Cub Cadet 5252 power steering problem only when hot

[hdb5252]

I bought a used Cub 5252 a year ago. It had less than 100 hours on it. I put about 75 hours on it since then. I will say it's a pretty good tractor for my needs. I figured out all the little issues except for this one.

After using the PTO for a while (usually about 30-40 minutes), it takes more and more effort to turn the steering wheel. It gets progressively worse as time passes and eventually I just shut it off and let it cool down for half an hour. I turn it back on and it runs like new again. Then after another 20-25 minutes of using the belly mower or 3pt bush hog it starts acting up again. Now, just to clarify, the power steering still works just fine the whole time, the tractor turns, etc. It's just the steering wheel and the effort it takes to turn it. It's kind of annoying and I'm afraid that if I just keep going something will break eventually. Just turning off the PTO and driving around to let the tractor cool down a little doesn't seem to make any difference.

Now if I just drive the tractor around without using the PTO at all then it doesn't do this. Or at least I haven't driven it long enough to notice.

Has anyone out there experienced anything similar? Is this just a heat related issue or something more serious? I changed the hydraulic fluid with Rotella T 5w-40 and both filters (the bigger one underneath the tractor and the smaller one under the seat) last year and it didn't make any difference. I just replaced the mid-PTO seal so I had to drain the hydro fluid to do that. I am about to change the bigger filter again and replace the fluid with Royal Purple 20w-50, but I'm not really expecting any improvement.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cub5k]

I would check the level of the transmission fluid first. Make sure you can see it in the sight glass. Next I would change all filters. I had a similar problem with my 5252 and when I changed the filters everything was fine. Of course it could be some other problem but this is where I would start.

 

[Cub5k]

Whoops, Sorry I didn't read your whole message before replying. I would def change the filters again. When I had my problem I had just changed the filters also.

 

[hdb5252]

Whoops, Sorry I didn't read your whole message before replying. I would def change the filters again. When I had my problem I had just changed the filters also.

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, but I changed all the filters once before, when I replaced the original fluid hydro with Rotella 5W40, and it made no difference at all. At the time the tractor had 80-something hours on it so the filters weren't even due for a change yet, but I changed them anyway hoping it would help.

 

[Cub5k]

Sorry if I wasn't clear enough, but I changed all the filters once before, when I replaced the original fluid hydro with Rotella 5W40, and it made no difference at all. At the time the tractor had 80-something hours on it so the filters weren't even due for a change yet, but I changed them anyway hoping it would help.

I had a bad filter and it was a genuine cub part. You could have some other problem in the hydraulics but just making sure you have a full resevoir and good filters is a good place to start.

 

[hdb5252]

I had a bad filter and it was a genuine cub part. You could have some other problem in the hydraulics but just making sure you have a full resevoir and good filters is a good place to start.

Yesterday was a pretty hot day so I changed the filter to a Wix 51410 and added 5 gallons of Royal Purple 20W50. Hooked up the box blade and moved some sand and dirt around for 40 minutes or so and the steering started to feel "tired". This was the first time it happened without using the PTO, and I attribute it to the hot weather. I shut it off for half an hour to let it cool down and was able to do another 30 minutes of box blade work without any steering issues. However I'm disappointed that the filter/oil change didn't seem to have any positive effect. I thought the thicker 20W50 oil would help.

 

[hdb5252]

I had a bad filter and it was a genuine cub part. You could have some other problem in the hydraulics but just making sure you have a full resevoir and good filters is a good place to start.

I forgot to ask, did you figure out which filter was bad? The small one under the seat is kind of a pain to get to, so I didn't bother changing it again. The local CC dealer sold me the filter, it said Briggs & Stratton on the box, so I'm assuming it's just an oil filter for a Briggs engine. Why does the transaxle have 2 filters anyway?

 

[Cub5k]

I forgot to ask, did you figure out which filter was bad? The small one under the seat is kind of a pain to get to, so I didn't bother changing it again. The local CC dealer sold me the filter, it said Briggs & Stratton on the box, so I'm assuming it's just an oil filter for a Briggs engine. Why does the transaxle have 2 filters anyway?

The small filter is for the auxillary pump that supplies the hydro and everything else. The large one filters the resevoir oil. I would replace both. If you move the seat all the way forward you can get to the small filter easily.

I replaced both filters so I don't know which was bad. Pick up a cub 5000 series service manual on ebay. It discusses some of the possible causes of hard steering and some diagnostics.

 

[hdb5252]

Wow, thanks, that made it a lot easier to change the filter. Mine didn't want to move at all without some help from the sledgehammer so I had no idea it could be moved forward.

 

[hdb5252]

Well, after replacing the filter under the seat, I went out and mowed a couple acres of pasture and everything was going great for a while, but when I was almost done, the steering issue resurfaced, so I guess it wasn't the filter. I checked the service manual and it says:

High Effort Required to Turn Steering Wheel:
Cause 1: The auxiliary pump is not supplying suffi- cient fluid to the steering unit. Confirm by testing auxil- iary pump out-put.
Solution 1: Correct the problem with the auxiliary pump.
Cause 2: The priority spool within the steering unit is not moving, causing fluid to be directed to other parts of the system when the steering system needs it.
Solution 2: Internal problem; priority spool.
Cause 3: The relief valve in the steering unit is stuck
open. Solution 3: Internal problem; relief valve.

