520LXI Steering Wheel Spinning Freely When Not Running

[Jrodgers04 41]

Hey All,

 

Excited to have recently picked up a 520LXI to join my family of C-series. Heading to Maine with it next week, I'll send some pics when it's on site.

 

Appears to be in overall great shape. 625 hours. Runs and drives awesome.

 

The Scenario:

When the tractor is off and you turn the steering wheel, the steering wheel just turns...it doesn't actually turn the front wheels. It's not freewheeling, it feels slightly "notchy", like there is some resistance and it feels like you're turning some sort of gear and the splines are contacting something but overcoming the resistance.

 

When the tractor is running, the steering appears to work fine. The steering wheel turns the front wheels without issue.

 

The Question:

Is this normal for the power steering setup on these machines? If not, has anyone had experience remediating? It feels weird not to be able to turn the front wheels when the machine is off...

 

Thanks!!

Jon

Edited March 25, 2023 by Jrodgers04

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,499]

I don't know if these will help or not

 

[Jrodgers04 41]

51 minutes ago, gwest_ca said:

I don't know if these will help or not

Wow, great trove of info. I don't see an immediate answer but will definitely keep these handy. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Pullstart 59,733]

Welcome to the Xi club!  Mine does not have power steering, so I can’t help there.  @PeacemakerJack does Kelli’s have power steering?

 

It would be a great idea upon arrival to inspect the front axle pivot pin.  It’s amazing how bad mine was worn and still felt tight on the ground.  You’ll have to jack the frame of the tractor up to inspect the pivot pin.

 

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/92609-xi-series-front-axle-pivot-repair/

 

[Lee1977 6,217]

There isn't a mechanical connection on  that power steering only hydraulic. Must be something with the steering valve for the steering wheel to be free. 

 

 

[Jrodgers04 41]

7 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

There isn't a mechanical connection on  that power steering only hydraulic. Must be something with the steering valve for the steering wheel to be free. 

 

 

 

Thank you, that's helpful to confirm the steering wheel shouldn't be free. I'll start troubleshooting the valve and related components. 

[Jrodgers04 41]

8 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Welcome to the Xi club!  Mine does not have power steering, so I can’t help there.  @PeacemakerJack does Kelli’s have power steering?

 

It would be a great idea upon arrival to inspect the front axle pivot pin.  It’s amazing how bad mine was worn and still felt tight on the ground.  You’ll have to jack the frame of the tractor up to inspect the pivot pin.

 

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/92609-xi-series-front-axle-pivot-repair/

 

 

Thank you. That looks like fun...I'll take a look. 

[Lee1977 6,217]

I would check the steering wheel first as it's splined to the shaft. It may have enough contact to still turn the valve. I know the steering wheels used on the 520-H were bad as I had to fix mine. They used pot metal in the wheel and it has no strength.  

[ri702bill 7,327]

1 hour ago, Lee1977 said:

I would check the steering wheel first as it's splined to the shaft. It may have enough contact to still turn the valve. I know the steering wheels used on the 520-H were bad as I had to fix mine. They used pot metal in the wheel and it has no strength.  

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 10,499]

There were 4 different model numbers for the 520Lxi and the serial number identifies the model year.

Here is what we have for the model on two pages in no particular order

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/search/?&q=520Lxi&type=downloads_file&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

[Jrodgers04 41]

8 hours ago, gwest_ca said:

There were 4 different model numbers for the 520Lxi and the serial number identifies the model year.

Here is what we have for the model on two pages in no particular order

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/search/?&q=520Lxi&type=downloads_file&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

Thank you. Apparently mine is a 1998…SN 8900933. Lots of helpful info!

[Jrodgers04 41]

11 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

I would check the steering wheel first as it's splined to the shaft. It may have enough contact to still turn the valve. I know the steering wheels used on the 520-H were bad as I had to fix mine. They used pot metal in the wheel and it has no strength.  

Thank you, checked that today. Got the nut and lock washer off but couldn’t get the wheel off the steering shaft, it’s seized. Didn’t want to go crazy and make things worse, but at least was able to see that the shaft was turning with the wheel.

 

[Jrodgers04 41]

One thing I tried today was to see if the steering was compromised in any way when running. It had seemed fine when I test drove it, but today I wedged down concrete block between one of the front tires and a solid object. Then with the machine running, I turned the front tire into the block. The pressure was enough to slide the front of the machine over with no issue, no apparent strain on anything. My theory was if the steering valve was severely compromised, perhaps I’d see the same slippage with the machine running if it was under heavy resistance. 🤷‍♂️ Guess I’ll just start working it this spring and see how she does.

[Shynon 7,435]

Steering valve is run off hydraulics, a cylinder moves the steering sector. So when not running no steering

 

[Jrodgers04 41]

14 hours ago, Shynon said:

Steering valve is run off hydraulics, a cylinder moves the steering sector. So when not running no steering

 

Thank you, makes sense.