Major Hydraulics 'click' off when using log splitter

[dukeyfox]

Hiya you Fordson fans, this is my second post as I only joined the other day and posted this as a reply to another question....dooooh. Having owned a Major Diesel for almost 20 years now and have hardly needed to put a spanner to it in all that time I haven't had much need to refer to this site - until now. I don't even know what year it is save to say it has the drive wheel on the offside which I use for a saw. I've been reading with some interest about people having difficulty with the hydraulic system working certain implements including log splitters, and that's my reason for posting. The splitter I bought some years ago; it has a two way ram on it and works perfectly well on my Case 1594 and my neighbour's Zetor. (The problem is that I have a mountain of wood that should have been split and dry stored months ago but hasn't been due to an on going starting problem with the Case.) Each time I try the splitter on the Major, the valve 'clicks off' which means I have to release the lift lever and re-set it again. In other words, the blade splits the log and then the lever needs to be re-set before I can bring the blade back up again. I can't understand why this happens. The pressure feed is from the valve at the left hand side of the seat and the return feeds directly into the filler opening on the back of the tractor. The hydraulics easily lift a tipper trailer with several tons of timber which I would suspect uses far greater pressure than the log splitter, but each time I put the log splitter on it clicks off and I have to release the lever from the 'free-flow' position and re-set it again in the open position. Such a great machine but she doesn't like the log splitter. Any ideas what can be causing this with the old lady? Rusty - yes, tatty - yes, like a moving scrap pile when I drive it? - yes, starts first time every time no matter what the weather? Hell yes! Best working tractor I have? - definitely.

[oehrick]

Hi and welcome

It would help to know which model back end your tractor has, the Major / Power Major with fixed bracket on the top link or the NP or Super with the position control, may not make a difference but could help.

Are you saying that once the ram has reached the end of its travel, you reverse it on its own up / down spool valve and nothing happens or are you trying to do this from the tractor lift lever ??

Once the ram hits its end stop or develops peak pressure the pressure release valve will blow, it may be that this pressure prevents your ram controlling valve spool from changing over to put oil on the opposite end of the cylinder - don't see why this would not happen on the other tractor but its a start, if with the ram going down you reverse the valve does it rise, if so how far down does this happen before it 'locks up' ? I've known spools fitted in other applications where inlet & exhaust ports have been crossed which can lock the spool.

[Brian]

The simple and easy answer to this problem is to set the Pressure Relief Valve on the log splitter control valve to blow off at a slightly lower pressure than the tractor relief valve. This allows constant work without having to keep lowering the main control lever on the tractor.

[dukeyfox]

Hi you chaps and thanks for your replies. Can you just give me a few days to get over this dreadful flu so that I can inwardly digest and attempt your remedies once I am out of my sick bed. Cheers.

[dukeyfox]

Hi it's me again not quite over the flu but managed to have a go (with my trusted man Donald) on the log splitter. Changed the spool valve on the splitter in case that was an issue but still the same. Neither spool valves I have include the necessary adjuster to enable the pressure to be adjusted. What I'm trying to do is run the splitter independently from the arms. I 'sat' the splitter on the ground and disconnected the arms so it wouldn't lift the splitter into the air each time I brought the ram downwards. The problem still remained. The pressure release valve still 'clicks off' at various stages of using the splitter. It's a little manic to have one man using the splitter and a second pre-empting what he's going to do with the lever so he can make the necessary adjustments. I'm still a little thick on this subject I'm afraid but I don't see a way around it at the moment. There's only one control lever when in the ideal world I really need two. By the way, I can confirm my major diesel is a 1953 model. Still seeking solution please.

[Brian]

Couple of things you may or may not have thought of, on a 1953 Major you have to chain/hold the lift arms in the lowered position to get external services oil to flow and build pressure without blowing the unload valve. (Which is the "click" you hear).

If you still have 90W gear oil in the back end it may be hard to push through the ports on a modern spool valve which are usually designed to cope with hydraulic oil of around 10W.

