I've got a repowered JD24 with a chevy 6 cylinder motor. I've had it for years, and have never actually got any work done with it. The last time I had it running, it immediately blew a hose. I finally had a real need for it, so I decided to get the engine running right, and it immediately blew a hose again. I thought one of the relief valves must be stuck, though it did still have some original hoses, and they were pretty rough. I went ahead and took out the main one, a 1750 lb relief valve, and it was, of course, obsolete, so I cleaned it up. I thought that since it had spent most of the last 10 years that I knew of not operating, that it probably had a lot of water in the system, based on the valve I was cleaning. I decided to take off the variable drive valve, to get to the the other two relief valves, (an 800 lb, and 300 lb ones). I got decided to drain the system at the same time, and replace some of the other hoses. I wanted to get it all drained, so I forced the bucket up with my track loader, to get it to drain. Then I got sidetracked and let the better part of 3 weeks go by, with it empty, and the lines to the variable control valve open. I got all of that work done, refilled with oil, and went to start it, which it had been starting really well, and it wouldn't attempt to start...I looked at the starter, and tried jumping across the solenoid, and part of the solenoid broke off, as it had been repaired with jb-weld some time before, so I replaced the solenoid, and still no start. I didn't know if I had somehow shorted the windings of the starter itseld, so I replaced the whole starter, with no change in results. Now this is a direct drive to the gearbox, and basically turns everything, even just trying to start it, so I finally tried to turn the motor over by hand, something I was always able to do before, and saw that the whole system was locked up. I finally realized this was a hydraulic problem, so, I thought it had to do with the lift cylinders, since I had forced them up a bit, (not all the way, as they were already mostly up, when I forced it). I loosened all four lines, and it still didn't go down. (I had already tried using the pedals to release the pressure, to no avail). I finally was able to force it down, again with the other equipment, and got some oil to spit out. Now, my question to you guys is - do you think it is oil or air locked, and needs to be bled, or do you think the system, since it had a bit of water in the oil, and was left empty for three weeks might have rusted up basically all over inside enough to lock it? If air locked, how can I get it worked out? I have not seen a typical bleeder anywhere. I was thinking of pulling it with my loader to get the wheels moving, and the main pumps rotating again, but I am thinking, maybe too late, that I shouldn't be forcing things too much, as I might be damaging some of these fairly light duty components...I know I am an idiot, so don't be too hard on me. Thanks!
