Power Steering Help

[jpowell86]

Hi all! This is my first post ever on here. I bought my first tractor about 1 month ago. It is a used 2003 Farm Pro 2430 with Koyker 160 FEL. It was a trade in at a local new holland dealer. There was some minor things like electrical wiring being out of sort and not hooked up. The tach/hour meter being a couple things that weren't hooked up even. I hooked them up shortly after I got it home. I've put about 21 hours on in since I've had it. Everything seemed to work great until a couple days ago. I was working the tractor pretty hard running into rocks and moving quite a bit of dirt. My steering seemed to get quite hard. Now steering the beast is really only capable when the tractor is moving. When I turn to the left sometimes it works fine but going back the other way it doesn't really do good at all.

There is plenty of oil in the resevoir and in can hear the pump trying to work when trying to steer. Before this happened i used to be able to continue turning the steering wheel to the left without it stopping. Since it seemed to start acting up I actually hit the stops in both directions. I'm hoping it's only a simple rebuild on the front steering cylinder. I don't want to have to replace the pump or the power steering gear as they all it in the parts list.

Can anyone offer me a some knowledge or info that may help me to fix my issue?

 

[Diamondpilot]

My guess is you blew the seals on the cylinder. Try lifting the front tires off the ground with the FEL and see what happens.

Chris

 

[jpowell86]

When I lift it with the FEL the wheels turn both ways and the steering wheel hits the stops like it should. I didn't mention either that there wasn't any leaks outside of the cylinder.

 

[Affordable]

The cylinder will need to be rebuilt, we have the kits

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales Co
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

 

[jpowell86]

The cylinder will need to be rebuilt, we have the kits

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales Co
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

Let me know how I can get ahold of you Tommy. I will need a rebuild kit and a new rubber dust boot.

 

[greg_g]

My steering seemed to get quite hard. Now steering the beast is really only capable when the tractor is moving. When I turn to the left sometimes it works fine but going back the other way it doesn't really do good at all.

Hang on here, don't buy parts you may not need. I agree that it sounds more like the pump than the cylinder. When a cylinder bypasses, your steering wheel becomes ineffective. When the pump quits working, good seals in the cylinder are what makes turning the wheel difficult.

At least that would be the way it works with my two pump tractors. Yours only has one pump to work everything. So the test of fire here will be whether or not your rear lift will lift a load. Not just itself, but an actual load like a mower or cultivator or something. If it does that, the pump is ok - and you may be looking at either a priority valve issue - or a steering controller issue.

//greg//

 

[jpowell86]

Hang on here, don't buy parts you may not need. I agree that it sounds more like the pump than the cylinder. When a cylinder bypasses, your steering wheel becomes ineffective. When the pump quits working, good seals in the cylinder are what makes turning the wheel difficult.

At least that would be the way it works with my two pump tractors. Yours only has one pump to work everything. So the test of fire here will be whether or not your rear lift will lift a load. Not just itself, but an actual load like a mower or cultivator or something. If it does that, the pump is ok - and you may be looking at either a priority valve issue - or a steering controller issue.

//greg//

Mine is a two pump setup. There is a separate reservoir in front of the radiator for the power steering.

 

[greg_g]

Mine is a two pump setup. There is a separate reservoir in front of the radiator for the power steering.

Ok, but that would have been good to know up front. That now introduces a new factor into the equation. The independent (front) steering pump has an adjustable relief valve. Yours may be
(a) dirty
(b) in need of adjustment
(c) broke
Given this new info, you may wish to take a new look on the situation

//greg//

 

[Affordable]

Give me a call and we will help you work it out 979-865-4002 We are open Sat. until 1pm central time.I can tell you how to test the pump


Simple question for you Greg G :

How do you test the relief valve ? What pressure do you set it at ? I'm sure you did it on one of your tractors




Tommy
Affordale Tractor Sales
"Your Jinma Parts Superstore"
Home of compact Jinma, Foton, and Koyker Tractors and Parts, Wood Chippers, Backhoes - Affordable Tractor Sales Company

 

[jpowell86]

Tommy - I'll call during the week when I'm home. I'm out camping for the holiday weekend.