I don't think it's #1 because the auxiliary pump also operates the 3pt lift and that works OK. I don't have a FEL on my tractor so the aux pump only supplies fluid to the power steering and the 3pt hitch. Also I wouldn't really call it "high effort required to turn the steering wheel" as they put it. "Works fine for the most part, then slightly higher effort by the minute but very gradual" is more like it.

According to the manual causes #2 and #3 can only be addressed by replacing the steering unit because it's not serviceable.


One thing that I have come up with as a likely cause would be a kink in a hose somewhere, so I'm gonna try and check those. I figure as heat builds up, the hose is more likely to bend and cause a flow restriction to the steering unit.

 

[hdb5252]

I just did some more mowing and had another thought. Is it possible that the steering unit is just overheating due to the fact that it's so close to the muffler? The hydraulic lines to and from the steering cylinder go right next to the muffler too. Maybe it's just bad design and nothing wrong with the hydraulics themselves. I couldn't find anything in the service manual about normal operating temperatures and such.

 

[Cub5k]

I just did some more mowing and had another thought. Is it possible that the steering unit is just overheating due to the fact that it's so close to the muffler? The hydraulic lines to and from the steering cylinder go right next to the muffler too. Maybe it's just bad design and nothing wrong with the hydraulics themselves. I couldn't find anything in the service manual about normal operating temperatures and such.

I tore all the heat shields and protective guards out of my tractor so the engine could breathe. You can see straight through the engine compartment from the side. They close it up so no idiots will stick their hands into a turning driveshaft. Models after my 2004 even have louvers in the top of the hood so I'm thinking about drilling some vent holes in mine. Whether heat can cause your problem I think is unlikely. You could stick something between the hoses and the muffler to test it.

My vote is that there is something wrong with the steering unit. Seems like everything else is working. I saw a used one on ebay a few weeks back. I think it was Daves tractor world and the steering unit was from a 5254.

 

[hdb5252]

Over the weekend I ripped out the factory muffler/headers/heatshield and replaced it with Kohler kit #2478620-S which consists of 2 header pipes and a side-mounted muffler that goes next to the oil filter. It's not a 100% direct fit because the mounting holes in the engine base for the muffler bracket are obscured by the tractor's frame, but I think even without that it should stay on there. I haven't tested it fully yet because I'm waiting for a cage for the muffler to keep it from coming in contact with the hood. I might end up just cutting off a small part of the hood overhang that touches the muffler, if the cage doesn't do the trick.

By the way, I started the tractor up with just the 2 header pipes and no muffler and it was loud. At idle it wasn't too bad but at full throttle the noise level was just unbearable.

 

[Cub5k]

Wanted to give you a heads up to a problem I just ran into and I know at least one other 5252 owner had. My PTO went out completely and it turned out to be a bad console. When I removed the console it had acutally melted on the backside facing the muffler. Try to protect the back of that console from the heat as it costs several hundred dollars.

 

[hdb5252]

Over the weekend I ripped out the factory muffler/headers/heatshield and replaced it with Kohler kit #2478620-S which consists of 2 header pipes and a side-mounted muffler that goes next to the oil filter.

Here are some pics:

 

[Cub5k]

Here are some pics:

That's perfect! I will definitely be making that mod.

 

[Cub5k]

Here are some pics:

Will you still be able change the oil filter without removing the muffler?

 

[Cub5k]

Over the weekend I ripped out the factory muffler/headers/heatshield and replaced it with Kohler kit #2478620-S which consists of 2 header pipes and a side-mounted muffler that goes next to the oil filter. It's not a 100% direct fit because the mounting holes in the engine base for the muffler bracket are obscured by the tractor's frame, but I think even without that it should stay on there. I haven't tested it fully yet because I'm waiting for a cage for the muffler to keep it from coming in contact with the hood. I might end up just cutting off a small part of the hood overhang that touches the muffler, if the cage doesn't do the trick.

By the way, I started the tractor up with just the 2 header pipes and no muffler and it was loud. At idle it wasn't too bad but at full throttle the noise level was just unbearable.

Looks like a good solution but my loader's hydraulic hoses are on the right side. They do sell a left side kit but I think a better solution would be to get the headers that go into one pipe and put a much less expensive muffler on it. $100+ mufflers for these tractors is ridiculous.

 

[hdb5252]

Looks like a good solution but my loader's hydraulic hoses are on the right side. They do sell a left side kit but I think a better solution would be to get the headers that go into one pipe and put a much less expensive muffler on it. $100+ mufflers for these tractors is ridiculous.

Changing the engine oil filter should be no problem because the kit came with a low-profile filter (same as the one already on the tractor btw). This particular muffler was about $200 but to me it was worth it because the tractor runs much cooler now and also there seems to be less heat and noise in the cab. I also removed the big metal shield around the flywheel for extra airflow.

I just ran a PTO broadcast spreader for an hour and no steering issues at all. I'm sure partly because it's in the 50's today. A couple of weeks ago when it was still around 80 degrees out and I was doing some mowing, the steering did get a little weird after a while but it wasn't as bad as before. I definitely see a correlation between the steering issues and heat accumulating in the dash area. I noticed that when the steering is acting up and I shut it down and take the key out of the ignition, the key itself is quite hot. Maybe I'll try putting some heat resistant insulation in front of the dash or something...

 

[Pds47]

Your steering cylinder is leaking especially it it turn harder in one direction . The piston in the cylinder has more surface area in one direction that will be the easy direction. If the problem is when the cylinder is at its smaller dimension that痴 the problem. Just repack and enjoy your mow.