LK3054 Power steering disassembly

[Crazed98Camaro]

1997 LK3054 had issues turning left, namely binding and eventual inability to turn left. It was also leaking hydraulic fluid from the steering column, and I could see that the sector shaft was not fully inserted into the column. I decided to try take the steering column apart to see if I could diagnose the issues.

I am having trouble getting the ball nut assembly out of the column case. I did finally get the bottom cap off (and found numerous ball bearings, some already ground in half which I assume attributed to my steering binding). I was hoping the shaft would come out the bottom, but it seems I still need to get the peened nut off the top of the shaft, which was also giving me some issues.

Just looking to confirm the peened nut has to come off the top of the shaft before I do any more damage, as well as any tips or tricks someone might have who has been here before.

 

[Patches]

Having never been in there and mine is hydraulic power steering I'm not sure how much help I can be. Having said that, I do have a workshop manual that shows your steering box. It appears the ball nut assembly is removed from the bottom. The manual states, "1.Draw out the ball nut assembly from gearbox. NOTE When drawing out the ball nut assembly, take care not to damage the seal on the ball nut and the ball nut circuit face. Never disassemble the ball nut assembly." The manual is silent as to how to "draw out the assembly" Looking more closely, the step before attempting to withdraw the assembly is to remove the front cover; 1. Remove the circlip 2. Remove the front cover, which is apparently shown in your bottom photo

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Thanks Patches. I'll keep trying to remove it from the bottom based off your workshop manual, and let you know if I have any luck.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Well, I made some progress and got the ball carrier out of the bottom, and the worm shaft out the top. I still believe I would need to remove the peened nut in order to get the valve assembly free, but I am wondering if it is worth it.

Unfortunately, it appears the ball carrier is cracked, most likely from one of the many ground ball bearings getting wedged and cracking the sidewall. I am weary of putting a broken ball carrier back in the steering assembly and being back to the same situation in due time, so I am most likely going to replace the ball nut assembly, to the tune of $700 from Messicks. My sector shaft was also previously broken and welded at one point, so I am going to get a new one as well, looking like $400 for that. Add in the seals, gaskets and bearings and its looking like a $1500 bill.

 

[Patches]

That may be the prudent way to go. The steering box section of the manual is a full 10 pages long with clearance checks for the ball nut to gear box cylinder I.D. requiring out side mics as well as a cylinder gauge. The tolerances are very tight {0.00118 to 0.00311} with axial play of {0 to 0.00079} of the ball nut assembly.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

That may be the prudent way to go. The steering box section of the manual is a full 10 pages long with clearance checks for the ball nut to gear box cylinder I.D. requiring out side mics as well as a cylinder gauge. The tolerances are very tight {0.00118 to 0.00311} with axial play of {0 to 0.00079} of the ball nut assembly.

Hey Patches, I received the new ball nut assembly and sector shaft, along with all the other bearings, seals and gaskets I ordered.
I have been looking for a reference towards assembling everything. I was planning on just assembling it the way I took it apart but I just don't want to waste $1500 in case the way it previously was, was incorrect. Would you happen to be able to share those pages about the assembly of the steering box? Thanks!

 

[Patches]

I'll see what I can do

 

[JoelD]

I’ll look also. I have shop manual lk3054XS

 

[Patches]

I hope you can help; I'm a dinosaur with less than limited computer skills and am unable to get the {old} equipment to function on this project. Unfortunately, the assembly instruction are mingled with the disassembly instructions necessitating scanning 10 pages, and you know how comprehensive these Kioti manuals are

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Thanks Joe and Patches.

I was actually able to find a WSM of a Kubota model that shares what appears to be the same power steering system. I have attached the three relevant pages to the steering system to this post. I guess it's not as detailed at the 10 pages from Kioti, but it helped me in a pinch.

Since everyone on the forum has been so helpful, I am taking some pictures and going to document my reassembly in hopes it can help the next person.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

I'm waiting on images to upload (dang DSL) but in the meantime, I figure I'd inquire of my next issue.


My next issue is the valve body. Apparently the two smaller springs that are encased by the pistons are different parts - one looks like it has a higher spring rate than the other. They fell out when I took the valve body off so I'm unsure which spring goes where.

Any thoughts on how I can figure out which spring is part number 270 vs 260, and which location they go in on the valve body?

 

[JoelD]

 

[JoelD]

Let me know if you need something different

 

[Patches]

Joel; That appears to refer to the newer hydraulic power steering , not the earlier power steering system employing a sector shaft and drag link from the steering box to the tie rods

 

[Patches]

Crazed Camaro; Information on the valve is minimal in my manual: A single picture of the disassembled valve shows 4 springs { two long springs and two much shorter springs with associated hardware, a cylindrical object they refer to as a spool, and a disassembled relief valve}. There is no information showing or referring to a difference in the springs or their respective positions in the valve. The only instructions for reassembly state; "Apply grease to o-rings in the valve. When installing the spool, align the marks. After reassembling be sure to adjust the setting pressure. If either the valve housing or spool are damaged, replace the valve housing and spool as a unit". They list the setting pressure as 1636 to 1707 psi with the engine speed at 2600 and oil temperature of 133 to 131*F. That's it?

