Loader gets some attention

[boovuc 1,090]

For those who have the old Ark Loaders and they are pretty much untouched from the days they were new, all I can say is.......WOW!

I had my tractor at our local hydraulics shop which is Amish owned and run. They rebuilt all the cylinders and replaced o rings in the control valve/spooler and using their pressure gauges, adjusted the working pressures at the control valve. (Also tested the output of the original Cessna pump which was surprisingly still good at 1k PSI).

 

What a huge difference. Incredible lift power. Smooth and steady operation. No more loss of bucket height while driving. Next is replacing the rest of the hoses and adding a filter housing/filter before the pump inlet. (Over the winter).

 

I guess you don't know what you have if you don't know the capabilities! I knew I had a lot of blow-by but the difference is just amazing. I tore into my contractor neighbor's topsoil mound and filled the bucket heaping full without any issue. Three weeks ago, I could only load a half to a little more on the bucket before it would lift it and then had to adjust the height of the bucket every 15 seconds on the 200 yard trip back.

 

 

[dclarke 4,011]

I'm working on doing the same thing to mine, I've replaced the o-rings in the control valve and have put new O-rings in one cylinder so far as well as replaced a couple of hoses. I've finally got all the leaks fixed and planning on new O-rings in the other three cylinders while I'm at it. It does make a big difference, now my bucket no longer drops while transporting a load. That was a real pain.

[MalMac 1,328]

Yeah you guys are right, mines all orginal. Last year or so it's starting to get the droopsey. Might help if I would replace some rotten hoses that think they are on dust control. Been using it like crazy on storm damage clean up. Bucket could use some repair as it's starting to rust and get thin with some holes. Hard to find time to take it down. One of the most used pieces of equipment I have.