Have a case 580 M Series 3 backhoe that has developed hard steering when it's cold. After operating about 10 to 15 minutes it gets better. This machine was fully serviced two days prior. I've never had an issue with it before. I drained the main hydraulic tank and installed new hi-tran oil. All filters were replaced on the machine. It is full of oil and all other functions of the machine work flawlessly. Where is a steering circuit fed from? Just seems as if we're losing hydraulic function to steering. Anyone have any ideas?
What kind of oil is in it as you have had very cold this winter. If it is good once warm it is pointing very hard to the wrong viscosity of oil. Simon C
Installed case/ih hytran premium oil for the dealer. That's what it calls for.
If you warm the bottom of the hydraulic tank for 2 hours or more and if it runs perfect, then the oil may be high quality but wrong viscosity. If it still worked incorrectly then the problem is something else. Does it have a suction screen in the hydraulic system that could be partially plugged. Just some things to find out before firing the parts cannon. Simon C
Have you changed the oil filter lately ? Does it wok normally when it is up to operating temperature ? Could have leaking piston seals in the steering cylinder.
How did your hydraulic oil look before you changed it, how milky was it?
Oil looked great. I rebuilt every cylinder on the backhoe and went ahead and changed the oil anyways
I suspect yours has steering priority. I had trouble and had to have the steering valve pressure adjusted on my SL. The M valve looks very similar. It can’t be adjusted without removing it from its mounting. I took mine to a very competent hydraulic shop where they checked everything, reset pressure to spec and bench tested it. Well worth the money spent. Check your hydraulic pressure first, maybe the hyd pump is getting tired.
How many hours on this unit is a good question. Simon C