ASV RC60 Bucket curl whine

[Alangb62]

It doesn't look like there is much activity here but I'll give it a try. I have a 2005 ASV RC60, a few months ago I started hearing a whine when I would curl the bucket up. It was only doing it occasionally but it's starting to occur more frequently. It sounds and feels like it's coming from the controller. I thought I would get some ideas here about what to look for before pulling out the controller. Any help would be great.

 

[Tazza]

Does it do it when you lift the arms too?
Does the bucket tilt forward on it's own? just wondering if it could be bad seals in the ram too.

 

[Alangb62]

Does it do it when you lift the arms too?
Does the bucket tilt forward on it's own? just wondering if it could be bad seals in the ram too.

It only does it when the bucket is curled up. The bucket does drift down when in use. There is slight leak in right tilt ram but I don't think it would enough to cause an issue. One other thing, it needs to warm up before it starts to occur. The whine seems like it's coming from controller because I can feel vibration in my hand and the noise sounds like it's in the cab not out side.

 

[Tazza]

It only does it when the bucket is curled up. The bucket does drift down when in use. There is slight leak in right tilt ram but I don't think it would enough to cause an issue. One other thing, it needs to warm up before it starts to occur. The whine seems like it's coming from controller because I can feel vibration in my hand and the noise sounds like it's in the cab not out side.

It could be the pump transmitting vibration to the control through the fluid.
It makes sense that it could be pump wear, as when it warms up the oil gets thinner and harder to keep in the places it's meant to be. Pumps have tight tollerences to pump the oil, when the oil is thinner, it just pushes past these points.

 

[Alangb62]

It could be the pump transmitting vibration to the control through the fluid.
It makes sense that it could be pump wear, as when it warms up the oil gets thinner and harder to keep in the places it's meant to be. Pumps have tight tollerences to pump the oil, when the oil is thinner, it just pushes past these points.

Thanks for the replies Tazza. I'm not much of a mechanic so I guess it's possible. If it was the pump wouldn't other operations such as raising or lowering the boom cause a vibration as well? The machine has pretty low hours (1080) as well, not that it makes any difference. There doesn't appear to be any loss of power in the curl or boom, if it was the pump would I notice loss of power?

 

[Tazza]

Thanks for the replies Tazza. I'm not much of a mechanic so I guess it's possible. If it was the pump wouldn't other operations such as raising or lowering the boom cause a vibration as well? The machine has pretty low hours (1080) as well, not that it makes any difference. There doesn't appear to be any loss of power in the curl or boom, if it was the pump would I notice loss of power?

I guess it could be a valve in the control block too, can you safely replicate the noise with the cab in the air to pin point where it's coming from?
If the pump is worn, the flow generally is the first thing to lower. The only way to know for sure is to get it flow and pressure tested though. It's always hard to know when a pump really is at fault, you don't want to just jump into buying a new one as they aren't cheap.

 

[Alangb62]

I guess it could be a valve in the control block too, can you safely replicate the noise with the cab in the air to pin point where it's coming from?
If the pump is worn, the flow generally is the first thing to lower. The only way to know for sure is to get it flow and pressure tested though. It's always hard to know when a pump really is at fault, you don't want to just jump into buying a new one as they aren't cheap.

Is there a way to test if it's the control block other then replacing it?

 

[Alangb62]

Is there a way to test if it's the control block other then replacing it?

One other thing. If I'm curling the bucket up and the noise starts if I jiggle the joystick a little I can get the noise to stop and then continue to curl the bucket up.

 

[Tazza]

One other thing. If I'm curling the bucket up and the noise starts if I jiggle the joystick a little I can get the noise to stop and then continue to curl the bucket up.

The control block its self is a block of steel with spools to move oil around. Nothing here can move to make noise, BUT the other bits that screw in could do it though. There are relief valves and load checks that could casue it. If you remove pretty well every part that screws into the control block and check/re-seal it, you may find and fix the issue.
I actually had a machine that i bought used and abused that had a constant hum coming from a valve. Long story short, a hydraulic shop changed the main gear pump with one that was wrong, it was pushing oil into places it was not meant to go, causing this noise.
Sorry, i have never worked on one of these machines, so i'm just using generic information here.