# Angle Problem on Fisher Homesteader



## ohnomrbill

Has anybody had this trouble or have a solution? 
I've got a 7'4" Homesteader (on a 2000 S-10) that I bought earlier this winter. All has been well until yesterday morn when I'd finished plowing my drive and went to park the truck. I angled the plow to the LEFT before lowering it and it went bump-bump-bump as it angled. Up and down are OK and angling to the right is fine. Tried it a few times and it kept doing the bump thing, but only when angling LEFT. 
I topped up the hydraulic fluid (it was about 1/2 way between high and low) and put dilectric grease in all three electric connection plugs. It went smooth at first but then did the bump-bump again 2-3 times, but not every time ! 
Any suggestions or fixes ?


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## plow150

Mine does the same. Does it when blade is raised, when plowing up an incline, or when truck's tilted to one side or another. Lowering the blade so the angling rams are level or pointed downward makes it go away.


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## MA 2001 Blazer

I had the same problem on my Homesteader. Fisher makes a new relief spring that will take care of the problem. Call fisher or see your dealer, it only takes two minutes to put the new spring in.

John


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## pchieffo

I had the same problem with mine. I had the relief spring installed. It definitely helped, but I still get a little bit of chatter when angling left.


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## justme-

Uh, check your carry chain. My MM1 had something similar until it all of the sudden jammed on me going left. Everything else was fine but left jammed about half way. turned out the carry chain was too long and it was getting caught in the back of the moldboard when angling left. A small bungie cord fixed it.


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## BIGCUBES427

*Homesteader chatter*

You guys with the homesteader chatter, there is a real easy fix. Locate the relief port, unscrew the screw take a spring out of a PEN, thats right a PEN, repalace the factory spring w/ this And your problem goes away.

From a guy who works and sells lots of Fisher plows


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## geereed

Where can you locate the relieve port?


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## BIGCUBES427

*plow chatter*

the port in on the bottom side of the pump assy. middle allen cap


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## deh8255

*Chatter*



BIGCUBES427 said:


> You guys with the homesteader chatter, there is a real easy fix. Locate the relief port, unscrew the screw take a spring out of a PEN, thats right a PEN, repalace the factory spring w/ this And your problem goes away.
> 
> From a guy who works and sells lots of Fisher plows


Do you have to drain the system prior to doing this?


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## MrBigStuff

*Another angling problem*

I recently installed a new 7'4" Homie on my Trailblazer. I went through the purging procedure but the angling is still messed up.

The plow tends to hesitate and then angle very rapidly. Often, it goes past the point where you let go of the button on the fishstik. It's very hard to get it to stop at a particular position.

I've also noticed that the blade can be moved back and forth by hand fairly easily. It can drift to one side while plowing.

Does this sound like there is still air in the system?
Some other issue like cushion valves etc?

Thanks for any insight you can provide!


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## Plow Bill

*Homesteader angle problem*

Not all Homesteaders have this problem. Mine did and the Fisher dealer changed the spring and made some adjustments. The problem is 99% fixed, but will still chatter once in a while. I guess this is something we will have to live with until a complete fix is available. If this is the only problem I have with the plow I guess I can live with it.


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## BUBBACHUKA

*Yo....Mr. Big Stuff*

Mine did the same thing....a lot of slop in the blade just about gone now......and you are dead on the angle adj is way too fast.


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## deh8255

*Angle Problem Fixed - Probably*

Took it to the shop. They swapped out the entire pump assembly. That did not help, so they put original back. They then swapped out the left cylinder. Seemed like that fixed it 100%. Got home, jogged it left to right some more, back to the jerking again.

*Now back to me troubleshooting.*

*WITH THE BLADE UP*

1. I set the left and right relief valves to original (all the way in, 1-1/2 turns out). These are the screw adjustments, one on top under rubber cap, and one on bottom closest to passenger side. These can be tweaked again later for softer cushion.

