I buy,rebuild and sell small tractors, mostly Fords & Ferg or MF. Right now I have 3 8oo Fords that I am having trouble with the hdys. They have a slight leak and they let the load drop about an inch or two then pick  it up again, a costant bounce. I've checked everthing, the cyl, the lines but can't find the leak. This is the same on all three.

Some years ago there was a thread on the ATIS net regardiing Ford Hyds. One fellow posted a skimatic (sp)on the Frod Hyd. He showed the flow and what part each part played. Does anyone have that or can cast any light on where to look for my trouble?

Farmerbeal

Hi Farmer,
I know you said you checked for leaks...but you've got one anyway.  ford hydraulics work good when they're set up right, and don't leak, but they can be a pain to diagnose.  Most guys just remove the lift cover, reseal the piston/sleeve and make the adjustments.  There is an outside chance that the blowoff valve is leaking.  They're cheap enough if you just want to replace it.
My advice...take the cover off. Reseal it.  You only need one gasket and piston seal(s).
Joe

I worked on a Ford 600 serveral years ago, with the same problem.  I put a new cylinder, piston, rings, gaskets, and whatever else in it.  It still would bob up and down.  I got frustrated enough and took the lift cover to the machine shop to have it surfaced. I thought that oil might be leaking by at a gasket.  When I got the cover back from the machine shop, I got a box of parts with it.  They had remove all the plugs and other various parts.  One of which was a steel check ball.  They told me that they lost the ball, it rolled away on them.  I got a new check ball. Put it in.  The problem was cured.

If you need a ball, I have a whole box of them that I had to buy.  Let me know.

Lou