Question on power steering for L3540

[JOHNINMA]

I purchased a brand new L3540 with cab about 2 months ago, and so far I love it, but I have one question I was hoping someone could answer.
Recently I was using the pallet forks I purchased from my dealer to pickup a non-running atv that weighs 591 lbs. so I could place it on the back of a trailer.
The tractor lifted it effortlessly, however a couple of times as I tried to turn the wheels to ease the atv onto the trailer the steering wheel would turn but the tires did not move with the turning of the steering wheel.
I noticed the only time this ever occurs is if I have weight on the loader and I am traveling very slowly.
I have a rear ballast box on the tractor with about 800lbs. of ballast and all my tires are properly inflated.
I don't know if I just need more rear ballast or if this is an indication of a possible problem in the steering.
Any thoughts would be appreciated before I approach the dealer on this.

THANKS JOHNINMA

 

[art]

Talk with your dealer! You do have a problem but would need more info.

 

[JOHNINMA]

Thankyou for your input on this Art. I will definetly bring this to the attention of my dealer.
I failed to mention earlier that I also checked and my hydraulic fluid is full and there are no leaks or fluid seepage whatsoever.
All in all still a great machine, just need to solve this one thing.
I will keep posted on what the outcome is with the dealer.
Thanks again,
JOHNINMA

 

[tmc2318]

I've maxed out the loader on my 3540 a lot lifting with pallet forks (1500 lbs+). Steering was fine, usually in 4x4 as my loaded rears were almost in mid-air at times. Get it looked at....

 

[TripleR]

Yep, something is wrong; just don't know what.

 

[JOHNINMA]

Kubota service tech came out this morning and checked out my power steering problem. He agreed there is definetly something wrong with the power steering, but that the dealer will have to bring the tractor into the shop next week for further pressure testing etc. Thats unfortunatly all the news I have right now on this problem.

 

[JOHNINMA]

I talked to the dealer today and they told me my steering problem is being caused by an internal leak in a cylinder. I assume they mean a seal in the steering cylinder. I asked the person I spoke with on the phone what component of the steering system the failed seal was located in, but he said the service tech only told him it was in a cylinder. The dealer has ordered new seals, and the tractor should be ready by next week at the latest.

 

[JOHNINMA]

Got my L3540 back today, and to my surprise I still have the same steering issue when picking up around 800 to 1000 lbs. of weight with my pallet forks.
I don't know what to think now. Do I have a problem with this tractor or am I expecting too much out of it? I lifted the same hydraulic man lift with it that the technician did almost 2 weeks ago when he said that there was a definite problem with the steering. Is it possible that under certain conditions the hydraulic fluid bypasses the steering cylinder to prevent overloading. I called the dealer and spoke to service and they told me they would call me back, but so far no return phone call from them. If anyone out there has an L3540 with pallet forks I sure would appreciate if you could tell me if yours stops steering at a certain amount of weight on the forks.

 

[art]

That doesn't happen!! The tractor should stop lifting before a Kubota can't steer!!!!

One of the things that I often use for selling them is at an idle steering and going lock to lock. I'd doubt that you could do that.

 

[JOHNINMA]

Thanks again for your input Art, the dealer called me back and apologized for returning it to me without checking the steering under loaded conditions. They said that the service tech failed to perform a flow test on the hydraulics and also that he did not put any weight on the front end after replacing the internal cylinder seals. The dealer is going to pickup the tractor again for further testing on Monday. Hopefully I will have better results the second time around.

 

[Junkcollector]

Your tractor should never lose steering before any other hydraulic function. I would bet your problem is in the steering orbital valve. Did they check there?

 

[JOHNINMA]

Thanks for the suggestion Junkcollector, I do not think they checked that, but I definetly am going to demand not ask that they check that out as this is the second time this tractor is going right back in the shop with 38 hours on it. Thanks again to everyone for there advice. I am greatful for all the help I have received thru this website as my other tractor is manual steering and I was not sure how the power steering is supposed to act under loaded conditions.

 

[TalonDancer]

This is almost certainly NOT the OP's problem. But there are conditions where an L3240/3540's power steering can be sluggish when the FEL is fully loaded.

I regularly move 3/4 ton of material with our L3240 HST, LA 724 and pallet fork. The power steering has always worked. BUT.... when the FEL is fully loaded the engine needs to be above 1,200 RPM for the steering to be smooth. This is only an issue if you are running in auto throttle mode AND have adjusted the throttle cable to keep the engine RPM down when pulling away from a dead stop. The solution is to speed up the engine a little using the hand throttle until the 3240/3540 is underway.

