HELP!

1. From the beginning, the hydraulic pump would make a metal-on-metal type "buzzing" sound ever 5 or 10 seconds when the tractor was running -- kind of a "bees nest" sound that lasts only a second or so. Seemed to vary depending on whether the nose was pointed up or down hill. I thought it might be indicating low oil level since the loader cylinders leaked pretty good, so I just made sure to keep the hydraulic fluid topped off.

All systems, including the loader, worked OK for most of the first year — until just after the only day when I used the loader and back blade hard moving fill for a new building.

2. Shortly after that, every once in a while the loader would not go up. Sometimes it would, but sometimes nothing. This was intermittent until one day when it stopped moving at all. During all this there was no change in the hydraulic pump noise.

3. At about the same time the loader quit, I noticed that hydraulic fluid was leaking quite heavily out of the top of the "Safety and Flow Control Regulator Valve" mounted between the reservoir and the 3- point control valve. The oil is coming out where there is a snap ring holding in the flow control valve. When the tractor is running, oil flows out. When the tractor is shut off, it sounds like air spits out of the same place.

4. This is the current status. Power steering is working and so is the 3-point, which has no problem holding up a heavily loaded trailer tongue. But no lift at all from the loader, even with the bucket off. "Rythmic" hydraulic pump noise is the same.

For a long time, I thought this was the hydraulic pump giving up. But then I realized that the PS and hitch would probably not be working if that was the case. Made me think that maybe the pump is "starving" for oil because of crud in the system, and that maybe I should take the reservoir and valves apart and clean them out.

Do you have any thoughts on this? Is there any trick to disassembly/reassembly of the reservoir and valves (assuming I can get "O"-rings and gaskets from the dealer)? Should I take everything apart, or do these symptoms point to one particular thing? (I have a good Case/IH parts manual with "exploded" diagrams of the valves.)

Many, many thanks for your help.

Bob Kirk

Assuming the IH design, does the pump load up when you toggle either or both of the loader's control valves? If not, there's probably a plug in either the control line (smallest port joining to the loader control valves on the side of the reservoir - most likely) or in the return line from those control valves to the reservoir (not very likely).

As far as the oil leak goes, you need a new O-ring, but I don't think it has anything to do with the loader problems. The buzz may mean a short life-expectancy for your pump - hard to say.

Hope some of this is helpful. Repost if more input might be helpful.

I am also needing to rebuild the safety/flow control valve. Will a good cleaning and O-ring replacement be enough, or should I also order the service pack from Case/IH ($144, contains a gasket, seal, piston, and seat)?

Thanks for your help.