Home made skid steer trouble steering

[Vendetti]

Machine runs greet. Has some leaks. No big deal. My issue is the steering. It struggles in turning left or right. It seem better when I throttle it down. I'm thinking the pump is over sized and their is too much psi. Would a hydraulic restrictor help?


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[augercreek]

Home made skidsteer

Machine runs greet. Has some leaks. No big deal. My issue is the steering. It struggles in turning left or right. It seem better when I throttle it down. I'm thinking the pump is over sized and their is too much psi. Would a hydraulic restrictor help?


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I would suspect that the pump is too large,but I think you could add a adjustable priority valve to regulate the supply to the travel motors and use the rest of the oil to do some other function.
Your brother in Christ Jerry

 

[Pelorus]

Restricting the flow is gonna produce heat. Do you have a hydraulic oil cooler?
I also suspect your pump is too large for your drive motors.

 

[MH49]

Drive is not size correctly

In my opinion, your drive motors are not big enough or you do not have a a deep enough reduction in your chain drives to get enough torque to turn the machine. It is not a too much pressure issue, more pressure actually helps you turn as it gives you more torque from your motors. If you are lugging/killing the engine, you are consuming too much power and need to regroup. Power consumption is a balancing act between pressure and flow and if you are having problems turning, it means you need to sacrifice flow in order to maintain your pressure. Pump size (i.e. flow output) has nothing to do with it's ability to turn.

Some numbers for comparison: Assuming your loader weighs around 1500 lbs, at a 2000 psi operating pressure you would need a 3 CID motor to turn the machine. There are a LOT of assumptions in this calculation but it might give you a place to start from where you are now. Notice that I don't mention flow in this, it make no difference in the turning ability of your machine, only the horsepower consumption and the speed of the machine.

Hope this helps.

MH49

 

[Vendetti]

Looks like a bad hydraulic wheel motor, low oil and leaky hoses. I'm going have the motor rebuilt and leaks repaired. I'll let you know how I make out.View attachment 267259

 

[MH49]

'Nother question

Did your machine ever steer or is this a new development? I hope you get it figured out, it is a nice looking machine.

 

[Vendetti]

Did your machine ever steer or is this a new development? I hope you get it figured out, it is a nice looking machine.

Just picked it up from Craigslist for under 2 grad. It steers it just takes some maneuvering. Everything else works so I hope this will be the fix. Once it is fixed I plan on attaching a thumb grapple to the bucket for log management.View attachment 267262

 

[Bigstumps]

I'd go with this advice from MH49. Remember - Pressure = Power Flow = Speed Larger motors will give you more torque and less speed. Can't tell if you have chain drives but if you do you could change the ratio of the drive to driven sprockets!

In my opinion, your drive motors are not big enough or you do not have a a deep enough reduction in your chain drives to get enough torque to turn the machine. It is not a too much pressure issue, more pressure actually helps you turn as it gives you more torque from your motors. If you are lugging/killing the engine, you are consuming too much power and need to regroup. Power consumption is a balancing act between pressure and flow and if you are having problems turning, it means you need to sacrifice flow in order to maintain your pressure. Pump size (i.e. flow output) has nothing to do with it's ability to turn.

Some numbers for comparison: Assuming your loader weighs around 1500 lbs, at a 2000 psi operating pressure you would need a 3 CID motor to turn the machine. There are a LOT of assumptions in this calculation but it might give you a place to start from where you are now. Notice that I don't mention flow in this, it make no difference in the turning ability of your machine, only the horsepower consumption and the speed of the machine.

Hope this helps.

MH49

 

[Vendetti]

No chains 4 independent motors.

 

[4x4American]

how'd ya make out there?

 

[Vendetti]

how'd ya make out there?

I had to order a new hydraulic motor and wheel hub. I got the hub in the mail today and still waiting for the motor. Should be in soon.
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