DK35SE steering problem....any ideas?

[Starks]

Warranty yes, I bought it new this year from the closest dealer which is over an hour away. If someone told me that they had had the same problem and repaired it themselves fairly simply then I'd probably choose that over the hassle of transporting with a rented trailer twice. I'll give my dealer a yell in the AM.

 

[Highbeam]

The "hard stop" you refer to is when the wheels come up against their stops on the axle housing. The steering wheel isn't attached to a gear or linkage with a "hard stop" it's all hydraulic. You might have noticed that the Kioti symbol on your steering wheel seems to never be in the same place when you're traveling straight. That's because you have a fluid link between the steering wheel and the tires.

I've lost hydrualic pressure a couple of times, darn sticks removing my filter, and the steering goes away along with the FEL, HST, and 3pt control. Since you only lost one, it is not a fluid level or condition issue.

Isn't the steering powered by its own hydro pump? Shares the sump with the main hydro pump?

 

[lilranch2001]

Warranty yes, I bought it new this year from the closest dealer which is over an hour away. If someone told me that they had had the same problem and repaired it themselves fairly simply then I'd probably choose that over the hassle of transporting with a rented trailer twice. I'll give my dealer a yell in the AM.

I wouldnt mess with it under warranty, all you are doing is putting your warranty at risk on the rest of the hydro unit

 

[Starks]

She went to the dealer today. I'll relay what they find.

 

[Starks]

Update: Got her back from the dealer on Monday. Looks like a bad steering cylinder was the problem, replaced and working fine now.

 

[o2batsea]

It's a good thing to have work done under warranty, not just for the peace of mind it gives you. If your problem uncovers an inherent defect with the model that would generate a recall it would be of great interest and benefit to other owners. You never know...

 

[dfkrug]

Update: Looks like a bad steering cylinder was the problem, replaced and working fine now.

Interesting. Since the steering cyls are single-acting, that would mean that
the bad one had to be spewing oil from the breather or gland when it was
pushing and the steering should work better in one direction vs the other.

You saw no sign of either symptom?

 

[Starks]

No, it was acting the same in either direction. I noticed you said cylinders (plural).....interestingly when the dealer's driver brought it back he mentioned that my tractor only had one single cylinder as opposed to two which they were used to seeing. When I was messing with it, it sure looked like one big cylinder to me with a line going to each end from the steering valve block.

Any other DK35SE owner's out there want to comment on their steering gear....one or two cylinders? Maybe a running change in production? If so I hope my problem was a fluke and not a sign of a general problem.....

 

[lilranch2001]

did they disassemble the cylinder to see what was wrong?
I would have thought that even a defective cyclinder would still have some steering ability unless the whole rod packing blew off

 

[dfkrug]

he mentioned that my tractor only had one single cylinder as opposed to two which they were used to seeing. When I was messing with it, it sure looked like one big cylinder to me with a line going to each end from the steering valve block.....

That is interesting. ISLAND's parts diagram above shows 2 SA cyls, just
like my CK30 has. If you have only one, you are right, it is DA, and what I
said would not apply. I wonder if there are 2 variants. I bought 2 CK30s
at the same time and the two has some minor differences.