LG958L Training Material

Chapter VII Steering Hydraulic System

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

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CONTENTS
Overview of Steering System
Load-Sensing Fully Hydraulic Steering System
Working Principle for Hydraulic Units of Steering System
Cause Analysis and Troubleshooting for Common
Malfunctions of Steering System

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Section I Overview of Steering Hydraulic System

I. Classification of steering system

The steering system of the wheel loader is functioned to control the traveling
direction of the loader. It can stably maintain the linear traveling of the
loader and can flexibly change the traveling direction as required.
By steering mode, the wheel loader can be classified into deflection wheel
steering mode, skid steering mode, and articulated steering mode.

For the loader with articulated steering mode, the working device is installed
on the front frame. When the frame is swinging, the direction of the working
device is always consistent with the direction of the front frame, which can
enable the working device to rapidly aim at the working face during the
operations, in order to reduce the travel and time of working cycles and
improve the working efficiency of the loader. Therefore, the articulated
steering mode has become the mostly applied steering mode in modern
loaders.

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II. Requirements of steering system

The good steering performance is one important factor to guarantee the

traveling safety of the loader, relieve the labor strength of driver, and improve
the working efficiency. The basic requirements on the steering system include
light and flexible operations, stable and reliable working, and good durability.
The steering oil line requires relatively stable supply of oil flow. However, the
steering system commonly adopts fixed displacement pump. As the flow of
fixed displacement pump varies along with the speed, the flow of the steering
oil line is reduced when the engine runs at low speed, which will cause
delayed response of steering speed and easily lead to accidents. If the high
flow pump is adopted, when the engine runs at high speed, the excessive oil
flow will be relieved through the relief valve, which is not economical due to
high power loss and easy heating of oil.

A relatively appropriate method is to choose auxiliary pump and flow changeover valve. The pressure oil of the auxiliary pump varies along with the engine
speed under the control of the flow change-over valve to fully or partially flow
into the steering oil line, in order to guarantee the flow of steering oil line. The
remaining oil flows into the working oil line.

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III. Types of steering system

There are many types of steering system and the different types of
steering system represent the development levels of different hydraulic
technologies respectively.
At present, the types of the steering system applied in the wheel loader
are as below:
Fully hydraulic steering system composed of single stabilizer valve
and open center no-reaction steering gear.

Load-sensing fully hydraulic steering system composed of priority

valve and loading sensing steering gear.

Load-sensing fully hydraulic steering system composed of priority

valve and coaxial flow amplifying steering gear.
Flow amplifying steering system.

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Section II Load-Sensing Fully Hydraulic Steering System

The steering system of LG958L loader is a load-sensing fully hydraulic steering system
composed of priority valve and coaxial flow amplifying steering gear.
This system is mainly composed of steering pump, coaxial flow amplifying fully hydraulic
steering gear, steering cylinder, hydraulic oil tank, and pipelines and accessories, as shown
in Figure 6-1.
This steering system features the following characteristics:
1. Compact structure and small size for constituent units.

2. Automatic lubrication and long service life for all units.

3. Reliable steering and light and flexible operations.

4. It can realize the converging with the hydraulic system of working device to reduce the
power loss and improve the system efficiency.

At the time of steering, the system supplies oil preferentially to the steering hydraulic
system and the remaining oil converges with the return oil of steering system to return to
oil tank through radiator.
The safety valve is set on the priority valve, with the regulated system pressure at 16MPa.

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7-1 Schematic diagram of LG958L steering system

1. Priority valve 2. Steering pump 3. Oil suction filter element 4. Steering cylinder
5. Coaxial flow amplifying steering gear 6. Radiator 7. Oil return filter element
8. Hydraulic oil tank

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Section III Structure and Working Principle of Steering System Hydraulic Units
I. Steering gear
1. Meaning of steering gear model

Steering Gear BZZ6-800

Model of steering
gear
BZZ1
BZZ2

BZZ3
BZZ4

BZZ5
BZZ6

Type of steering gear

Open center no-reaction fully hydraulic steering

gear

Open center reaction fully hydraulic steering gear

Closed center no-reaction fully hydraulic
steering gear
Multi-functional no-reaction fully hydraulic
steering gear

Displacemen
t: 800ml/r

Load-sensing fully hydraulic steering gear

Load-sensing flow amplifying fully hydraulic

steering gear

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2. Types of fully hydraulic steering gear:

1) The BZZ fully hydraulic steering gear
is mainly classified into:
Open center no-reaction type (BZZ1);
Open center reaction type (BZZ2);

Closed center no-reaction type (BZZ3);

Load-sensing type (BZZ5);

Coaxial flow amplifying type (BZZ6);

and other types.

The functionality symbols are shown in

the left figure:

Type symbols of BZZ

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2) Corresponding types of steering gears for specific loader models

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NO.

