Tractor Repair: 1700 ford tractor hyd., suction screen, ford tractor

Question
The hydraulic lift on my tractor is very slow to come in cold weather, when plowing snow I have to wait for it to raise each time I lower it down, I have changed the fluid but it made no difference.

The tractor is a 1981 1700 ford with a 2 cyl. diesel engine with about 800 hours on it.

Thanks for any infomation you can share.

Answer
Hello,

  I know this sounds like a dumb question, but I have to ask anyway.  When you changed the fluid, did you change the hydraulic filter and clean the pump suction screen also?  I have no access to a service manual or operators manual to see where the suction screen is located.  If you don't have a manual for it, I would suggest getting one.  There's a lot of valuable info in them.  Slow hydraulics in cold weather is a pretty common problem.  Also, make sure you are using the correct oil recommended for this model tractor.  Some "universal" hydraulic oils are cheaper, but don't have all of the same properties as OEM oil.

                                  Arnie