I have a 170 hour 2016 L6060 Hydro. I am getting an intermittent binding/hitching in the steering. Seems to get worse at high RPM as the tractor runs longer and gets hotter. It occurs only as I am turning the wheel and transitioning from forward to reverse or vice versa. After a couple hours of mowing it gets quite severe. Any thoughts? Has anyone had a similar issue. My dealer says he has not heard of the problem before. Thanks
L6060 steering binding
- Thread starter BUZZJ
- Start date
I have a 2015 L3560HSTC and have complained about the steering kind of stuttering when I turn but it doesn't happen all the time. I keep checking the hydraulic fluid, but everything seems OK. The dealer said he couldn't find any problem. Standard answer from the dealer. Dealers don't like problems, my tractor jumps out of gear into neutral when I have a heavy load on a hill, SCARY! Dealer said he couldn't find any problem, must be me not shifting properly, "B.S."
I haven't come across it before but I'll take a stab at it.
I'm thinking the steering piston seals are bypassing. The steering would get weak and may seem to be binding. The higher the pressure and the hotter/thinner the oil gets, the more it would bypass, hence weaker steering. With excess flow going back to the helm control (steering box) it would bind up the hydraulics. It should only have pressure on one side at a time.
A quick test to prove or disprove would be to steer fully left, disconnect the hydraulic line going to the right side of the steering ram, then have someone slowly steer to the left. There may be a little oil but shouldn't flow from the cylinder, if it does your seals are bypassing.
Easier to do than explain.
If it is shot, then hopefully the dealer will cover it under warranty.
Like I said, it's just a stab at it.
I'm thinking the steering piston seals are bypassing. The steering would get weak and may seem to be binding. The higher the pressure and the hotter/thinner the oil gets, the more it would bypass, hence weaker steering. With excess flow going back to the helm control (steering box) it would bind up the hydraulics. It should only have pressure on one side at a time.
A quick test to prove or disprove would be to steer fully left, disconnect the hydraulic line going to the right side of the steering ram, then have someone slowly steer to the left. There may be a little oil but shouldn't flow from the cylinder, if it does your seals are bypassing.
Easier to do than explain.
If it is shot, then hopefully the dealer will cover it under warranty.
Like I said, it's just a stab at it.
If under warranty, take it in and ask dealer to inspect the steering shaft u-joints. If out of warranty, remove the shaft and inspect the joints yourself. There is also a support for the shaft, and it's possible that the bearing in the support may be damaged/seizing/etc.
Has anyone got this repaired? I have a grand l4760 hst acts exactly as described. As tractor gets to operating temperature steering keeps binding worse even more when going from reverse to forward and try to turn steering. If turn steering fast can get it to act up even when cold. Has been to the shop 3 times for this. I have changed all filters and fluid and still the same. Only have 50 hours on unit. Kubota has changed the steering controller and it didn't change a thing. The linkage isn't binding. It is an hydraulic problem.
North Idaho Wolfman
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L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
It can be caused a lot of times by a blown internal seal on the steering cylinder.
Thanks for the quick response. That is what my service tech and myself where thinking. It is still under warranty so I will get them to try one. We don't think it's the pump or section pulling in air because the fluid doesn't produce any bubbles in it.
If that doesn't work try lubing the shaft where it goes through the rubber grommet on the floor board.
Way back I had a similar issue with my B7500. I think the steering is a whole different setup between the B7500 and the 60 series you're dealing with - power steering vs. hydraulic? Anyway, here's what happened back in '02 with my first Kubota:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/14872-b7500-steering-hiccup.html
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/14872-b7500-steering-hiccup.html
Hey everyone, I'm new to the site.
I also have the same problem with my 2018 Grand L4760. Dealer said they never seen or heard of this problem. They did replace the steering controller but, the problem is still there. I connecting a pressure gauge to one of the the FEL lines to test pressure and it was normal according to the service manual. I basically gave up because I thought I was the only one having this problem.
It is frustrating to have this problem,especially with the price paid.
I will be contacting dealer again now knowing that other owners have same problem.
I also have the same problem with my 2018 Grand L4760. Dealer said they never seen or heard of this problem. They did replace the steering controller but, the problem is still there. I connecting a pressure gauge to one of the the FEL lines to test pressure and it was normal according to the service manual. I basically gave up because I thought I was the only one having this problem.
It is frustrating to have this problem,especially with the price paid.