Applied model

952/952H/952L

968/969

916/918

936/938

946L

933L

953/956/958

Name of steering
gear

Type of steering gear

Steering gear
BZZ1-800

Open
center
no-reaction
hydraulic steering gear

Steering gear
BZZ5-320

Dynamic signal load-sensing

hydraulic steering gear

Steering gear
BZZ3-100

Closed
center
no-reaction
hydraulic steering gear

fully
fully
fully

Steering gear
BZZ5-500

Static
signal
load-sensing
hydraulic steering gear

Steering gear
BZZ6-630

Static load-sensing flow amplifying

fully hydraulic steering gear

Steering gear
BZZ6-500

Steering gear
BZZ6-800

fully

Static load-sensing flow amplifying

fully hydraulic steering gear

Static signal flow amplifying

hydraulic steering gear

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fully

3. Structural composition of steering gear

As shown in Figure 5-2 (a) and (b), the structure of the BZZ6 fully hydraulic steering
gear is mainly composed of valve body, valve core, valve sleeve, linkage shaft,
locating spring, shifting pin, rotor, stator, and rear cap.

There are total 5 oil ports on the steering gear, namely oil inlet port P, oil return port
T, left steering oil outlet port L, right steering oil outlet port R, and feedback oil port
LS, which are connected with the oil outlet port CF of priority vale, oil return port of
hydraulic oil tank, rodless chamber of right steering cylinder, rodless chamber of left
steering cylinder, and port Ls of priority valve respectively.

T: Oil return
P: Oil inlet

R: Right steering
L: Left steering

LS

T
L
P
R

Location of steering gear oil ports

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Figure 7-2 Structure of fully hydraulic steering gear (a)

1 Connecting block 2 Front cap 3 Valve body 4 Spring plate 5 Shifting pin 6 Valve sleeve 7 Valve core
8 Linkage shaft 9 Rotor 10 Rear cap 11 Limit post 12 Spacer disc 13 Stator 14 O-ring 15 Steel ball 16 O-ring
17- X-shaped ring 18 O-ring

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Valve body

Left
Right
steering steering Oil inlet port Spacer disc

Oil return port

Linkage shaft

Limit block

Valve core

Bearing

Valve sleeve

Return spring

Check valve

Shifting pin

Rear cap
Stator-rotor pair

Figure 7-2 Structure of fully hydraulic steering gear (b)

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The valve body, valve core, and valve sleeve of the steering gear constitute
the follow-up swing valve of steering gear to control the oil flow direction.
The valve core is within the inner chamber of valve sleeve. It is connected
directly with steering column via connecting block and can be driven for
rotation by the steering wheel via steering column. The valve sleeve is
within the inner chamber of valve body and is driven by the rotor via
linkage shaft and shifting pin for movement within valve body.

The rotor and stator constitute the metering motor at the lower portion of
the steering gear. The stator has 7 teeth and the rotor has 6 teeth. The
stator is fixed and the rotor rotates around the center of stator in radius of
eccentric distance. The tooth profile for metering motor is equilong arc
epicycloidal tooth, which can ensure that each point on the rotor curve can
become the engagement point. During the rotation, seven oil orifices are
connected with the oil orifices on the valve sleeve at all times so that the
valve sleeve and valve core distribute the flow to the metering motor,
namely enable the pressure to enter half of tooth chamber and drain oil
from the other half of tooth chamber, in order to convey the pressure oil to
the steering cylinder.

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The metering motor composed of rotor and stator is also referred to as

cycloid gear engagement pair. During the power steering, it functions as
the metering motor to ensure that the flow into the steering cylinder is
proportional to the rotation angle of the steering wheel. During the
manual steering, its equivalent to a manual oil pump.
The linkage shaft and shifting pin connect the rotor with valve sleeve.
During the power steering, they ensure the synchronization between
valve sleeve and rotor (for feedback function). During manual steering,
they are functioned for conveyance of torque.

The spring plate is functioned to ensure the neutral position of follow-up

valve for centering purpose. Therefore, the spring plate is referred to as
centering spring.
The check valve is installed between oil inlet port and oil outlet port.
During the manual steering, the check valve opens so that the oil in one
chamber of the steering cylinder is sucked into the oil inlet port through
oil return port and then is compressed into the other chamber of steering
cylinder by cycloid gear engagement pair, namely its functioned for oil
suction during the manual steering.
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4. Working principle of steering gear

The schematic diagram for the working principle of BZZ6 fully hydraulic steering gear is shown in
Figure 5-3 (a), (b), and (c). The ports A and B are connected with two chambers of steering cylinder
respectively, the port P is connected with oil outlet port of steering pump, and the port T is
connected with hydraulic oil tank.

