ritcheyvs
Veteran Member
This is a gear transmission (not hydro), right? If so, all hydraulic fluid comes from the one big reservoir.
ritcheyvs said:This is a gear transmission (not hydro), right? If so, all hydraulic fluid comes from the one big reservoir.
Clean up the area real good, than start your tractor, turn the steering wheel lock to lock (left/right) and look to see where the leak is coming from, it maybe just a loose hose connection and running around the outside of the steering gear "box".OK, took some of the panels off today and found that the bottom of the steering column is where it looks to be coming from. There are 5 or so bolts there, holding on a type of cap, with maybe a gasket in there as well. The bolts are difficult to get gripped onto, but they all seem tight. My guess now is that they must have overtightened the bolts and pinched the gasket, or, maybe stripped something out... either way, it's difficult to pin point exactly where the leak is coming from.
Where is the reservoir for filling that fluid? Does it have it's own spot for PS fluid, out does it use the hydraulic oil?
If it is just a drip, I would not be concerned to get it fixed right away if I had a need for the tractor. Might just wait and take it in for the 50 hour service and let them take care of all of it for you. With HST you probably got 20 gallons of oil and a slight drip will take a long time to even use up a quart, but keep your fluids checked to make sure they arent below normal operation lines. Most HST require fluid change at 50 hours so a little loss is not a big deal.
Good advise, as long as everything is operating correctly and it is not a loose fitting I'd run it to the 50 and have the dealer fix it. CJ
Are you serious? A less than a couple of bucks O-ring is not replacable and therefore requires a $1700.00 steering column/shaft? TSO, I'm not doubting you but it sounds to me that MAYBE the dealer is shafting Kioti for a lot more than what is actually wrong with your tractor.OK, so I finally had a chance to drop it off yesterday, and just got a call from the dealership.
Turns out my guess was completely right: there is an O-ring at the bottom of the steering column (there's a cap there)...v the ring was pinched, thus the leak.
However, Kioti doesn't sell the ring as a replacement, so he had to order an entirely new column/shaft, to the tune of around $1700. Obviously it's a warranty item, so no cost to me or the dealer, but he was baffled that he couldn't just replace the gasket!
On the other hand, he says he's never seen or heard of this problem with the Kioti's before... so it's probably just an isolated (lucky me) incident from a factory worker who wasn't paying attention to details.
Anyhow, he has to wait for the parts, so I'll be out for a few more days.
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