I will be contacting dealer again now knowing that other owners have same problem.
Perhaps my biggest complaint with my L6060 is that it steers too slowly.
I use mine mostly as my cut-in/first round mowing tractor and am constantly reversing direction and cranking the steering as quickly as I can to mow around trees, etc. At times I out run the pump resulting in momentary loss of assist. Not binding, just loss of assist.
I don't believe that there is anything wrong with it aside from slow steering.
SDT
if you look at a hydraulic diagram, you'll understand why the steering slows during quick directional changes. The steering needs every bit of the fluid volume it can get; and when making a quick directional change, some of the volume it needs is robbed by the hst, thus steering slows down a little. It is the way they are designed unfortunately.
I have had my L5460 jump out of low into neutral on a hill with a load twice. Almost went straight into a tree once and into the road once. luckily I hit the brake and dropped the fel in time. After I changed my underwear I always hit the shift lever twice when going into low and keep my foot on the brakes going downhill. I would prefer that doesn’t happen again, my l4701 never did that. I have also noticed the steering issue in my L5460hst, it’s very annoying when mowing.
Steering - It's possible that the bushing where the steering shaft goes through the firewall is sticking? See the video below and the bushing info starts at 6:30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4lcJirKk_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4lcJirKk_g
Brick Axelrod, thanks for the confirmation and letting me know that I am not the only one with this problem. I always make sure that I am in gear and now I always keep my foot on the brake just in case I need it. Too many times I have had to make an emergency braking move and drop the FEL.
Chim, I had to adjust the gromit and lube the shaft on my steering shaft and after that, no problem. I make sure when I lube the tractor to shoot a little WD-40 or Fluid Film on the shaft.
Chim, I had to adjust the gromit and lube the shaft on my steering shaft and after that, no problem. I make sure when I lube the tractor to shoot a little WD-40 or Fluid Film on the shaft.
I have also had to lube that rubber boot that the steering shaft goes through. It will grab it and pull it loose from the cab. I also have a l4760hstc and have the same steering binding that hasn't been resolved. I would say it is normal but mine didn't do it when new and now after using it for 2 -3 hours, as oil heats and thins it gets really bad. I have also had the controller changed. That didn't help at all. Mine will really act up when going from reverse to forward and trying to turn the steering. I even once overfilled the hydraulic oil to see if that would help and it didn't.
I hate to bring up an old topic but I have now had steering cylinder replaced and still loosing steering after tractor heats up running pto mower after an hour as hydraulic oil comes up to operating temp. Has anyone got this repaired?
kubotafreak
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Equipment
GRAND l6060, L3560, B6100, gr2100, tg 1860, g1800, g1900, g2160
Every gl60 cab/rops owner needs to lube that firewall boot with a silicone grease(superlube). If you have problems after this, then you should look into hydraulic flow issues(filters, fluid). I would then suspect the center piston seal in the rack cylinder. I do not know why the dealers keep changing out the expensive controllers as they rarely fix anything.
I have had the same problem, I have been dealing with it for years. Mine is l4760 hydro- same hydraulics as yours. Had it to dealer many times and nothing has repaired it. I purchased the service manual to try and figure it out myself. The service manual is wrong. The hydraulics in it are for the l3560 and the l4060 and up are plumbed different. I found the parts diagrams on messick's by my model. You have to register to see them. If you follow the output of the pump through the steering controller the return fluid tees and goes through cooler back to tank or can bypass cooler and go back to suction of pump top metal line that is by large suction on pump. I found that when demand was needed it was sucking the oil out of the steering controller causing loss of steering when going forward to reverse and try to steer. It got really bad after mowing for an hour or 2, I plugged off the return of pipe 040 to return of pump. now oil goes from pump to steering controller out to oil cooler then returns to tank. Now it can't bypass cooler and keep heating same oil over and over, and it can't be pulled out of controller backward. No more loss of steering and better yet stall guard works so much smoother. Before in stall guard and auto hydrostat the tractor rpm would drop slightly and it would drop to low range fast and back fast with very little rpm change, Now when tractor rpm drops close to 540 when mowing tall grass, speed slows down and the rpm stays at 540 and doesn't drop ranges as rpm builds back above 540 the speed starts going back up. It will still drop ranges as it should just not so fast. I can now change directions as fast as I want and no loss of steering. I have ran it 8 hours this way. I explained this to my dealer and they are lost. It is a definite design flaw.