Ind 606/2606 460/504 hydraulic steering hard to turn

I recently replaced the top seal in the power steering hand pump because it was blowing a lot of oil out the top around the steering wheel. The hydraulics on the front loader and the backhoe seem to work ok. However the steering seems to want to stall out with a load in the front bucket. Even without a load, the steering is still sluggish and slow and balks when I try to turn the wheel as hard as I can. It also makes the usual hydraulic hissing noise like it is bypassing or something. I have to backup and go forward again a few times to make basic turns sometimes as well as keep the motor revved up. When I put the bucket down and raise the front wheels off the ground, they turn back and forth just perfect.

I recently replaced the fluid and filter. I also remember reading some posts about the bypass valve and some kind of relief valve under the seat but I can"t find those posts after searching for them.

Is there a way to trouble shoot this such as loosing lines to check for flow, etc? If it might be the bypass valve (I"m not sure I can identify it) or this relief valve under the seat, how do I R & R them? Thanks for your help again.

I couldn't get the power steering lockout loose from the flow divider valve.

I started it up, lifted the wheels off the ground, run the steering back & forth, closed the power steering lockout valve on the flow divider valve and shut off the tractor. I then turned the steering wheel and the wheels (still off the ground) manually turned with it back & forth a few times. That tells me the hand pump is working and it may be the flow divider valve. I will try to open it up from the front this weekend while on the tractor. I'll find out then if i can see somthing wrong or not. Tractor vet may be right on this on, I hope.

My international dealer (www.straubih.com) has internet access to the parts catalog like the caseih webiste has but this one allows you to check on the parts you want and forward it to Straub where they will email you back with the price of the parts, etc. I tried to price the pump element/rotor set for the hand pump and it came back as no parts available. All you can get are the seals, etc. They quoted me a new hand pump for $1078 so I'm glad that I don't have replace that.

I found the pressure relief valve in the control/pilot valve and screwed it in one turn and didn't seem to help much, screwed it in another turn which was the maximum and it seemed like the additional pressure helped a little.

I found the power steering lockout on the flow divider valve to be open most of the way except a half turn. I screwed it the half turn out without any help in the steering. I screwed it all the way in and that didn't seem to make any difference. So I screwed it back out and left it.

I did the steering tests with the wheels up(loader bucker down), with wheels on the ground, and while driving. It is basically hard steering all the way left or right like there is no power steering in all three test modes.

I checked the hy-tran fluid with it running and it was full enough that I lost a pint when I pulled the plug before I got it back in. Since I was feeling a little vibration on the larger hose coming from the pump, I went ahead and added 3 more gallons just to be sure. That didn't help the steering any.

I was wrong about one thing though. I did a manual steering test with the engine off and with the wheels both on and off the ground and the steering wheel just turns fairly freely without out turning the wheels. But the IT book states it could be the any of the parts that cause that. There is another post a page or two later than this one with a 656 Diesel that the steering wheel spins that same way. I will post there but the hand pump may be first thing to pull apart and R & R. I just hate to repair every part of the hydraulic system one part at a time in order to fix it(plus spend the money and wait a week for parts to be ordered from Case/IH after I have identifed what parts I want and do this every time). I hope to narrow it down to a specific part.

One other thing I found which I want to ask about. Along side of the loader frame is some type of round oil filter type canister that goes to and from the backhoe. I don't think this helps with the steering but I wanted to ask Bob with the 580C backhoe before I pull it open. Thanks.

I have been looking at the I & T IH-25 book. It talks about the wheel turning test for slippage but you have to have quick disconnects on the hydraulic lines to isolate them so that doesn"t help.

So far I don"t think the pump is the problem cause all the other hydraulics work ok. I would think that if the steering cylinder is bad for some reason then it would leak but I won"t rule it out yet. I just replaced the top seal in the steering hand pump and it was moving lots of fluid so I think it may be ok but I haven"t ruled it out.

I suspect it may be in the flow divider or more probably the control/pilot valve which are hooked together. Tomorrow evening, when I go out to the farm, I will look. The later model flow divider(assuming that is what i have) has a power steering lockout that may be turned wrong. The control/pilot valve has an adjustable psi relief valve that you can screw in to up the psi. I can find out if there is a psi problem that way.

The other problems with the flow divider and control valve are if the spools are sticking or if they are so wore out that a alot of fluid is leaking by them. I don"t think these would be the problem but I may have to pull them apart to see if some foreign matter is stuck in them but still if they were stuck then I couldn"t turn the wheels at all when raised off the ground.

Even though the hy-tran level is above the check hole, I will check it while it is running to be sure.

I looked at the book trying to figure out what I was going to need to replace or repair,, I came to the conclusion it would be the flow divider valve /control-pilot- valve valve,,, on my tractor the book shows it to be [and I found the valve unit] on the left side of the tractor in front of your feet, follow your lines, you wil see the unit,

the book shows a test try to turn your wheels with teh engine off,,,if the steering can be accomplished in both directions control valve is working,, NO steering can be accomplished if the control valve is stuck on center,a control valve stuck off center will allow steering in one direction only..the relief valve is in this unit,,

hope that helps, I dont know if I can scan the page and post it the same as a picture,, good luck,

I know it also shows that you can put a gauge on the outlet and test pressure ,,