# IH 574 - steering pulls HARD to the right



## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Hello all. I've poked around these forums quite a bit and appreciate the sound advice. Hoping for more of that, as I've looked and have found similar but not exactly related issues to mine:

I've got a 1974 IH 574 with a front end loader. The hydro oil is a little overfilled and probably overdue for filter change. I've owned it about seven years with sporadic usage, and it's been running fine other than a sometimes finicky carburetor. 

Yesterday I went to nearby gas station to fill up, and when driving away I noticed engine was struggling, especially when going up hills. After about 1.5 miles and about home, the steering turned hard to the right and stayed, I couldn't move it. I got the tractor stopped before I went careening into the ditch, and it seemed I had lost all hydraulics. 

Then, I realized I must have accidentally pushed the auxiliary hydraulic lever on the right side of the floorboard down when I got on after fueling up. After returning the lever to the neutral position, I got hydraulics back in the front end loader but steering didn't change. Here's the breakdown of what I know/tried:


I feel I have good hydraulics to the loader and 3 point, with heavy blade on 3pt. I can easily lift the front end of the tractor with the loader
With engine off, front wheels up, and some effort, I can manually push the front wheels left to right. As I push them, they get easier to move. This does turn the steering wheel, as well. When moving left, it seems there's an area where it's very easy to turn it, but as I get to the extremes left and right, and when pushing it right, there's resistance.
When turning engine on, it immediately pulls the wheels right, hard. With the front end raised, I can't stop it. If the wheels are on the ground, I can prevent them from turning but it pulls the steering wheel to the right hard.
I removed both hoses to the steering cylinder, and the wheels turn easily and freely. If I start the engine, fluid comes out both hoses.
The trans oil light stays on when engine is running, but if I bottom out a cylinder on the loader, the trans oil light turns off. It comes back on when I let go of the lever.
With a lot of effort, the steering wheel will move left but it doesn't move the tires. With the engine off, the more I turn it left, the easier it gets until it seems to spin fairly easily. When I turn back right, engine off, it's easy at first then gets increasingly difficult to turn right. Almost feels like when you loosen a bolt and retighten it.
There is some leakage around the steering cylinder. I don't think it's new.
My PTO has always seemed to spin when not engaged and with no load. With a heavy load on it it doesn't spin unless engaged, but with a light load like an auger it will tend to still spin when disengaged.
It seems to be too much to be a pure coincidence, so would the auxiliary valve being pressurized for that long cause the issue? From what I can see from other diagrams the steering hydro oil seems unrelated directly to that valve, though. Guessing something within the hydrostatic steering pump?

And I've beat myself up plenty for not realizing the auxiliary valve was engaged. I was thinking engine problems when I noticed the reduced performance.

What troubleshooting steps should I try next? I appreciate any help in advance. 
-John


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## HarveyW (Sep 15, 2014)

Hi John, welcome to the forum. 

Attached is a post with from the Red Power Forum. The first recommendation was to jack up the front axle, and drop the power steering cylinder. Then see how the steering behaves, and also watch the PS cylinder to see what it is doing.

475 / 574 / 674 Steering Problems (with video!)


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Thanks much, @HarveyW . I'll probably have to wait until the weekend to do any significant work.

Also, some additional info:

When I came home from my "real" job, I did some more testing and looking. My PTO now does not spin when I have it engaged and no other hydraulics activated. If I bottom out a cylinder, then the engaged PTO will turn. When I take off pressure, the PTO slows and stops, even when still engaged.

I also noticed a drop of hydro oil from the steering cylinder and I don't recall that cylinder leaking before.

All other symptoms remained the same. I'll try removing the cylinder from the axle/frame as soon as I get a chance. With the leak I'm guessing that's the most likely culprit? Thanks again.


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Well, hopefully some folks are reading this and can give some input. Although I have an idea of where to go next, reassurance is always good.

I unbolted the steering cylinder, and after removing the hydraulic lines and manually moving the rod back and forth, the oil (then the air) coming into and out of the connections seemed to match the movement. When I plugged one connector, there was resistance like I believe it should. With the cylinder unbolted and connectors connected back to the cylinder, I started it up. It still pulled to the right, but perhaps not as hard. I was able to steer left and the cylinder begrudgingly bottomed out eventually, although the steering wasn't smooth. When I let go of the steering wheel, it spun to the right and after bottoming out to the right, I could not get the cylinder to move again, just like the initial problem.

I shut it off, disconnected the hoses and had a bucket underneath. I started it up and when I would turn left, there was a clicking or catching in the steering (was also there from the beginning if I didn't mention that), and the oil would come out of the hose in spurts and shots, and it looked like foam coming out. The steering wheel would again turn right on its own, but the oil coming out was smooth with consistent color. Although it wasn't fun to waste that much oil, I feel like it helped me decide the problem is in the steering valve, right?

