bglz42

Well I've stumped IMCO, Teague and Eaton on my steering system problem!
My dual-ram IMCO system gets progressively harder to steer, the more you turn the wheel. On startup, it's free. After four turns it takes Popeye to turn the dang wheel. Tonite I drained the pump, blew out the cooler, and checked the entire return line. Re-filled everything, and no difference! I'm open to any suggestions!! Pull the rams? That's next I guess...

Any hydraulic helm experts out there? Falcon?

gusman

sure you have the lines hooked up right on the rams, do the rams move in & out ok with the lines off, also you might want take the pump apart and check it

Falcon

This does sound strange. If you have the air out of the system, I would check that the system is actually flowing oil.

Remove the return line at the reservoir for the pump (not the accessory reservoir if you have one). Cap off the return fitting on the reservoir. Route the line over the top into the cap area of the reservoir and secure it somehow so that you can see the oil returning. Now you can run the engine and watch the flow returning to the reservoir. Let me know what you find.

bglz42

Falcon, good idea. I'll try that tonite. Fluid is definitely flowing back into the reservoir, but that'll show me how the flow changes on the third or fourth revolution of the wheel. Have you every heard of one of these Char-Lyn (Eaton) helms going bad?

When I took the low pressure (return line) off the helm, no fluid drained out. (The system was cold, engine not started yet, btw.) I turned the wheel back and forth a couple of times and fluid started flowing out. Not much, but it appears to flow good from there. I thought for sure that's where I'd see a restriction.

Thanks for all the help!

JimG

bglz42

Could a restriction on one of the ram's lines cause this? My next step is to crack those lines...

Falcon

To check the lines to the cylinders, remove one line at a time from each cylinder and turn the wheel in the direction that should put oil to that line. Do this "without" running the engine.

Is this a new install/repair or a working system that went bad?

paradigm shift

I suggest you find a good hydraulic shop that can test both your pump and helm unit. You can spend a lot of time trying to find this besides the mess if you are not careful. Spool valve in the helm sticking could cause this. Does it matter which way you turn it before stiffness sets in? You have condition of pump going bad also. Pump having pressure but NO flow would cause this. Only way to tell is with a tester. Helms are pretty trouble free usually but anything is possible. If not one of these I would say a hose collapsing on the inside possibly.

bglz42

The system is about 4 years old, not run very much since then. Approx 100 hours. The previous owner never saw this problem. He said it was always stiff at low speeds. I thought I was seeing this symptom, called IMCO, and upon their advise I drilled the orifice to 11/64's. Didn't help. That's when I started troubleshooting.

It doesn't seem to matter which way I turn it. Pressure builds and it gets stiff. The power steering pump is new. I replaced it a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks!!!

bglz42

WORSE NOW!!!

Ran the return into the top of the tank, started motor. Good flow at first, (when the wheel is easy to turn) then dropped to about 1/2 to 3/4 flow. Got stiff.

Re-traced all lines. Checked out ok.

Then we disconnected the rams and turned the wheel. The valving is sort of weird, but IMCO says it's normal. The give side doesn't start really pulling until the "push" side fully extends.

Then we cracked one of the fittings and manually pushed the ram in. I think we got air in that way. So now I have to figure out how to bleed the system. Then go back and start trying to troubleshoot the "power steering" part of the problem. Could a bad power steering pump valve cause this? The system feels like there's no power assist at all.

IMCO says it may be the helm pump itself. $450. It's just a tractor part so I may go to an ag supply and see if I can get a deal on one.



I'm about ready to find a dumpster!

VERY FRUSTRATED!!!

cigarette1

Check to see if the rams are mounted symetrically and on center to the drive pivot point. You could be bottoming out or fully extending one ram before the other.

G