Greg- I would like to know the same as what Tommy asked about the valve.

 

[greg_g]

How do you test the relief valve ? What pressure do you set it at ?

Who said anything about testing? I merely mentioned adjusting it. But if there's a way to set a specific relief pressure, I've never found it. Never claimed to either.
Here's what I did on my KM454:
1. once overheated fluid cause the steering to bind
2. remove the hex cover adjacent to the output port
3. adjust whichever direction makes the steering wheel turn easier.
In the spirit of full disclosure, that was on a FeiDong engine (FD395). Since I've never had cause to do this on my TS354C (Y485 engine), perhaps I am incorrect in assuming they adjust similarly.

//greg//

 

[jpowell86]

If it helps any. My engine is the TY395.

 

[greg_g]

If it helps any. My engine is the TY395.

Sorry, can't help. I have no idea of how FD395 mechanicals compare to the TY395. They come from different manufacturers. All you can do it try. If removing the hex cap adjacent to the output line (the smaller one) reveals an adjustment port, you're in business. If not, all I can say is that I tried.

//greg//

 

[jpowell86]

The weird thing is I can turn left usually without problem. I can then turn back to the right from all the way left and make it to where the wheels are back straight before it gets hard. When I was on it last I noticed too that if I hit something with one of the wheels that the steering wheel would turn too.

 

[greg_g]

Every bit of extra info helps, thanks. Cylinder bypass is typically bi-directional. So your appended description helps keep cylinder bypass low on my list of possible causes. Being a 2003 model, I'm assuming your steering cylinder is up front (older ones were on the side). Inspect how it's fastened at both ends, with particular attention to the anchor end. It's not uncommon for folks to report cylinders coming loose on the 200 Series. A few have actually had the anchor bracket itself break loose. At any rate, a loose cylinder mount and/or bracket can cause binding at certain points of travel too.

//greg//

 

[jpowell86]

Everything is tight. I'm not sure what to check next. What would be the best way to test the power steering pump to make sure that it's working correctly? I'm really new to tractors. This is my first one. I obviously am learning as I go.

 

[jpowell86]

I'd also like to mention that my tractor is the equivalent of a jinma 304.

 

[stevem5215]

Call Tommy at Affordable. He'll be able to help. The first indication you have bad seals in the cylinder is that you are able to turn the wheel to the one side continuously. That was what my 2003 Farm Pro 2420 did when the seals were bad. A repair kit fixed it right up.

Good luck,
Steve

 

[jpowell86]

Just ordered a steering cylinder kit, steering cylinder dust boot and a set of manuals since I only had the tractor parts manual. I ordered my parts from Affordable Tractor Sales. Homier charges a whole lot more for the manuals. Just the tractor operations manual itself they are charging like $40. The set of three from Affordable Tractor Sales was only $35. I hope the kit for the steering cylinder works. I figure if that doesn't solve it then It was only $25 spent versus replacing the other more expensive parts. I'll let everbody know how things go. I've never rebuilt a hydraulic steering cylinder before. Does anyone have some references on how to rebuilt the steering cylinder?

Thanks,

Jimmy

 

[Rich Waugh]

Jimmy,

I think you'll find that rebuilding the cylinder will do the job for you. When you go to do that, I suggest that you have your digital camera next to you so you can take pictures of the piston and seal assemblies ans you open up the cylinder. That will give you a reference for putting the new stuff in in the correct order. (Guess how I learned this...)

The only real difficulty I've ever had rebuilding a cylinder is sometimes getting the piston back in without damaging the seals. What has worked for me is to use a small piston ring compressor to compress the seals just enough to slip in the cylinder. That and plenty of hydraulic fluid to lube it first.

It's not really too complex and, if you run into problems, you can always call Tommy at his Houston office and he'll walk you through it.

I need to do the steering cylinder on my 304, too. It still works well enough to use it so I haven't made it a priority - too many other fires to stamp out first...

Rich