IHC 1000 Loader (Air in the Lines or something)

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Hello, I have an IHC 1000 loader on my Super A for years and worked just awesome. Now I have been experiencing a milky yellow (lemon meringue looking) over flowing from the breather after running it for a while and the boom and bucket is jerky when raising it. Thought moisture in there or something so I dumped all hydraulics and cleaned filter which wasn't milky when I dumped it.
Filled main reservoir and filled vertical auxiliary on loader to proper levels w/ Traveler hydraulic fluid which I have always used. Fired her up and bleed all air bubbles out main tractor hydraulics by pushing both hydraulic levers up and down 10 times. Went to loader side, did the same with the boom and bucket 10 times. Once things got warmed up noticed, raising boom there is a shuttering of air or water or something, pump is normal does not get hot, bottom metal hydraulic line from pump does appear to sound like there is something rushing through it creating air pocket or something. I don't know what to do but take every line off and blow it our in case there is a piece of trash in it or in pump. The IHC owners manual says to check all suction connections, I really don't know what that means, as I have tighten what I can on the hydraulic connectors on loader control box. Any help or direction would be awesome. Miss not being able to use this.

[inairam]

Did you remove the metal hydraulic line from the when you drained the system? Did you do any other work on the hydraulics? Other than the noise is everything on the TC and the loader basically working?

If everything is working I would add some more oil if needed and keep cycling the TC and the loader. The oil has a tortuous path to get back to the reservoir in the TC from the loader. When I first moved my IH1000 from a cub to my 130 It took some time to keep cycling everything and refilling the TC reservoir until everything worked smoothly. I would also cycle them together: the TC, the loader, back to the TC back to the loader instead of the 10 times by themselves.

[Denny Clayton]

When cycling the system, is the fill plug removed?

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Which one on the TC or the loader?

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Hello Inairam: Thank you- no I didn't remove the metal hydraulics. No other work on hydraulics other than snugging lines to verify no air infiltration. Yes TC functions properly and loader other than the jerky motions it makes, like air or water in the lines. How did you keep filling the TC and loader without putting the return hose from loader reservoir to main TC reservoir back on? Did you just fill incrementally the TC reservoir screw on till finger depth 3/4" below fill line line function check 10 times repeatedly until the boom and bucket didn't make that ramming sound?

[Jim Becker]

(This is a little different than the others suggested but give it a try. As long as you keep the reservoir topped off, no cycling procedure is wrong.) There should be one line that runs from the bottom of the loader reservoir into the Touch-Control filler. Top off the Touch-Control reservoir (full, forget the 3/4 inch thing) and connect that line. Once you have made that connection, leave it connected. Do not reopen it to add fluid. Top off the leader reservoir. Then cycle the loader several times (and keep topping off the loader reservoir as needed) to get air out of the loader cylinders. After the loader has been cycled, top off the loader reservoir and cycle the Touch-Control several times. After that, cycling the loader another time or two may help.

[inairam]

How did you keep filling the TC and loader without putting the return hose from loader reservoir to main TC reservoir back on?

I installed a T-fitting with a plug.

[inairam]

Jim, I found when I did install on my 130 of the IH1000, that the loader reservoir had to be very full if not overflowing for any oil to get back to the TC reservoir for the bleeding process. When there was flow it was low. the TC reservoir was low. I felt since the TC reservoir is what feeds the pump so it was important to keep that full.

I tried to fill from the loader side but it was not until I filled from the TC side I could not get it to smooth out. I may have given up too soon on the loader side but I felt that feeding the pump more directly appeared to smooth it out faster. Not sure.

The PO of my cub with the IH 1000 loader removed the TC and used a pump from a numbered cub and hoses to power the loader. It was a nice setup. SO using the TC with the loader was different for me. It may be my imagination and I am not positive since I did not have the TC on the Cub but the TC I think would be lower on the Cub than the loader reservoir full level. On the 130 they appear to be closer to even.

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Good points to consider definitely, has been so puzzling for me to understand how the vertical reservoir is utilized to to 'pull' up hydraulic fluid as the tractor pump is tied into TC reservoir and it seems only the pressurized lines go to the loader control box. Engineers really have me baffled on how this system balances the fluids between the two reservoirs as I thought the 'garden hose' between the two was strictly over flow from when the fluids expand or for over fluid capacities.
Should I try and lift the boom a quarter to half up filling the ram with fluid and then fill the loader reservoir to 'top it off' so it increases the capacity through out to account for the fluid deficiency in the entire system TC and loader?