​_Not the one with the hex cap, leave it alone. Not needed for this adjustment._

*WITH THE BLADE UP*

2. I started dropping pump pressure gradually (1/8 turn out each time). This is the screw adjustment on bottom closest to driver side. I did this until the left/right motion was smooth.

​_Not the one with the hex cap, leave it alone. Not needed for this adjustment._

3. Next I dropped the blade and tried to raise it. It didn't raise. This is because the scrape lock is set too high on the up/down cylinder for the lower pump pressure.

4. Took bolt at top of up/down cylinder out, removed rubber cap and began backing out 1/8-1/4 turn at a time, putting cylinder back in place each time with bolt and tried raising and adjusting until it would come up in 3 secs or less.

Now, the left/right smooth and up/down are *smooth*. I dont have a gage right now but am going to get a 3K or 5K LB no-shock real soon. I am not sure quite what to think at this point, but one thing for sure, problem is solved and with pump running at a lower pressure. Running at lower pressure will not hurt a thing, in fact will prolong pump life. So at least now it is smooth and will prevent tearing front end loose on vehicle.

The Western and Fisher guys need to really get together on this issue. There are way too many people experiencing this problem.


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## deh8255

*Cushion valve 4 sure*



MrBigStuff said:


> I recently installed a new 7'4" Homie on my Trailblazer. I went through the purging procedure but the angling is still messed up.
> 
> The plow tends to hesitate and then angle very rapidly. Often, it goes past the point where you let go of the button on the fishstik. It's very hard to get it to stop at a particular position.
> 
> I've also noticed that the blade can be moved back and forth by hand fairly easily. It can drift to one side while plowing.
> 
> Does this sound like there is still air in the system?
> Some other issue like cushion valves etc?
> 
> Thanks for any insight you can provide!


Cushion valve 4 sure. Either the top one under the rubber cap or the bottom one closest to passenger side. Not the one under the hex cap. Crank in each one about 1/4 turn until you can't move the plow anymore. This being in the up position of course. This increases the pressure required to override the cylinder. Then start adjusting only if needed for smooth operation.

See this post for picture http://www.plowsite.com/showpost.php?p=255484&postcount=13


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## MrBigStuff

*Thanks!*

BUBBACHUKA- So you think yours was just a matter of repeated use to get all the air out?

The way the angle rams sit, the ported end is always lowest. This would make purging difficult and they mention this in the instructions. In order to get the ported end higher, I'd have to hang the plow over an embankment and hope it would be down enough when fully lowered. I'll give that a shot.

deh8255- Thanks for sharing your experience. I will definitely try your suggestions if the purging idea above doesn't work. I'm not getting the warm fuzzies about the quality of this system if the valves are that far off in their adjustment. Plus, reading about your problems has me a bit concerned that it may only be a matter of time before mine starts chattering. Hope not. But if it does, I have your experimenting experience to go by. Thanks again!


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## deh8255

*Product Bulletin for Suburbanite/Homesteader Angle Problem*

Product Bulletin for Suburbanite/Homesteader Angle Problem. See the attached JPG.


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## deh8255

*Follow-up: New spring works perfect*

Made my own spring initially. Worked perfect at specified 1750 psi. Western then sent me the exact spring. It worked perfect as well. Smooth as silk just as it should be!

Again, this fix is for Suburbanite and Homesteader.


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## MrBigStuff

*Update*

Also, to update anyone following my thread hijack, purging the rams solved the slop problem. I had to hang the plow off a descending hill so I could lower it enough to get the rams properly oriented and then swing it back and forth a half dozen times. She's rock solid now.


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## Tommy10plows

*purging the pistons*

On my hydro turns if ever necessary I purge the air by loosening the collar locks on the ends of the cylinders that hold the rams in place, then run the pump left and right turning until the oil starts to come out steady. Then tighten the collars. :bluebounc :bluebounc No more air, and no more noise. But then, I run full hydraulic belt driven Monarch units. and they NEVER give me a bit of trouble. So thank you Monarch Road Machinery Company, the oldest company in all of the great state of Michigan. Older than Ford, older than GM and Chrysler too. And thank you for great customer service over the years as well.


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