Question on power steering for L3540

[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.