300U Fast Hitch Down pressure

I would like to raise the rear tires off the ground on my 300U using the fast hitch assembly. Is this possible. The original cylinder for the fast hitch looks to be plenty strong to raise the rears. I can raise the front easily with my front blade but the fast hitch kicks out way before it lifts the rear. I looked in my manual and the archives for a way to increase the fast hitch down pressure without success.
Has anyone here, "been there done that".

Thanks,
Dell

The 5 tractors with fast that we had thru the years would lift the rear off the ground.

300u,300 farmall, 350 farmall, 450, and 460.

Never had to reset and valve to get them to lift.

I wonder if your pump is getting weak?

Gary

i have a 300u and i just stand a log under the fast hitch and raise it right up, no problamo...

Ok, thanks guys.
Looks like I have some pressure troubleshooting to do.
I replaced a hose last year, maybe I got some air in it.

Thanks for the info,
Dell

if you do what i said with a log and send it up and she just sags down again, then you wann isolate your piston/ram/cylinder. jack up the rear with a floorjack then lower the fasthitch to a log, then disconnect the 2 lines going to your cylinder and put some brass plugs in(you can get at any auto parts store) then lower your floor jack till the weight of the tractor is on the fast hitch with the rear wheels still off the ground, remove floor jack and see if she sags then, if it does your cyl is leaking if she holds you might wann look at you control vavle the leakby could be in there and that might need rebuiling...

Mike,
I have tried that many times with a two foot 8x8.
As soon as the down pressure feels a load the valve lever kicks back to neutrol.

Dell

My 300U will readily lift the back tires off the ground. I haven't done anything to adjust the pressure, but a few years back I cleaned out the little screen in the regulator valve.

i raise the rears on my 350 twice a yeras, to put on and take off the time chains. i put a block of wood under one side and lower it. it will settle after awhile but i have enough time to get the chain on. i"ve never had any trouble lifting one side at a time, and never tried to lift the whole back end. i hope that helps alittle.

With nothing on the lift, grab an arm and lift it by hand, if you can lift it then the pin on the top left side of the hitch needs to be installed. There is a pin on the rock shaft that can be removed so the hitch will float, yours maybe gone.

hey Dell, try it with the lines disconnected and plugged, by doing this you will be isolating the cylinder taking the control valve out of the picture...in other words the cyl wont be able to move fluid down either line because they are sealed with your plugs, so if the fast hitch goes down/sags then its because the fluid is passing inside the cylinder internally...

We are supposed to be in single digits for awhile so I will get to this as soon as I can.

Thanks for all the info and I will post when I discover the problem.

Thanks,
Dell

The valve kicks back to neutral?

Are you holding the lever?

If not, try holding the lever. This has got to be about the maximum load that fast hitch will ever see, and I doubt that the detent is enough to hold the lever under the pressure.

Heck, I'm not even sure that the valves on a 300U even have detents.

Hold the lever. It's made to kick to neutral when the pressure spikes in the system.

Same here, Dell. My 350 Utility's fast hitch will lift both rear wheels off the ground simultaneously.

Mark W. in MI

504 had the correct answer. I thought I had checked the free float pin but I apparently looked at the incorrect slot. Either the pin had come out or was never there in the first place.

Here’s how I found the answer.

I backed up to my old Caprice and stuck the fast hitch under the rear bumper. The fast hitch raised that ol’Chev 2 ft off the ground like it wasn’t even there. I shut down the tractor and let it set for 15 minutes and it didn’t sag an inch, so I knew the pump and screen are good and no leak in cylinder or valve. But I still could not raise the rear of the tractor with the fast hitch down pressure.

So I thought I would switch around the hoses on the cylinder to see if it would make a difference. Luckily, the debris guard and the seat had to come off to get to the cylinder hose connections and it was too cold to mess with all that.

I put a block under the fast hitch and ran it up and down watching it. I noticed there was a hesitation in the movement and as the hitch touched the block the hitch stopped but the cylinder kept moving. Bingo! The lightening bolt of enlightenment!

I remembered “504” stating that the pin might be missing allowing the hitch to free float. I had checked that pin but on watching the hitch move I saw that I had checked the wrong hole and the float pin was indeed MISSING.

After I placed a hitch pin in the correct hole the fast hitch raised the rear of the tractor with no effort at all. And a good thing too, I found I had a broken cross link on my tire chains to repair.

Several times on this forum I have given the advice to start from the beginning, checking all the basics first.

I guess I needed a reminder to take my own advice.

Thanks to all for sharing good advice and especially 504 to “check the basics first”

Dell

Our 300U has a cement-filled half-barrell on the Fast Hitch. When
we move the lever to lower it, boom, it drops to the ground.
Shouldn't we be able to control the hitch a few inches at a time? If
so, where do I look for the problem?

Peter,
Mine goes down inch by inch.

I am not an expert but it sounds to my like your valve is set on single action instead of double action. It's on the front of your valve assembly, you turn it with a wrench or pliers.

You might want to check the pin that I was missing also.

Dell