Logsplitter Problem

[Pelorus]

Have you tried running a lighter weight hydraulic fluid like 32 or 46? What fluid are you using?
Is the engine coupled directly to the pump with a bolt-on mounting bracket / love joy coupling?

 

[firewoodpanaca]

Have you tried running a lighter weight hydraulic fluid like 32 or 46? What fluid are you using?
Is the engine coupled directly to the pump with a bolt-on mounting bracket / love joy coupling?

I am using 32 fluid and the love joy coupling is new. Here's where I have a problem.....How can the pump be bad and once we get it started it splits like it did when the splitter was new. I can't get that in my thick and old head. I just can't see replacing the pump if it's working. Thanks for all of your input guys......Dennis

 

[Pelorus]

Well Dennis, you got me beat, but I hope you do get it figured out and post what you come up with. If it is a two stage pump, and it is messed up so that it is running high pressure / low flow on engine start up, then maybe that is a remote possibility. Extremely remote. I suppose if you could T in a pressure gauge on the pump side of the control valve, you could rule that in or out.

 

[djones]

I would pull the pressure line off the control valve, insert into the reservoir tank or a 5 gal. bucket and try starting the motor. If it starts easy then you have a problem after the pump, if it starts hard then you have a problem at the pump. If the problem is after the pump then reconnect the line and disconnect a line from your cylinder to see if you have pressure there when you start up. There should be NO pressure at the cylinder with the valve in neutral. You may have to do this twice with pressure and return line to be sure. If you have pressure at the cylinder with the valve in neutral then you may have a seal gone in the control valve allowing bypass pressue to build up. Most likely it will be in the return position that you have a problem according to your description of the problem.

 

[triptester]

It sounds like the control valve is not centering properly in neutral .The valve spool should move 1/4"-5/16" from center to full extend or center to full retract. You could remove the return side fitting to see if the spool is centered in neutral. The only other thing I can think of is some sort of blockage in the filter or filter housing. The bypass in the filter housing opens at 15 psi. If there is blockage you would be fighting 15# of back pressure when trying to start.

 

[firewoodpanaca]

I went over to the guy who replaced the seals and honed the cylinder and he told me he had it figured out. He took a slap on magnetic heater and put it on the tank the night before I went over and when I got there in the morning it had warmed up outside to 20 degrees and he pulled the rope twice and it fired up. For some reason he feels that we (or he) got the wrong hydraulic fluid in the tank....too thick and that has been the problem all along. It really did not make me happy but after thinking about it if it works.....Well what the hell, I got my splitter back and now have two splitters again. I am going to try it that way. Thanks for everyones imput....Dennis