1550 power steering hydraulic questions

[dnd]

Hi all, I recently acquired a 1550 gas that the former owner said he was going to build a puller but lost interest and put tractor up for sale. Before I bought it the story was that the power steering did not work unless the levers by the pto where moved. Anyway tractor is at my place now and I started it up today. He was right there is no power steering when tractor engine is running. I first moved the three point lever and the arms went up and down just fine. Next I moved the outlet levers forward and back and it sounded like the internal relief operated as normal. Now when I hold the lever either full forward or full back and the relief is working I have power steering. The hydraulic fluid is up the full line and oil is clean,

Any ideas what is wrong?.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Check the flow divider. Sticking valve and only lets fluid flow when the system is deadheaded. It has a flow valve and a relief valve. Easy to take apart.

 

[dnd]

Mike, thanks for the response. I walked down and looked at it tonight, looks like it has 4 bolts and 1 oil line connected to the back.

Assuming need to remove it? Start with remove the oil line and then get the bolts out. Then bring it up to the shop and look to see what I can find. Or there looks like a nut in front that most likely has the relief spring behind it?. Can I get the sticking valve apart without a total remove from tractor. If I remove it will I lose all the hydraulic oil. Thanks.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Yes, disconnect the line and three bolts, I think. No gasket, it seals with O-rings. Plug at both ends, don't mix up the springs. Or maybe they are
mixed up already. Going from memory, I'll check the manual tomorrow and post back. It's above the fluid level. You'll just have some leakage from
what's in the passages.

 

[alberta dave]

Best is to remove it completely from the tractor. You will loose a bit of oil but it will not drain the pan or anything like that. Remove the springs and clean it out.
Blast it with air and rinse it with spray cans. I have found bits of rubber, chunks of rubber, electrical tape and dime sized slugs of metal in some of mine over the
years. Replace orings and check your manual to make sure all the parts are in there. Easy fix.

 

[Mike(NEOhio)]

Looked at the manual today. The front plug is the relief valve. The rear plug is the proportioning spoll. The small pipe plug on the side that is
just above the line fitting is the pressure test port. Should be 1450-1510 psi at engine high idle. I'm thinking either that spoll is sticking or
blocked until the remote actuates and raises the system pressure. Or the relief valve is open, maybe broken or missing spring causing the steering to
improve when the system pressure goes high.

 

[dnd]

Thanks for the replies,,,Much appreciated. I have work in the way until Saturday so I won t be able to get to it until then. For sure I will remove it from the tractor and make sure I keep all the parts separate while trying to cleanup,,will be interesting to see what I find inside.

For sure I ll take some pictures and reply,, BIG Thanks to Mike and Dave..

 

[dnd]

Good news the flow divider was the issue. I took it off this morning and cleaned everything up. Reinstalled with new orings and power steering works good.

Thanks again to Dave and Mike, hope this helps others.