Hi all. My left steering lever sometimes pulls hard just as if there is no hyd help. The right side always works fine. I removed the steering clutch hyd control mechanism and disassembled the parts I thought were most likely to have a problem, 7B2986 cylinder, 7B2982 valve assem, 6B7555 rod & spring. Nothing was binding or showing alot of wear. I cleaned everything up and put it back together, filled with new oil and the problem is still there. Could it be the little valve in the end of 7B2982 valve assembly. Do they ever stick closed? I could move it in with a nail and it had good spring action. Is it possible to take it apart? I tried to unscrew it but didn't have any luck. I suppose I could take the hyd control apart again and swap the left and right valve assemblies and see if the problem moves to the right side. Is there much of a chance that the problem is in the 6B7716 piston? I didn't remove and check it yet. Also the problem isn't affected by engine RPM. I just put a new throw-out bearing in the left steering clutch so everything is good there. It steers and brakes great. Thanks.

Yes, I would be suspicious of that check valve as that is your source for hydraulics to the cylinder.....odd that you can move it but could be intermittent. As an assembly I don't think you can take it apart. No reason to suspect the cylinder, it doesn't do anything except align the intake/output ports.

Would agree, best bet is to probably swap the 7B2982 valve assy. and see if the
problem follows.

Rick: Check to see if the other steering clutch lever is snug against the rubber snuber at the lower part of lever. If it is, adjust yoke so it has a little free movement at rubber snuber. If I remember correctly, push forward on opposite lever and see if the lever giving trouble will work correctly. This happened to me years ago on a 5R D6. Just a thought. Darrol

That does jog a faint memory....seems one valve has influence on building pressure in the other if slightly off the return position. Should be .020 in. free play on the lever push rod. Some of em get so worn/sloppy it's hard to tell where your at.

Thanks for the responses. I replaced the valve assy with one I pulled out of my parts machine today. I have the transmission oil drained right now so I didn't get to try her out yet. The adjustment on the right lever may very well be off a little. I'll get it going tomorrow and report back if one or the other solved the problem. Thanks again!

rick,
I have an off brand crawler that I was having strange cross actuations on the bucket, lift and 4n1 cylinders.. It turned out the return spring on the lift(raise/lower) 1st priority control. was broken and not returning home. It would intermittently block the return port and the dump from one of the other cylinders would cause inconsistent cross reactions. Once I found and changed the spring I have had no other strange cross reactions.
I suspect that a stop out of adjustment may be causing the same problem for you. especially if one is a priority over the other and apparently not parallel feed. My off brand has pedal steer but there are about 4 places that adjustments can be made that could affect my steering system similar to yours.

Hope this helps
Cheers
Dudley

I got the problem solved today. It was the right lever occasionally not completely returning to the rubber cushion. It wasn't missing it by very much but it was enough to make the left side not work. The lever was sticking a little in the bushing on the small shaft that it pivots on. Took it apart and cleaned out the old hard dry grease and put a little new grease on it and it works like a dream. Thanks for all the help.