

gab · Dec 30, 2017

I don't know anything about those newer ones, haven't even seen over a half dozen where as the pre Toro Wheel Horses were pretty plentiful.

Daniel Borotkanics · Dec 31, 2017

In my experiences with garden tractor hydraulics your problem is one of two things. If you have plenty of fluid (now), you may have been low at some point and sucked in a little air which is causing cavitation. You'll need to bleed the system somehow. The other cause of a hydraulic system to stop could be the fact that hydraulic oil is similar to brake fluid. It will wick moisture out of the air and even a few drops in the system will freeze up and block valves. Only cure is to let it warm up and thaw. Had a 1974 AMF 1414 do this years ago when snow got blown on top of the transmission and somehow got into it. Had to let it thaw and drain and refill the tranny with fresh fluid. Hope this helps!

fpappal · Dec 31, 2017

Thanks for the replies. I tried it again today,same exact results as yesterday. The tractor lifted the blower for about 5 minutes then that was it. Today it is 3 degrees. It sat for a while and I decided to check the transmission oil again, this time it is at the bottom line on the fill stick. When I checked it yesterday it must have been still splashed around a bit so it read higher than it actually was. Owners manual says to use 10W-30, but of course I was out. Going to bring it up to the full line tomorrow and see how it goes. Hopefully that is the only problem.

Toro/WH 522xi Snowblower not raising

fpappal

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gab

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fpappal

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gab

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Daniel Borotkanics

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fpappal

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