Lift issues

[elongest]

New to me 52 Cub. It had been sitting several years. Cultivated the garden several times with no issue. Then the hyd. started intermittently surging when raised, and it had a noticeable whine from the pump when surging. Then then the lift became intermittent, and would only lift and lower only when it wanted to after the leaver was moved. Where to start, rebuild the pump or the lift control or both. Tractor being 70 YO I guess both. Are the screens in the control high failure items. They cost as much as the rebuild kit. Any comments?
Eddie

[Dale Finch]

Did you check the fluid level?
If the level is low (should be right up to the filler hole with the piston retracted), check for any visible fluid leak, such as around the front control rod.

If there is no visible leak, check engine oil level...if above normal, you might be leaking fluid at the hydraulic pump shaft o-ring (or seal on earlier pumps).

[BullDAWG]

+1 Dale, you beat me to it. That sounds more than likely it's just low on fluid. Check level, add some if needed to test it. But then you need to fix where it's leaking. ESPECIALLY if it's going into the engine oil as too much oil can damage it too and then your repairing or replacing 2 major components vs possibly 1 or only replacing a seal.

[elongest]

No visible leaks. Will check engine oil level and fluid levels tomorrow. Been sidetracked mounting rear tires on wheels and changing tires/wheels on 2 cubs. I did pick up a gal. of hyd. fluid from the Case dealer last week. If the oil level is high the next place to look is the pump right?
Eddie

[Don McCombs]

Yes. If the engine oil level is abnormally high, do not run the engine in that condition.

[elongest]

Update: The oil is high, about a half quart I guess, and I can't touch any fluid in the lift reservoir. I had bought seal kits for both items which should be here tomorrow. I will rebuild the pump now and save the touch control rebuild for a winter project. We got about 2-3 inches of rain last night so I can't get back in the garden for a while.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below is a post I made with info about checking and changing the Touch Control fluid, if you need it.
It tells how to remove the air from the system when refilling it.
Be sure to check the fluid level with the arms in the rear or down position.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106664

[Dale Finch]

You've probably already seen the HOW TO for the pump rebuild, but if not, here it is:

http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=141&t=44196

Also, if you weren't aware, there are two different Touch Control Block rebuild kits, depending on the part number of your block. Make sure you ordered the correct one...they are quite different.

There are HOW TO's for rebuilding both those blocks, too.

[elongest]

I did not know about the different kits when I ordered them. UPS will be here shortly, I guess I have a 50/50 chance to be a winner.

[BullDAWG]

I did not know about the different kits when I ordered them. UPS will be here shortly, I guess I have a 50/50 chance to be a winner.

Never my luck. More like a 90-10, with the 90% against me lol

[elongest]

Got the new kit from Stiner's, the new kits have extra O-rings, so the new kit replaces two older kits for the different controllers. Looks like I won the lottery. On top of that I have an excuse for having extra pieces when I reassemble the control.

[Dale Finch]

Still make sure it is for YOUR block. All the kits I have received do have extra o-rings, but they are still different. You might call just to confirm.

Here are the 2 kits that TM Tractors has...at the bottom of the page. Each one shows the corresponding block part number it goes with, if you click on them.
http://www.tmtractor.com/new/hy/hy_001newparts.htm

[elongest]

I rebuilt the pump and changed the engine oil, and the lift works great. I chucked up the gear shaft in my Dewalt 1/2 drill and cleaned up and polished the shaft. I will keep an eye on the engine oil level.
Thanks for all the assistance.
Eddie