Power Steering on B2150

[JWR]

Never mind why I have 3 Kubota B2150's. The first 2 are stick trans and the latest one is hydrostatic. The latest one obtained this summer from the midwest required only minor mech stuff to get it serviceable using the MMM (and whatever else I decide to do with it.) Now for the problem:

Compared to the other 2 B-2150 tractors this one steers much harder. As if the power assist was a lot less than the other two. It works just fine but puzzles me more and more as to why the extra steering effort is required. Anyone else seen this circumstance? Any reason why the HST should steer differently than the stick models? Is this a legit concern or something to ignore?

The other hydraulic stuff on it works fine (e.g. the 3pt lift, etc.) Tractor motion, pulling, power, robust cutting ability etc. are also fine.

 

[JWR]

Not even a COMMENT in 2 years. Going to go ask the Orange forum...

 

[ptsg]

Wondering if the piston seal on the steering cylinder is going bad?

 

[JWR]

Good question. I have had steering cylinders go bad (seals) on 2 other smaller BX2200 Kubotas and am familiar with how they act. In those cases, the steering became erratic -- front wheel turning became less and less responsive to turning the steering wheel. You could turn the steering wheel 1/4 turn or so before anything happened -- less than that when first detected and up to the 1/4 turn deadspace when I finally had the seals replaced. Also with the BX2200's the tractor would "wander" out of steering wheel control until you turned it far enough to overcome the slack.

This B2150 is totally different. There is no wandering nor "slop" or dead space on the steering, it is just simply hard to steer -- requiring much more force than the other two B2150's I have. Makes me wonder if the power steering is driven differently on the HST than the other two which are stick transmissions.

Remains a puzzle.