Talon Dancer

 

[JOHNINMA]

Thankyou for the advice on the throttle, but unfortunately on my tractor the engine speed produces no noticeable effects on steering performance. I run the tractor with autothrottle off and manual throttle approximately around 1800 rpm's. On the bright side if my dealer does not resolve this to my satisfaction I met a group of very nice people yesterday at another Kubota dealership where I purchased a trailer, and they told me they would be willing to perform all warranty service etc. on my tractor even though I did not buy this machine from them.:thumbsup:

 

[Texas Fella]

One thing to consider. I tend to agree with the rest of the post (this is a tractor issue) in most cases. However, please keep in mind that a tractor may not "dry turn" in many conditions. What this means is:

Say you are pulling up to a trailer and need to move a little to the right, however, you are almost against the trailer and do not want to back up. Naturally, you try to turn the wheels without moving forward (a dry turn). This works in your car, should work with your tractor, right? Not usually the case. Especially when you have weight in the front end loader, the tractor/loader has put so much down force on the front axle that the tires will not turn in the dirt without forward movement. Some times you can lessen this with added rear ballest, but usually not. Please keep in mind that I am not saying "this is your issue", I am just saying that this if often times normal in the conditions listed above. Obviously, the load in the loader, the tires, and the soil conditions have a HUGE affect on dry turning. Just a thought. Hope you get it figured out soon!

 

[funwithahoe]

One thing to consider. I tend to agree with the rest of the post (this is a tractor issue) in most cases. However, please keep in mind that a tractor may not "dry turn" in many conditions. What this means is:

Say you are pulling up to a trailer and need to move a little to the right, however, you are almost against the trailer and do not want to back up. Naturally, you try to turn the wheels without moving forward (a dry turn). This works in your car, should work with your tractor, right? Not usually the case. Especially when you have weight in the front end loader, the tractor/loader has put so much down force on the front axle that the tires will not turn in the dirt without forward movement. Some times you can lessen this with added rear ballest, but usually not. Please keep in mind that I am not saying "this is your issue", I am just saying that this if often times normal in the conditions listed above. Obviously, the load in the loader, the tires, and the soil conditions have a HUGE affect on dry turning. Just a thought. Hope you get it figured out soon!

That has not been my experience - The wheel may get harder to turn but never that I can turn the steering wheel and nothing happens to the tires.

 

[JOHNINMA]

What happens on my tractor with a load on the forks is that the steering wheel gets harder to turn and if you put a little extra effort into turning the steering wheel the steering wheel will turn but the front wheels do not change direction. The tractor is also being operated on level grass covered ground. The steering also acts funny at times moving if I have say around 800 lbs. of weight on the loader and I try to turn more than just a slight turn. The steering wheel will get hard then loose then hard then loose as you turn it and this cycle repeats over and over until you reduce or eliminate the load. With a light load everything works wonderful. I noticed after getting it back from the dealer that if I turn the wheel to the point it gets hard and hold the steering wheel there steady that the front wheels very slowly try to turn and catch up so to say with the position that the steering wheel is in. Still enjoy every minute in this tractor, but will enjoy it that much more when the dealer is able to give me a positive solution to this.

 

[slan]

My dealer just replaced the steering controller (under the front of the tractor with the steering shaft going into it) under warranty (500hrs).:thumbsup:
There is not a relief valve adjustment on this controller and when it starts to get weak it needs to be replaced.

Don't price the part though, you might not sleep at night.
Hope it will last this time.

 

[JOHNINMA]

Talked to my dealer today and according to them the tractor is operating properly. They told me a Kubota representative came out and looked at how the steering operates and told them that there is a proportional valve that closes if the hydro pedal is not pressed down at least a little bit, such as when I tried to load something heavy into a trailer and turned the wheel while the tractor was stationary. According to my dealer if I have a heavy load I should move the tractor a slight bit to open the proportional valve and the steering will work fine. They said they even compared how it operates under load to another tractor on the lot and the other tractor behaves the same way if its loaded and you try to adjust the steering while stationary. If this is the case I guess I will have to be more careful working in tight spots so that I don't get in a situation where I need to first cut my wheels in a certain direction before moving a least a little.

 

[TalonDancer]

.....there is a proportional valve that closes if the hydro pedal is not pressed down at least a little bit, such as when I tried to load something heavy into a trailer and turned the wheel while the tractor was stationary. ....

This is NOT how my 2007 GL3240 steering works. In tight situations I frequently turn the steering with the FEL fully loaded* BEFORE a press the HST pedal so that I can adjust the direction it will go AFTER I press the HST pedal. Granted I use the hand throttle to get the engine to over 1,000 RPM and increase the pump output. But the steering does move without pressing the HST pedal.

Talon Dancer

* by 'fully loaded' I mean that I had to remove a few rocks from the pallet so the FEL could pick it up.