# curtis 3000



## roadtester (Feb 3, 2013)

New to me, a Curtis 3000 sno-pro. on a dodge 2500 Ram. The ram that raises and lowers the blade, will not go down all the way. It will go up, but will only go down to approx. 10 in. from the ground. I have the chain adjusted, it was working fine until the other day. I put it up and put blocks under the plow, pushed the control to lower, then I was able to push the ram all the way down by hand. Then put it back up, removed the blocks and lowered it. It stopped 10 in. from the ground. I could not push the ram down. If I raise the blade to a certain point, I can push the ram down. Above that point the blade will not be pushed down. checked fluid level and brought it up. It didn't take much. No difference. There is a single line to the ram, so I thought there was a check valve inside the ram. Got a new ram, no difference. Does the same thing. Dealer has no clue. Something else, the jack foot will not operate, unless I push the ram down past the point where it stops. I can only do that if the ram is at a certain height, and blocked.


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## racer47 (Feb 24, 2011)

post in Curtis snow pro section, you will get better help . i think the valve that raises plow also works the jack stand. could be sticky valve, control not going into float. i own 1 but have not used it much.. it came on a 94 1 ton Chevy dump truck i bought from a  its my back up truck . 454 gas hog but i bought it for hauling shingels not plowing.. their are some guys on here that can help you ,good luck ussmileyflag


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

Wait,,,,, you can push the ram down by hand but your 600# plow wont go down. Sounds like the plow is binding


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## roadtester (Feb 3, 2013)

*rammed.*

Nope, the plow isn't binding. That was the first thing I checked. If the blade is above a certain height, when you lower it it will stop about 10 in. from contacting the ground. If I block it so it can't reach that point. Then I can push the top of the ram and it will go all the way down. I have backed the plow off the blocking and if I raise it up to,but not over the "sticking point"it will lower like it is supposed to. I tried to plow that way but it raises up too quick past the "sticking point". As the ram has only one line to it, I believe there is a check valve in the system that is malfunctioning. In the meantime we have been hammered with the white stuff. And my backup, a 6 ft. front mount snowblower on my Kubota takes a lot longer to move the snow, like 2 hrs. compared to 1 hr. with the truck.


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## geer hed (Nov 22, 2010)

OK try this, you said you backed up off the block of wood and the plow droped. Put the blade on the block again and push the ram down, but this time pull forward, nice and slow, as slow as possible, and have someone watch the plow closely to see if it jumps or bounces as it comes off the block.
It may sound stupid and I may be wrong but heres what I'm thinking. The plow may be hanging up on something where it mounts in the push frame, maybe a bent pin or a worn hole. Remember when you have the plow up in the air the plow naturally is pulled back towards the truck, when you set the plow down it still has that pressure on the frame (same pressure as when you are pushing snow). Now when you back up off the block of wood you are in essence pulling the plow away from the truck as if you were backdragging. alowing what ever is causing it to hang up to move enough for the plow to drop.


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## roadtester (Feb 3, 2013)

*pull forward*

That is something I wouldn't have thought of. Makes sense though. I'll try it. But first I have to service the snowblower, grease the fittings etc. we are about to get hammered again. Lucked out in a way. A new tenet moved in, has a Ford with a plow. Said I can use it if needed,when he's to work. I have another tenet who has a backhoe, he would really like to show off his "expertise" I also have an old Ford 5550 backhoe, I do use it to "push" back the banks. When I use the snowblower I don't have to worry so much about the banks. It is just slower.


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