Front wheels pushing into ground, not steering

[Muhammad]

I recently rented a little yanmar tlb for a project and found that with an empty bucket the tractor could barely steer. Worse in 2wd than 4wd but basically the tractor had no steering at all going up hill in 2wd. When I loaded the front bucket with gravel, in 4wd, steering seemed pretty normal and maneuverability was adequate. But all other times the steering was so ineffective that I had to make multi-point turns just to go around corners. In the dirt, the front wheels would just push forward.

My thinking is that the ballast setup was imbalanced with the rear had too much weight, pulling the front wheels up and resulting in a lack of traction up front.

I did check the differential lock and I had it disengaged, but maybe it was broken?

I wasn't able to find out if the rears were also loaded. Could have been another factor.

Any thoughts?

 

[RalphVa]

ALWAYS be in 4wd unless on pavement. Otherwise, you only have 2 wheel brakes and not even that if going downhill without much weight on the rear. The rear wheels will just skid. If skid, they can easily skid the tractor sideways, and you can end up rolling it downhill sideways, with hopefully you buckled into the seat and not flung underneath the tractor.

 

[4570Man]

Did the back tires make scrub marks when you turned? It sounds like the diff lock is engaged.

 

[JethroB]

Sounds like the front needed a little weight. Tuck the hoe in close as possible, use 4wd, and steer with the individual wheel brakes.

 

[4570Man]

The front end on my Deere 310 was so light it would bounce across the ground but it still steered fine. That tractor has much less boom hanging off the back than the 310 did I can’t imagine lack of weight being the problem.

 

[CobyRupert]

Sounds like the front needed a little weight. Tuck the hoe in close as possible, use 4wd, and steer with the individual wheel brakes.

^ This.
Also, you can test if the differential lock is “locked”: when you press an individual wheel brake, the tractor will want to stall and stop both tires, instead of the braking just the one tire and assisting the steering. Sometimes I’ve had to manual pull up on the diff. lock lever to get it to release.

The rear tires loaded or unloaded shouldn’t effect the tractor’s steering balance as they don’t contribute any upward leverage on the front end like the backhoe does (where rear axle is the fulcrum). They do contribute leverage when bucket is loaded and front axle is fulcrum. (Theres probably a better way to say this).
You can test if they’re loaded by giving the tire valve a quick push (when it’s at the bottom of the tire) and seeing if liquid comes out. You can also tap on the tire. You’ll get a solid thud low on the tire where there’s liquid and a more hollow (ping) sound on top where there’s air.

 

[jenkinsph]

Agree with Jethro and Coby above. If you still need better steering try removing the backhoe bucket.

 

[airbiscuit]

Did it having steering brakes? If yes, tapping on the left or right brake would have swung it right around the corner. If that didn't work, the differential is locked. Did you share your experience with the rental place?

Good to hear you were using a CUT!

 

[Muhammad]

Did it having steering brakes? If yes, tapping on the left or right brake would have swung it right around the corner. If that didn't work, the differential is locked. Did you share your experience with the rental place?

Good to hear you were using a CUT!

Yeah I told them about the issues and to check out the ballast setup.

The machine did not have individual steering brakes.

 

[Thomas]

Have you try placing backhoe in left or right position for better front traction?

 

[ptsg]

Parking brakes on or off? With enough ballast in the back and brakes on, it can somewhat recreate the effect of a locking diff. That's also a trick used in off road where the 4x4 truck doesn't have a diff lock.

 

[Deere Dude]

My diff lock sticks once in a while and I can tell immediately because the front tires and the tractor slide straight ahead even if the tires are aimed completely to the left or the right. Sometimes I just need to reverse for a second to disengage it. Very rarely do I need to go back and forth more than once or twice. It only happens though, when my big clod-hoppers accidently hit the control button. It sounds like the external lever is disengaged but the button on the transaxle is sluggish popping back out.

 

[Leejohn]

Just turn the BH to the Left or right and lift the tire off the ground. Then try and go fwd, if it does then you are locked, should just spin.

 

[grsthegreat]

were the front tires lifting off the ground due to the weight of the backhoe and just not engaging the ground? or did the steering wheel not turn.

 

[Muhammad]

were the front tires lifting off the ground due to the weight of the backhoe and just not engaging the ground? or did the steering wheel not turn.

Steering wheel turns.

I'm leaning toward a stuck differential lock.

 

[Thomas]

Have you found the cure for the problem yet?

 

[Muhammad]

Have you found the cure for the problem yet?

No, it was a rental machine. One and done.