Depending on what couplings you are using on the pressure and return lines any restrictions through these can give problems. We used to remove the insides of any coupling on the return line or, if using the plug in type, use the most expensive ones as they have a better return flow rate.

[shepp]

There is not a problem with your tractor, this is what the pressure relief or unloading valve is supposed to do to protect the pump and other hydraulic components from damage when the pressure rises to a set value. However the valve chest and unloading valve were re-designed with the introduction of the Power Major to a type that has less tendency to blow off too suddenly and which retains the full pressure in the system even after blowing off until the control lever is lowered. You might be able to obtain a complete assembly from a breaker and install that, it might reduce the number of times you will have to re-set the control lever but will not eliminate what you see as a problem entirely. Also McConnell made an assembly that bolts to the face of the valve chest that enables a constant pressurised oil flow to an external take off point without blowing off the unloading valve, with a lever to select linkage or external. This would be for operation of a McConnell rear mounted ditcher, forklift or possibly hedge cutter. On linkage setting you get the normal operation of the unloading valve, on external setting with the hydraulic control lever up you get a constant supply of oil under pressure to the external take off point which by-passes the unloading valve and which is regulated by a separate pressure relief valve within this assembly - this valve re-sets itself after blowing off, no need to touch the hydraulic control lever. I have one on one of my early Majors, but I would think they are rare as hens teeth! If you could find one of these, off a tractor that has had a forklift on it for example, that would solve your problem. As a point of interest, on a regular Major you don't HAVE to have the lift arms secured down to operate external services - it just reduces the delay you get with the arms rising to the top before you get pressure delivery to external services. Realistically, there is not much you can do to solve the problem other than finding one of the McConnell type assemblies.

[brockwood]

i must say i have never seen a control valve without a blow off its often a allen headed stud under a domed nut

[dukeyfox]

Wow and thanks to everyone who has contributed such invaluable information. I feel a bit of a novice at this and of course, I am. One of the first things I tried was to locate another valve control unit. Easier said than done. Easy enough to find but dammed difficult to pay for if it's the right one, so that's a non starter. So if I can locate a McConnel unit (as shown as an image on a previous posting I've found) can I take it that it just bolts onto the VCR once the face plate has been removed? Will that then tap into the high pressure system and possibly alleviate the problem? One thing I found this Sunday interestingly enough was that by one person working the implement and me controlling the valve lever, there's a 'sweet spot' that works the splitter and gives enough pressure for a successful operation. I'd toyed with the idea of drilling a small hole in the control bracket and inserting a small spring pin to hold it in place, but there's barely 1/64" between it working successfully and lifting it too high whereby the valve blows off. I don't think that drilling could be accurate enough for that. I even lifted the arms up and wedged them in the up position so that the supply passed through without having the lift the arms, but that didn't work either. I've asked one guy up here about one of those units and he has a PTO driven pump that will do the job. So being the coward I am, I may just take him up on it, but the McConnel unit sounds a better and possibly cheaper option to me. I'll let you know how it goes and thanks again for all your help chaps.

[Daves rusty bits]

Just to clarify, do you fix the tractor hydraulic lever in the up position to give constant pumping? There is a hole through the lever and quadrant you can stick a nail or pin through to keep the lever up on Power Majors,but perhaps yours is different? Dave

[shepp]

With regard to the McConnell unit, yes, you take off the face plate on the valve chest, be careful to ensure that all "O" rings are in place, and then simply bolt the unit on in place of the face plate. That will give you a full pressure feed to the external service pipe - when your lift lever is in the raised position and the selector lever on the unit is set to external - that bypasses the Fordson unloading valve and is governed by a conventional pressure relief valve within the body of the McConnell unit that re-sets itself in the normal way after discharge. The only problem is actually FINDING one, but I wish you good luck!

[oehrick]

If you do win the lottery and get a McConnell or other auxilliary valve, you will need longer bolts in place of the originals - see once it gets espensive it just keeps going