Every tractor has built-in hydraulics, which means any tractor you’re working with has pressurized oil that can control add-on equipment. This video covers the fundamentals of adding hydraulic components for controlling a front end loader being put on a tractor that has never had one before. The same principles apply if adding something else like a snowplow or backhoe to a tractor, as well.

The items needed will be a little different depending on whether the tractor has a cab or is open station.
The open station setup typically has a control valve with a joystick directly attached.
A tractor with a cab will have a joystick mounted in the cab, with it connected to the valve via cables or a wiring harness, or both. The valve is typically mounted under the cab, but can be installed anywhere on the outside of the tractor.
When the joystick is moved, it opens and closes parts of the valve, which then allows pressurized oil to flow in the directions needed to move the loader and bucket, for example, raising the loader arms and tilting the bucket. The open station joystick is directly controlling the valve. The spools moving back and forth is what’s directing the flow of pressurized oil which is then moving the loader and bucket. The cab joystick is controlling the valve through the cables AND the wiring harness. Moving the joystick moves the cables. When the cables move, they are moving these spools on the valve. Pressing the buttons communicates with the valve via this wiring harness, which moves this spool via electricity. The cables are attached to the valve with this connection hardware - the outer sheath is anchored to the valve body, and the inner cable is attached to the spool tips.
The control valve will have multiple hoses connected to it, and each hose is attached via a port. There are quite a few ports on a valve. The ports on these valves here are covered with caps, which keeps them clean. When you take off a cap, you can see a female, threaded port. This is where the hose is connected to the valve. Usually there is a hydraulic fitting threaded into the hydraulic valve port, and then the hose is threaded onto the fitting.

On any control valve, there will be “working ports.” These ports are connected to the hoses that carry the oil to the front end loader and bucket.
Any hydraulic control valve will also have a pressure and return port. Oil has to be flowing through a control valve in order for it to function. The Pressure Port has a hose connected to the tractor’s pressurized oil and is where the oil flows into the valve. The Return Port is where the oil flows out of the valve, and is connected to the tractor where the oil flows to the tractor’s reservoir, which is basically a tank of oil stored internally on the tractor. The way you connect to the tractor’s pressurized oil and its return oil is different for each tractor. This is a topic we cover in more depth in another video.

The other ports on these two valves won’t necessarily be the same on all hydraulic valves. Each tractor has one of these three types of hydraulic setup: open center, closed center, or load sense - we go into more detail in a different video on the three types of hydraulic setup. The way the valve is designed needs to match that hydraulic setup. The open station joystick and valve setup shown in this video is designed to work with tractors with either open center or closed center hydraulics. If open center, a plug will be installed in the top port. If closed center, a sleeve with a plug will be installed in the top port. The valve used with cab tractors is designed to work with load sense and closed center tractors. For load sense tractors, there is one additional hose that needs to connect to the load sense section of the tractor’s internal hydraulics. The load sense hose is connected to the valve port on the side port. For closed center tractors, this same port is capped off with a plug. The other ports, while in different locations on the valve, have the same function as the open station joystick/valve setup: there are working ports, a pressure, and a return port.
Linked to below are several products that get you started with the basic hydraulic components needed to control a front end loader:
Starter joystick kit for farm tractor with cab (closed station):
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Starter joystick kit for farm tractor without cab (open station):
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Valve with attached joystick for open station compact and utility tractors (2 functions):
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Valve with two attached joysticks for open station compact and utility tractors (3 functions):
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