Now, I may sound like an idiot on these next questions: From looking at the shop manual, there's two types of valves - a Danfoss and Ross. It looks like mine is the Ross? Or is the Ross valve part of the Danfoss?
If Danfoss, does the following video help? 




Thanks in advance,
John


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Some additional info. I forgot to mention that I read the thread that @HarveyW had posted, but the symptoms seem a bit different as his steering wheel doesn't appear to turn on it's own whereas mine does. Also I didn't hear/see him mention any noise when turning. I do hear a clicking from the steering valve area when I try turning.

I was able to get some photos of my steering valve tonight after work while it was still light out. After comparison, I'm pretty sure I have the Ross valve, right? I'm not planning to replace anything until I can diagnose the problem for sure, but are the Ross and the Danfoss interchangeable?

Finally, what do y'all think my next step is? Tear apart the steering cylinder just to rule it out? Or with the noises/behavior try to disassemble the steering valve?


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

As far as I know the two are interchangeable. Ford and IH each used both at one point, possibly based on availability of one over the other at any point in time. Yours looks like a Ross to me. I have a Danfoss valve from a Ford 5610 sitting on a table and it appears slightly different. Surprisingly both valves use the same seal kit. 

Your problem sure seems to be valve related. I can't imagine the cylinder causing any of what you have. Unfortunately your options aren't very favorable. I think if it were me, I'd be looking for another valve. No amount of U tube videos would entice me to attempt dismantling and re assembling one. I go as far as replacing seals, but only very carefully, and I make sure none of the internal parts are disturbed. 

If the valve takes off on its own and can't be stopped by holding the steering wheel, I would guess there are some centering spring issues. Possibly one or more broken leaves, parts and pieces of which have gotten into places where they don't belong, causing binding/scoring, the sort of thing precision fit parts don't get along with.


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Thanks, @Fedup. Just based off what I've seen on from the cylinder, I've been leaning towards the valve, too. Those sure don't look cheap, though. I wonder if anybody rebuilds them and/or if that'd be a better deal.


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## Fedup (Feb 25, 2014)

In my experience those valve don't have a high failure rate. Yours would be an exception. Typically about all that goes wrong is they begin to leak from one end or the other. I would be inclined to hunt down a used one. I'm sure they can't be that hard to find. 

As for a rebuild? I don't think there would be much in there that's actually "rebuildable" since the important parts are precision fit and don't interchange well. I guess a good hydraulic shop might tear it down to see what might be wrong, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for it in the end. Your choice.


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Fedup said:


> In my experience those valve don't have a high failure rate. Yours would be an exception. Typically about all that goes wrong is they begin to leak from one end or the other. I would be inclined to hunt down a used one. I'm sure they can't be that hard to find.
> 
> As for a rebuild? I don't think there would be much in there that's actually "rebuildable" since the important parts are precision fit and don't interchange well. I guess a good hydraulic shop might tear it down to see what might be wrong, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for it in the end. Your choice.


Called some folks back home who have much more experience than I, and they agreed on all counts. The fact that the steering wheel moves on it's own without a cylinder is enough to try replacing the steering valve. I'll report back after I do that; might take me a while if I can't get some time off work.


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Ok, so I was able to get the steering wheel off and the steering pump removed. Generous slather of PB Blaster, used a pick to scrape out some rust, and the 1-1/4" nut came off just fine. Borrowed a steering wheel puller from O'Reilly Auto Parts (thanks guys) with 1/4-28 bolts and the wheel popped right off, too. 

I didn't stop to check the movement of the pump until I removed it from the tractor. Does anyone know how it's supposed to function? From my research, one port is pressurized supply oil, one line goes to one side of the cylinder, one line goes to the other side of the cylinder, and the fourth returns oil at low pressure (correct me if I'm wrong). 

To recap, the steering pump turns hard to the right with or without the cylinder attached when the tractor is running, so I'm guessing the supply is just going straight to one of the lines and it's a bad pump. That's what I'm guessing. If a picture is a thousand words, I'm hoping a video is a million. Can y'all watch the video below and verify my pump is probably bad? I have a lead on a salvage pump but would rather not spend the time and money to install it if I'm not positive it's the problem. I appreciate it.


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## 2WheelPig (Mar 29, 2021)

Hello,
Realized I hadn't updated the post. First, some thanks to Pete's Repair in Bridgeport, NE for assistance in diagnosing, and to Miller Repair, LLC in Maxwell, NE for supplying a used steering pump at a decent price. Got the replacement pump installed and after repairing a broken throttle control arm joint, it's back up and running. Great hydraulics, and steering acts the way it should, nice and smooth, and no hiccups.


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