# slow hydraulics



## northeast (Mar 14, 2000)

I have a question about my 8ft. Fisher speedcast plow.
It is mounted on 96 f-350 srw. 351,auto.
problem is slow hydraulic reaction.looking for any advice or tips on speeding things up. if there is a filter of some sort where is it located?? just changed fluid,and there are no leaks in the system.
Or is this plow a turtle when new? plowed all last year with it this way,now I want some better response, Thanks-Nick


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## 2401 (Feb 3, 2001)

How old is the hydraulic pump? How much use has it seen? Is it just slow when raising the blade, or also when you angle it? Does it start off working OK, then after an hour or so start to get real s-l-o-w going up?

The more we know, the better we can answer your question.

I just had my Monarch pump overhauled, it would start out fine but after about an hour would get sluggish raising the blade. Side-to-side was OK. Turns out the pump (I bought the powerpack used 3 years ago) was getting worn so it was putting out lower psi than it should have been. Cold, the fluid was thicker so it seemed OK but once it got heated up, s-l-o-w. If your unit has seen a fair amount of use in it's life it may be getting worn.


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## northeast (Mar 14, 2000)

Rob. I got the truck last fall. Iam assuming the plow was on truck since 96. its slow all the time,doesnt seem to get any slower with
warm up.are these older conventional fishers slow when new.
I may be having to high of expectations of it
It says speedcast on control lever??? how about a filter is there one in the system somewhere??
for usage I plow a strip mall,2 conv. stores,25 res. drives. I think I plowed like 13 storms last year.should RPMs effect the speedof lift. its slow all around lifting,angling.
I want more lift speed for when pushing onto a grass area i do not have to stop and wait for plow to lift ,if I dont I would doze up the turf.

thanks,nick


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## 2401 (Feb 3, 2001)

Nick - I made the assumption (I know, I know - never "assume"  ) that it's an electric powerpack - is yours driven off the engine via a belt? I'm not too familiar with Fisher, some of the other members here know a lot more about them than I do. RPM might be a factor with a belt-driven unit, not sure though.

If the unit was on the truck since '96 it could be getting a little tired, especially if it didn't receive much maintenance until now.


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## BRL (Dec 21, 1999)

norhteast,
I have the same type of plow (I'm also assuming you are talking about a belt drive unit, because they are slower than electric to begin with) that I think is older than '96. I am now in the process of replacing that pump and the hoses too. I haven't been able to find a filter anywhere in the system, and I haven't been able to find any kind of manual on the pump & valve unit. Like Rob said, the pumps do wear out. My plow was sluggish enough that I felt it was time. You also want to make sure the belt tension is correct, the pulley is not slipping, the cables are seated properly at the valves, etc. I bought a pump from I believe www.j-thomas.com last year (stopped snowing & never got into the mood to replace it during the summer LOL). I think I paid a little over $200.00 for it, but my memory could be wrong. Also, they didn't have the pump in their catalog, so call them & ask to find out if they have it. RPM does make a difference on that type of plow, however, I prefer to be patient with it than revving the engine in between shifting because I'm sure I will damage the tranny playing that game.


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## gene gls (Dec 24, 1999)

northeast,

I have a Fisher the same as you. It has been sloooow sence day one. I was told that by changing the pully on the pump to a smaller size it might help. I have the energy saver pully so I have not tried it. My old Meyer system was three times faster.

Gene


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## snow (Jan 5, 2001)

my fisher is a minute mount that's belt driven, raises and lower quickly, but takes a long time to angle. I'm going to service it next week hopefully and change the fluid and maybe clean the valve box if it's still slow. i had it in park and gave it a little gas and it seemed to move quicker, so mayb it is working normal.


bryan


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## CT18fireman (Nov 30, 2000)

I used to put small inline filters in the return hose. Yes the speed is affected by engine rpms. Actually this can make the pump angle much faster then an electric pack. At idle though it is generally slower. I have seen people run smaller pulleys to buld more rpms. This may shortne pump life though. 

My advice. Flush the system out. Check belt tension and install new fluid. Check the pressure. It may be worn out. New pump is worth the money. I wish I could still run belt drives but no room in newer trucks.


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## rick barnes (Oct 15, 2001)

had a unit like this once never did get it the way i wanted but did find out using transmission fluid didn't work. It would get cold and not flow right. changed to plow hydralic fluid , it stays thinner at low temps and it did speed up a little.
Good luck, but I think that is a trait of this plow 

Rick


ready to plow


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## Woodman (Jan 27, 2000)

A couple of thoughts:

1. Make sure lift/angle cylinders are not sticking. A new set of packings made a world of difference when the lift cylinder on my Fisher speedcast was sticking. One of of the old packing rings was quite loose - I suspect the ring was twisted or offset and was binding the shaft in the cylinder. A $10 investment and 30 mins of time made a big difference in lift speed.


2. Along the lines of engine rpms affecting the speed of lift/ angle you may want to check your engine's idle speed. Set the idle rpm with the belt on the pump & lights, heater on (all the stuff you need in the winter) . With a newer, computer controlled EFI engine, adjusting the idle speed may not be necessary or even an option, though.

3. After all that, installing the new pump may be a good investment of your time. Having replaced an old pump previously, I'm less likely to tap the gas to speed up lifting/angling.


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## northeast (Mar 14, 2000)

thanks for your input. I located a smaller pully this morning for
$10.00 this will speed up the pump at a lower rpm,I will let you all know what the results are.If this doesnt help I will spend the 
150 bucks for a new one. 
The weather channel 15 day forcast for central maine is showing numerous chances for snow,even Christmass eve!
Hope that they are going to be right for once. could use the 
cash before Christmass.
the only place I could find a long forecast was at yahoo
weather,anyone know of another site for extended forecasts???
Thanks,Nick


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