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

How did you keep filling the TC and loader without putting the return hose from loader reservoir to main TC reservoir back on?

I installed a T-fitting with a plug.

This makes sense now!

[Jim Becker]

I said earlier that no procedure is wrong. I probably should have also said that no procedure is right. It comes down to whatever works. My suggestion was based on:

- The Touch-Control system is sealed. So any trapped air tends to stay in there somewhere. You want it to all end up in the reservoir.

- The loader reservoir is vented. So any fluid expansion/contraction or cylinder movement brings air in or pushes it out the vent.

- With the vented loader reservoir, you no longer NEED any air space in the Touch-Control reservoir. You want there it be as little air in there as possible.

- Unless the Touch-Control system has been apart, very little air should have gotten into any part of the system other than the lines to/from the pump. Effort to keep air out is probably less than what would be required to purge it out later.

- Fluid flow through the entire system is from the Touch-Control reservoir to the pump, then the loader valves, the Touch-Control valve, back to the Touch-Control reservoir. Fluid diverted from the loader valve to the cylinders will ultimately dump back to the loader reservoir and then to the Touch-Control reservoir. Fluid diverted from the Touch-Control valve to the cylinder will dump back to the Touch-Control reservoir.

- Any air trapped in the system has to follow the same path as the oil to get back to a reservoir.

Based on all that, my suggested sequence is to work through the system in the same order the fluid moves. Otherwise, air from the part you are cycling (loader) may end up in the parts already cleared (Touch-Control). My theory on the Touch-Control reservoir is to get the air bubble as small as possible then not open it to let any air in. On the other hand, since the fluid returned from the loader cylinders goes directly into the loader reservoir, it SHOULDN'T find its way into Touch-Control reservoir. So cycling the Touch-Control first should work as well. Since fluid from the Touch-Control cylinder goes directly to the Touch-Control reservoir, the air bubble in that reservoir will get bigger when the Touch-Control is cycled. So it can make sense to refill the Touch-Control after it is cycled. That is the point where your tee fitting is helpful.

One more observation, the loader's main lift cylinder is normally pointed up towards the front. When lowering it, the oil will come out before the air does. To get all the air out requires letting it all the way down. Even then, you may not get it all out. Pointing the tractor downhill may help.

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Excellent points! Will test theory and adjustments accordingly when weather cooperates.

[jmm_spqr@yahoo.com]

Hey guys weather warmed up, I modified my existing 90 degree elbow fitting going into the TC to a T fitting as I now can easily look down into TC reservoir and see after cycling if I needed to add more hydraulic fluid. The 90 was on this from the beginning and was so hard to unscrew it fill it, run it, unscrew it fill again etc; This is much simpler and effective.
This solution appears to now work, I don't have that jerky ramming sound with the boom/bucket and no more frothy yellow/white coming out of my breather. I probably overfilled the TC as after using it and the hydraulics gets hot I am seeing it come out from the breather, but only clear hydraulics now. I suppose this will correct itself once the right levels in both reservoirs are achieved. I plan to look into both reservoirs to check levels before I start to verify that the TC is maintaining the levels and it is balancing out. I want to thank you for the great input to this, I have attached a photo for posterity sake what the final solution looks like going into TC reservoir.

[SamsFarm]

Looks like galvanized pipe fittings in your pic.

Beware, I see cautions against this, saying the galvanizing can flake off and get into your hydraulic system.

Also note that Iron pipe fittings are generally a no no in hydraulic systems, ratings of 250psi are typical for these type fittings. They are cast and thin, where as hydraulic fittings are forged and thicker. Lots are guilty of doing this, especially on a farm!
Sometimes it is not the hydraulic pressure that causes them to break but the stress of them bouncing around carrying the load of the hose or other fittings, etc.

Pretty sure your use is a low pressure return line.

[inairam]

here are some hydraulic npt Tees https://www.surpluscenter.com/Hydraulic ... ale---Tee/

I have purchase a lot of parts from Surpluse Center