LS R4041 Steering wheel leak

Tbolt76 · Mar 23, 2014

Anyone seen this yet? Only 6.5 hours.....maybe bad seal at the top of the steering column? Also, I notice a rubber cap on the left side near the front of the tractor on what looks like a pump of some kind, manual says its the oil fill for the engine (not the p/s as far as I can tell, that's on the right side). Can anyone confirm this?
I also have a couple other peculiarities....hitting the brakes makes the "parking" light come on, and, engaging 4WD does not make the light come on on the cluster. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Tom

mad deranger · Mar 23, 2014

I don't know about the leak, but the brake light is normal. It is a parking brake reminder. The 4x4 light is meant for the deluxe high HP models. LS uses a common dash panel for most models.

Underdog57 · Mar 23, 2014

That rubber cap on L side of engine is the oil fill. You will need a long funnel with a small end to put the oil in and it goes SLOW, pour oil in slow or it will leak out. The 4x4 dash light is not a standard feature of the 4041. The brake light is normal. I can't help with steering wheel (maybe over greased?). Any other questions please ask. I just did my 50 hr service this week.

boomer632 · Mar 23, 2014

I've had the dash off as well as the column plastic. There's nothing under there that would leak from what I remember. The power steering uses a separate pump but draws fluid from the main hydraulic reservoir so there is no fill plug for the steering system.

Tbolt76 · Mar 23, 2014

Underdog and boomer,
Thanks everyone for the replies. I was looking at the parts manual via the link posted the other day, and there is seal at the end of the steering column at the top of the tube where the steering wheel goes on. It leaks hydraulic fluid out of the top of the tube while it runs, very strange. Its serious enough to make a mess all down the plastic cowling. It looks like in the parts diagram there is a gearbox at the bottom of the steering tube for power assist. Maybe the gearbox is leaking where the steering shaft goes in and its migrating up the shaft?
I find it interesting that the oil fill is at the front of the engine on the housing that's connected to the injection pump. There also seems to be a standard engine oil fill cap on top of the valve cover, but at the back of the engine where its difficult to get due to the tilt up hood. I wonder if the fill down at the injection pump housing is to make sure there's oil there after an oil change to ensure the injection pump is lubed before the pump in the reservoir can circulate enough to the engine.
Suffice it to say I will be calling LS first thing in the morning. I hope this isn't a major tear down, I need the tractor this week to get stuff planted on the farm.
Tom

Tbolt76 · Mar 25, 2014

The word from LS and from my dealer is that this is most likely a leaking steering motor that the steering wheel shaft goes into. The fluid is migrating up the shaft and out the top. Apparently, my dealer, who also sells TYM, has seen this on a few TYM's before. Looks like it will go back and have the steering motor replaced under warranty. Not a very common problem, which is to be expected, I guess.
Tom

TractShackTimmons · Mar 25, 2014

Tbolt76 said:
The word from LS and from my dealer is that this is most likely a leaking steering motor that the steering wheel shaft goes into. The fluid is migrating up the shaft and out the top. Apparently, my dealer, who also sells TYM, has seen this on a few TYM's before. Looks like it will go back and have the steering motor replaced under warranty. Not a very common problem, which is to be expected, I guess.
Tom

You are right. Its the steering orbital box on the bottom of the steering column. I have seen this problem a lot on many different models just not with any LS tractors. I have an older Massey in my shop right now with the same problem. As far as the cap the other guys are right its an oil fill plug. The one on top of the valve cover is a pain to get to. What i do is unhook the hood shock and pull off that plastic hood hinge cover on top of the hood and lay a blanket on the dash and steering wheel and lay the hood on the dash. You can do it without removing that plastic hinge cover but if your not careful it will crack or break. I have cracked one and replaced it with a new one.

TSO · Mar 26, 2014

Tbolt76 said:
The word from LS and from my dealer is that this is most likely a leaking steering motor that the steering wheel shaft goes into. The fluid is migrating up the shaft and out the top. Apparently, my dealer, who also sells TYM, has seen this on a few TYM's before. Looks like it will go back and have the steering motor replaced under warranty. Not a very common problem, which is to be expected, I guess.
Tom

This happened on my Kioti too.