steering trouble

[downeast]

I have a 1987 kioti LB2204. today it stopped steering. the wheels are in a slight turn. I raised the wheels of the ground with the bucket and can just spin the steering wheel either direction to no effect although there does seem to be a slight "catch" when doing it to the left although it isn't much of a catch. when I say "spin" the steering wheel I mean it spins freely, on and on and on to the right and seems to catch briefly when goig back to the right. just took the steering wheel off, it was well attached to the shaft.

 

[Lloyd_E]

Check to see if a tie-rod is broken or power steering belt is broken or if power steering fluid is low.

 

[downeast]

the way the steering wheel spins i'm pretty sure that something has stripped inside.... looking back on it (when it went out) the steering just prior was hard to go right easy to go left.....does anyone know how the hydralic ram in the steering system works for "power assisting"... how is it activated when you turn? the parts diagram doesn't really help

 

[BTI]

The gearbox at the base of the column needs replaced or rebuilt.
Same box as 2554/3054 if I remember correctly.

BTI

 

[downeast]

I'll start tearing into the steering once i get it ino the garage...just have to finish the project thats in that space now then i can start tearing it apart....still not sure how the hyd ram on the steering is actuated....think i might have been working against the ram when i stripped the gears....parts diagram and wokshop manual not helping with the hyd ram questions

 

[BTI]

I'm guessing someone has installed an aftermarket power steering on it.
The factory set-up, as far as I know, did not use a steering cylinder.

BTI

 

[downeast]

oh the joy in dismantling a 22 year old machine.....luckily the designers at kioti decided to make it challenging. to get at steering box you have to take off control panel to get to the fuel tank that you'll have to remove. of course the side panels have to be taken off or at least pried apart and I'm no designer so it wouldn't have occurred to me to run the steering column through the gas tank. that's right the gas tank has a hole in it for the steering column. but I've made it through all that and am now attempting to remove the pitman arm which the parts diagram tells me is attached to the sector shaft but has withstood my attempts thus far to separate. kioti dealer has told me i can't rebuild, that kioti only sells the steering assembly as a whole unit not the parts i might need to replace (for $800).

 

[Coyote machine]

I'd wait till you get it removed and apart before worrying about whether you can rebuild or replace it. If possible you might be able to find a good used one for much less $. Here's hoping.

 

[JoelD]

My 3054 has fully hydraulic steering, I would think if you stripped metal you'd know it as you were stripping it.

Could be a hydraulic valve or seal failure.

Joel

 

[ToadHill]

??? Broken knuckle???

 

[MichiganIron]

You generally need to press the Patman Arm off the Sector Shaft. It's pretty unbelievable how stubborn they are. After 22 years of being together, they don't separate easily. Warm up the shoulder of the Pitman Arm and press it off the Sector Shaft.

 

[jda1961]

i visited my dealer today and they had a ck30 in the shop with steering problems. it was an older model, it had something in the steering broke too. they tore into it and down in there where the 1st u-joint is at is where it broke. seems that in early models they used cheapo u-joints and that part failed. and when you see it you'll know what i mean by cheapo part. the replacement part is a good part. its a real pain to get to but simple to fix. in that one the steering shaft goes down into a hydraulic box with hoses coming out of it, not sure if thats the way yours is made

 

[scott1440]

finally getting back to this thread, hope it can help somebody who ends up with the same problem. turns out the steering was stripped, had to get a whole new assembly from kioti. it came with a new pitman arm with the new assembly so there was no need to pry that off the old one. the problem was, the new steering gear from kioti didn't have enough clearance for the gas tank. so i had to put in a few spacers to raise the gas tank up some, which then threw off everything else off that bolted on top off that. end of story is that it's steering fine, but the cowlings don't fit on right. at least i can make it go in the direction i want it to go in. why in the love of god kioti didn't make it possible to get to the plug to check/refill the steering colum plug accessible? you shouldn't have to take off the gas tank, and everything else on top of that off, just to check a level.