Have you cleaned all of the quick disconnects? Use some WD40 to spray out the female couplings. Once clean, does it still do it? You could have a bad coupler.

BTW, welcome to GTT!

I moved your thread and edited the title for more views and responses.

 

Can't hurt to try and reverse the lines in the mid ports. If the behavior is the same - problem is likely with the loader side of the hydraulic connections, if the behavior is reversed it's likely on the tractor side. (controls will be backwards)

My first thought is not properly secured QDs but seems as you've confirmed that.

Welcome to GTT from SE PA!

 

I failed to mention, most times this happens, just a proper cleaning AND reseating the couplers makes the issue go away. Very rarely does a coupler go bad.

 

The hose that I unhooked has what I’m thinking may be a check valve on it . Could this be the problem

That's actually a flow restrictor, and it is on the hose that applies pressure to raise the loader. But the purpose of the flow restrictor is to limit how fast the loader can drop, since it's the hose the hydraulic fluid has to exit through when the loader goes down. If the loader is going up properly, it's unlikely the flow restrictor is the problem. Also since "manually" releasing pressure on that line with the hose disconnected from the tractor let it go down, that also indicates the problem isn't that hose or the restrictor.

Unplug all 4 hoses and clean all four connections on the tractor and the hoses. Especially on the tractor side. Plug them all back in making sure they're plugged into the correct ports. See if it works. Most of the time, it's junk in the connector on the tractor side preventing that circuit from releasing pressure back to the tank. And most of the time, cleaning it fixes it. If cleaning it doesn't fix it, the problem gets significantly more complicated and expensive.

 

going to the most simple of simple.....OP you mention several times in your post swaping a HOSE (singular) ......hoses are in pairs.....this problem is in my estimation 95% of the time a hose connection that is not fully engaged...may look engaged...may feel engaged ...but not engaged

 

Thanks for all the info guys. The flow restrictior makes perfect sense. It’s going to be a week before I get a chance to clean everything up and try swapping some hoses around. I was just happy to get the loader down so I could get the tractor inside before I had to leave. I’ll let you know what I find . Thanks again

 

Late to the party here, but a bad coupler can easily act as a check valve and only allow fluid to flow in one direction.

 

You don't know which hoses have pressure in them and which ones don't. I'd recommend you shut the engine off and move the controls back and forth a few times before disconnecting or connecting any hoses to relieve the pressure in the hoses.
Sometimes these connectors can get bumped and loosened and you don't know it. Normally one hose acts as a pressure hose while the other hose acts as a return. If one hose isn't firmly in it's connector it can cause the problem you are having. The fluid is "Deadlocked".
If you have a hose which doesn't want to go back into a connector the hose may have pressure in it. You can relieve the pressure by pressing the check valve in the end of the hose firmly against something solid like a piece of metal or a 2X4. Wrap a rag around the male connector to keep the fluid from spraying all over.
Be sure you aren't under a loader or in harms way when you do this.

 

Something else to consider ,,, I don't know the age of your machine or the hours but,,,, could it be a hose that has separated inside and is causing a blockage and or restriction ?

 

Well I made it back from vacation and got a chance to look at my tractor. I swapped hoses and sure enough the bucket worked fine. It ended up being the female hydraulic fitting. I went to the dealership and told them what was going on and they gave me a new fitting at no charge they said it was covered by warranty. Sure glad it was a easy fix. Thanks again guys!

 

I just encountered the same issue. Loader wouldn't lower. I got it down and tried everything that was said here. It worked (in reverse) when I switched the lines so I tried to finish what I was doing, then it completely locked up! No lift or lower! Switched the lines back to normal and it went back to having lift again but couldn't lower it. I saw the post about possibly being a bad female connector but why would both fail when I switched/reversed the lines? Any ideas?

Oh yeah there's no issues with the bucket controls.