 

[JoelD]

Joel; That appears to refer to the newer hydraulic power steering , not the earlier power steering system employing a sector shaft and drag link from the steering box to the tie rods

Sorry it’s all I have.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Sorry it’s all I have.

That okay Joel, I appreciate you taking the time out to take those pictures and post them up. Maybe they will help someone else another day!

Crazed Camaro; Information on the valve is minimal in my manual: A single picture of the disassembled valve shows 4 springs { two long springs and two much shorter springs with associated hardware, a cylindrical object they refer to as a spool, and a disassembled relief valve}. There is no information showing or referring to a difference in the springs or their respective positions in the valve. The only instructions for reassembly state; "Apply grease to o-rings in the valve. When installing the spool, align the marks. After reassembling be sure to adjust the setting pressure. If either the valve housing or spool are damaged, replace the valve housing and spool as a unit". They list the setting pressure as 1636 to 1707 psi with the engine speed at 2600 and oil temperature of 133 to 131*F. That's it?

Thanks Patches. Yeah, there are 4 springs, two of which are longer and thicker, and two which are shorter. I wouldn't have taken a second look a the shorter springs but I saw the part numbers were different in the Kubota breakdown so I figured they might be different spring rates, although the Kubota breakdown I am using doesn't show 4 springs, only 2.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Was able to finally get my pictures uploaded:

I wont be taking the micrometer out and checking clearances to the extent the WSM calls for...this is just a shade tree job and hopefully the LK3054 steers better than when I bought it. But it is still a good chunk of change to replace a lot of these parts, so taking your time and making sure everything goes back together correctly seems like a good idea.


To start off, here is my old steering assembly taken apart:

Here is a close up of my sector shaft. It had apparently broken before and a P/O had welded it up, news to me!

A close up of the most likely reason the steering was binding; the majority of the ball bearings in the ball carrier had ground down and I believe one of them eventually cracked the ball carrier.

A layout of all my new parts.

First up, the sector shaft gasket and needle bearing.

The gasket goes in easy, keep the "u" side in towards the cylinder.

Press in the needle bearing. Do not press the bearing in too far, take incremental stops and check. I was stopping to check the fit of the sector shaft, but it kept on stopping before being fully seated. I had thought that the bearing needed to go in farther but the sector shaft was actually hung up on the "u" of the gasket. I had to take out the gasket and get my blind bearing puller to pull the bearing back out enough to reseat the gasket. I found that some oil and some twisting helped the shaft past the "u" of the gasket.

Ensure the sector shaft can be fully seated.

Replaced the o-ring on the end cap.

I also bought 3x teflon oil rings and their respective o-rings, thinking if I'm in here I might as well replaced them. Well it turns out the o-ring is seated behind the teflon rings! I decided against reaplcing the one on the endcap, and the ball-nut assembly already came pre-assembled, so I just replaced the one at the top of the steering case.

Insert the ball nut assembly from the bottom. I used some oil to coat the teflon rings, but it still needed some light taps with a rubber mallet.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

I did a little more digging last night and found another Kubota WSM from a B1700 that looks like it has a different, yet similar power steering set up (worm shaft/ball nut to sector shaft to drag link).

Since its not specific to the LK3054, take it with a grain of salt but it at least explains what the springs in the valve body do. From my understanding the "pistons" on either side of the smaller springs are reaction pistons that move when the operator moves the steering wheel. One will move for clockwise direction, one for counter-clockwise. In that respect, it seems like the springs should probably be of the same spring rate, and shouldn't matter which one goes where.

I put the valve body together about 10 different times last night before reading that the spool should slide freely within the valve body, which it definitely does not. My plan is to lightly sand the inside of the valve body cylinder and the spool itself, there is some buildup that I think I can knock down and help it slide better.

I started working on some of the upper steering shaft bearings and seals as well. Hopefully I'll have it back together soon.

 

[Crazed98Camaro]

Well @Patches I need your help hopefully for one last time.

I was putting the nut on the worm shaft last night, and following the L185 WSM, it states "Turn worm shaft clockwise, tighten locknut hand tight and stake locknut with a pin punch".
So I turned the wormshaft all the way counterclockwise until it bottomed out in the bottom end cap, and then started to tighten the locknut. There are provisions in the worm shaft for a pin punch to stake the locknut, but I had already gone past them. I am wondering if your WSM has any different instructions.

Is there anything in the LK3054 WSM about the locknut installation?