# no power steering!! help please



## quincy48442 (Mar 30, 2007)

i have an international 340, after about 20 minutes of running it the power steering goes out as well as the 3point hitch does not go up or down. if i let it sit for a few minutes the steering will return but go out again shortly after. if i open the drain plug behind the seat when the tractor is off it sucks air in. not sure if this is normal. any help would be great.


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

This is kind of a tough problem to put your finger on. The first thing I would try checking is the transmission/hydraulic filter and suction screen. Sounds like they may be clogged. When was the last time the transmission/hydraulic fluid was changed. If we can eliminate the filters and screens as well as bad fluid; we can move on to other areas such as the pump and the transmission case air vent which sounds like it may be clogged with a mud dauber's nest. I am not sure where the vent is, you will have to look that up in your manual if you have one. Some trans cases are vented through the fill cap and others have a small pipe or tube that serves as a vent. A piece of wire or a pipe cleaner can clean it out. This may be aggrivating the hydraulics problem if not the cause or one of the cause as well. Let us know how you fair. 

Welcome to Tractor Forum by the way!


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## quincy48442 (Mar 30, 2007)

*no power steering*

hi this is my first tractor and i just got it so i don't know that much about them. i added 7 gals of fluid at the transmission, and the guy i got it from said that he just changed the filter. is there more than one filter that i need to be looking at? the only one that was changed was the one on the right side of tractor when sitting on it a canister about 18 inches long. there appears to be another canister in front of the shifter lever below the steering wheel.
thanks


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

I am not for certain. Did you find the transmission case vent yet? If a vaccum is being placed on the trans. case; this surely can't be helping out the hydraulic pump and could conceivably prevent the pump from drawing fluid and loose pressure. Have you tried running the tractor with the transmission case drain plug behind the seat open? If your hydraulics continue to work, you have found your problem. If you can't find a vent tube or pipe or vent hole in the fill plug; could be someone installed the wrong type plug on this tractor. You can buy a vented plug or drill a small hole in the plug you have to solve the problem if this is the case.


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

*Re: no power steering*



> _Originally posted by quincy48442 _
> *hi this is my first tractor and i just got it so i don't know that much about them. i added 7 gals of fluid at the transmission, and the guy i got it from said that he just changed the filter. is there more than one filter that i need to be looking at? the only one that was changed was the one on the right side of tractor when sitting on it a canister about 18 inches long. there appears to be another canister in front of the shifter lever below the steering wheel.
> thanks *


First off what kind of oil did you use??? If it wasn't hytran drain it out and refill with hytran. Is your oil milky lookinf. If this doesn't help then it's possible your pumps are bad. I think one pump runs the power steering and 3 point and the other one runs hydraulic outlets. You may want to check out caseih.com and see what they show for pumps. 
caseman-d


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## quincy48442 (Mar 30, 2007)

ok,i took the fill plugs off and started the tractor, fluid started pouring out of the fill hole behind the seat(won't be doing that again any time soon). i also opened the top to the filter to see if it was clogged to find that there is no filter in there. i also found and cleaned vent to atmosphere (was full of mud). i replaced the cap to the filter put fluid back in and started it. steering and 3point worked for a little bit then stopped. now when the bucket goes up and down it's all herky jerky. i have 2 questions


1. could it be that since there is no filter could there be a clog somewhere that is causing this and if so what is the best way to unclog. 

2. my fluid is milky could this be the cause of my problems.
(before i checked the filter bucket worked fine, just steering and 3point not working so i figured milky fluid not the problem.)


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## Live Oak (Dec 22, 2003)

The milky fluid and no filter cartridge is a bad sign. Your best bet would be to try a drain and flush of the system and installing a filter cartridge. 

The jerky operation could be due to introducing a little air into the system when you opened up the filter. 

If the fluid is milky colored; very likely it is contaminated with water. You will have to drain and flush the system with fresh hyd. oil. 

I would suggest running down to Walmart and buying some 5 gallon containers of their Tech 2000/Walmart brand tractor/hydraulic fluid and use that for the flush. It is the cheapest and it is good fluid. My understanding is that Shell makes all of Walmarts oil for them. 

I also suggest you buy a couple of filter cartridges and install one for the flush. The filter will hopefully catch any contamination or debry that circulates through the system. 

Refill with fresh clean oil and a new hyd. filter cartridge installed. Next start up tractor and try turning steering lock to lock several times to purge any air from the steering system and raise the 3 pt. hitch lift full up to full down several times to do the same. 

If you are lucky, this may do the trick but understand that if contamination is lodged or stuck in the system, it may require disassembly to repair. Let keep out fingers crossed and see how things work out. Let us know how you fare.


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## caseman-d (Nov 29, 2003)

2. my fluid is milky could this be the cause of my problems.
(before i checked the filter bucket worked fine, just steering and 3point not working so i figured milky fluid not the problem.)

I say again, What king of oil are you using. The milky oil could also be because the oil is foaming. That will cause the loader to be jurky. Buy Hy-tran from your Case/IH dealer. Hy-tran is cheap compared to hydraulic pumps and definetly get a filter installed.
caseman-d


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