Steering center moves continually.

[captmikem]

Today I had to travel down the road about 2 miles with my MX48. Full throttle in High (Hydrostatic drive). I was in 2WD, I noticed I had to keep turning to the left a bit. I timed it over 60 seconds and the steering wheel changed a full 120 degrees counter clockwise to keep straight ahead. Is this normal?
Stopped, with the engine shut down I can turn the steering wheel left or right, it has resistance then none then resistance then none as I turn the wheel either way, the front wheels do not turn as I am doing this turning of the steering wheel.
Thoughts?

M

 

[captmikem]

Well, just had a look in my WSM and found this....

 

[nbryan]

A crowned road with a little loose or insufficient toe-in adjustment will pull you to one side while driving. The hydrostatic powered steering "gives" a bit under constant turning pressure, so having its center point rotate through 120 degrees over that distance isn't surprising to me.
Check for looseness in any steering ball-joints and then measure the toe-in and check against spec. An adjustment may help alleviate the constant drag to one side.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Could be normal or it could be the center seal on the steering cylinder is going out.

 

[chim]

Hydro steering walks around. Ever notice the steering wheel center cap on tractors with hydro steering usually have a design other than a manufacturer's logo that can be considered "right side up"? Many people wouldn't notice the varying position of the steering wheel if they didn't have a suicide knob.

 

[Old Machinist]

Could be normal or it could be the center seal on the steering cylinder is going out.

Sounds like the latter.

 

[TheOldHokie]

Today I had to travel down the road about 2 miles with my MX48. Full throttle in High (Hydrostatic drive). I was in 2WD, I noticed I had to keep turning to the left a bit. I timed it over 60 seconds and the steering wheel changed a full 120 degrees counter clockwise to keep straight ahead. Is this normal?
Stopped, with the engine shut down I can turn the steering wheel left or right, it has resistance then none then resistance then none as I turn the wheel either way, the front wheels do not turn as I am doing this turning of the steering wheel.
Thoughts?

M

My L3901 behaves the same on our county road.

Dan

 

[Vlach7]

My L47 does the same.

 

[SDT]

Today I had to travel down the road about 2 miles with my MX48. Full throttle in High (Hydrostatic drive). I was in 2WD, I noticed I had to keep turning to the left a bit. I timed it over 60 seconds and the steering wheel changed a full 120 degrees counter clockwise to keep straight ahead. Is this normal?
Stopped, with the engine shut down I can turn the steering wheel left or right, it has resistance then none then resistance then none as I turn the wheel either way, the front wheels do not turn as I am doing this turning of the steering wheel.
Thoughts?

M

Sounds normal to me for reasons already posed.

Yes, I would check/adjust tire pressure and verify that neither brake is partially applied.

 

[captmikem]

Previously I had a leak in my left front tire that I thought I had fixed. It still leaked slowly, and I had not found the source of the leak. Because I might leave my trator at the other property for a few days I put extra air in that left front. I think that may have exacerbated or caused the problem (if indeed there is a problem). Thanks for all the input. I am not going to worry about it unless it gets worse. But I will check for looseness in the steering ball-joints and check the toe-in to make sure it is within the 2 to 8 mm spec.
Thanks again.
M