Possible hydraulic seal (valve?) or pressure problem on 310SE

[Mothranch]

Please forgive my nomenclature and troubleshooting ignorance. I have a 310se that’s new to me. I left town for 4 days and came back to find the backhoe bucket resting on the ground from the extendahoe cylinder releasing pressure. Not sure what you call this…drooping?

My first inclination was to arrange the loader bucket off the ground and arrange the backhoe in a way would show if gravity affected the bucket cylinder, dipper cylinder, and boom cylinder. After a few minutes of the engine off you could hear the loud knocks of pressure and within an hour the visual dropping of hydraulic cylinder positions on every appendage was noticeable.

I’ve since set everything back to resting on the ground as to not stress the system but my troubleshooting questions are:

1: Does this mean my problem is in the hydraulic pump somewhere since all cylinders see to be affected? (Even the outriggers (one more than the other) were both falling when I came back from holiday.

2: how big of a problem is this if I continue using the machine without addressing this issue first?

3: how much settling is normal? ….My executive with backhoes was all with relatively new equipment.

If it matters: S/N: T0310SE876262

 

[Welder Dave]

Highly doubt it's a pump issue. How many hours are on the machine? The majority of time drift is the internal cylinder seals bypassing. The loud knocks also suggest the cylinder seals. If it takes a few hours or longer to creep down isn't too serious but if it creeps down in an hour or less it's a good idea to do the cylinder seals. I always park my backhoe with the bucket on the ground. There's a remote possibly it's a valve problem but it's usually the cylinder seals. There's a way to check the cylinders by taking a hose off and seeing if you get oil but someone with more knowledge could explain it better. You could pick the back of the machine up and see if also creeps down. If it does also points to a cylinder(s) problem.

 

[HarleyHappy]

How is your hydraulic fluid level and how does the fluid look?

 

[Mothranch]

Hours on the machine 6000. It’s obvious some of the cylinders have been replaced over time.

The hydraulic fluid level is where is should be. The fluid has a pink tint to it but it’s not cloudy or dark.

The hydraulics (all of them) also seem to be a little stiff on the controls but they all move like a well running machine.

Lifting the rear off the ground, it doesn’t creep down significantly or noticeable to me within an hour.

Thanks again for helping me think through this and the advice. Truly appreciate it.

 

[JL Sargent]

Not really a big deal. I have the same era JD backhoe and I park it with the bucket on the ground. Problem solved. Mine will creep down over a day or so. I really don't even notice it when I'm using the machine. I have two backhoe type machines. One the dipper creeps, the other the boom creeps. I just keep on digging with them.

 

[Welder Dave]

Hours on the machine 6000. It’s obvious some of the cylinders have been replaced over time.

The hydraulic fluid level is where is should be. The fluid has a pink tint to it but it’s not cloudy or dark.

The hydraulics (all of them) also seem to be a little stiff on the controls but they all move like a well running machine.

Lifting the rear off the ground, it doesn’t creep down significantly or noticeable to me within an hour.

Thanks again for helping me think through this and the advice. Truly appreciate it.

How is it noticeable some cylinders have been replaced? 6000 hours isn't that many if the machine was looked after. If you don't get much creeping when working the backhoe I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Mothranch]

Maybe it’s my ignorance but a painted over cylinder that doesn’t match any of the other cylinders tells me it was replaced or that’s what it looked like when they replaced cylinders at an outfit I worked for shortly.View attachment IMG_2641.jpeg

How is it noticeable some cylinders have been replaced? 6000 hours isn't that many if the machine was looked after. If you don't get much creeping when working the backhoe I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Welder Dave]

That cylinder may have been repaired and the shop painted it a different shade of yellow. I got hosed on the bucket cylinders on my track loader and the shop painted them. Thankfully it was the right Cat colour. Some shops have to do something to justify the prices they charge.