Hey guys, I recently bought a '95 ford backhoe 555d. Great machine- i've been using to clean up a pond and expand it. The one thing that the previous owner warned me about was the power steering cap had been lost during Covid and he couldnt find one for a while so it sat collecting water/moisture. after he replaced the cap the power steering seems to stick sometimes. Here's what i've seen: i can fill the reservoir and while I'm operating under no load it steers just fine. When i get a heavy load on the front loader is when i start to lose control. i can turn the steering wheel with a lot of force and it barely moves the front wheels (2WD machine). it steers better with a heavier load when i'm going backwards (probably because the weight is transferred more to the rear.) i also notice that the "vent plug" (not sure what to call it) on top of the reservoir will spill out fluid while i'm running. It will run until the reservoir is empty. Is this something that i should just change the seal kit on the pump? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
sounds like pump is sucking air I would just change the pump since it sounds like it is weak
Have you checked your engine oil level lately to make sure hydraulic oil is not going in there too? Those pumps are easy to rebuild so try the $25 rebuild kit before buying a new one. It might be the oring between the pump halves that failed. I’d also buy a pump off a low hour salvaged machine before hitting the aftermarket section. I have the same pump on a couple tractors from the 70’s that are OEM and still going strong.
There is a filter inside the pump reservoir that may be getting clogged as well.
ok thanks for all the feedback. i'll try the filters first and then most likely change the seal kit. if those don't work i guess i'll replace the pump but was hoping to avoid that.