Figure 7-3 Structure of fully hydraulic steering gear (a)

1 Connecting block 2 Front cap 3 Valve body 4 Spring plate 5 Shifting pin 6 Valve sleeve 7 Valve core 8 Linkage shaft
9 Rotor 10 Rear cap 11 Limit post 12 Spacer disc 13 Stator 14 O-ring 15 Steel ball 16 O-ring 17 X-shaped ring
18 O-ring

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Figure 7-3 (b) Schematic diagram of fully hydraulic steering gear (at neutral position)

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Figure 7-3 (c) Schematic diagram of fully hydraulic steering gear (at steering position)

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1. No rotation of steering wheel (namely neutral position)

The valve core 1 and valve sleeve 3 are at neutral positions under the action of the
centering spring plate. The hydraulic oil from the steering pump 7 enters into the valve
core through the valve core and the orifice at the end of valve sleeve and then returns
to oil tank 8 via port T. When the steering wheel is not rotated, the centering spring is
functioning. As the oil ports A and B are blocked by the valve core 1, the oil in the
steering cylinder is restrained against input and output and the piston cant move so
that the loader is traveling towards the preset direction.
2. Leftward rotation of steering wheel

The steering wheel drives the valve core 1 for counterclockwise rotation so that the
centering spring is unilaterally compressed. As there is an up to 1030 rotation
amount between the valve core 1 and valve sleeve 3, the valve core can rotate with
respect to the valve sleeve. In such case, the oil groove of the valve core is connected
with oil inlet port P of valve sleeve so that the oil from the oil pump flows, through oil
grooves of valve sleeve 3 and valve core 1 and the valve sleeve, to the rotor 5 and
stator 4 to drive the rotation of rotor 5 with respect to the starter 4. At the same time,
the outlet oil from the rotor and stator enters into the rodless chamber of right
steering cylinder through the valve sleeve and port A so that the cylinder piston rod is
extended to drive the wheels via frame for leftward steering. The oil in the rod
chamber of the cylinder flows into the valve sleeve 3 via oil port B and flows back to
the hydraulic oil tank through oil return groove of valve core 1, oil return port of valve
sleeve, and the port T.
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During the leftward steering, the rod chamber of left steering cylinder is connected with the
rodless chamber of right steering cylinder so that the rod chamber is supplied with oil to retract
the piston rod into the cylinder and drive the leftward steering of the frame. The rodless
chamber of left steering cylinder is connected with rod chamber of right steering cylinder so
that the oil from the rod chamber of right steering cylinder enters into port B via rodless
chamber of left steering cylinder and returns to the oil tank through oil return port and oil inlet
port of valve sleeve.
When the relative rotation angle between valve core and valve sleeve is approximate 1.5, the oil
line is connected so that the rotation of rotor drives the oil from steering pump to the cylinder,
of which the oil supply amount is proportional to the rotation angle of the steering wheel.

When the steering wheel is rotated for a certain angle and held, as the above-mentioned oil line
is connected, the oil from the steering pump drives the rightward rotation of rotor 5. When the
rotation angle of rotor 5 is same with the rotation angle of the steering wheel, as the valve
sleeve 3 and rotor 5 are mechanically connected by linkage shaft, the rotor drives the leftward
follow-up rotation of valve sleeve 3, till the stator spring drives the valve sleeve and valve
core to neutral position and the angle rotated is same with the rotation angle of steering wheel.
In such case, the relative rotation angle between the valve sleeve 3 and valve core 1 is
eliminated and the oil line to the rotor and steering cylinder is closed so that the outlet oil from
the steering pump 7 enters into the valve sleeve via port P and returns to oil tank through oil
return groove of valve core 1, oil return port of valve sleeve 3, and oil port T. In such case, the
loader stops the steering. When the steering wheel is rotated further, the rotor and valve sleeve
will follow up, till the left limit position is reached. This is the hydraulic feedback follow-up
function.

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3. Rightward steering

When rotating the steering wheel rightward, the steering wheel drives the valve core for clockwise
rotation, of which the working principle is same with the leftward steering.

For the steering at low speed (the rotation speed of the steering wheel is less than 10r/min), the
effective displacement of the steering gear is same with the metered displacement. When the
input speed of the steering wheel is increased (the rotation speed of the steering wheel is
10~40r/min), the effective displacement is proportional to the rotation speed of the steering
wheel. In such case, only a part of oil from the oil inlet port P enters into the rotor-stator pair for
metering and the remaining oil enters into the cylinder directly via ports A and B. Therefore, the
flow amplifying function is available only at this stage. When the input speed of the steering wheel
exceeds 40r/min, the effective displacement of steering gear is basically constant at its rated
equivalent displacement.
4. Manual steering

In event of sudden flameout of the engine or the malfunction of steering pump, rotate the
steering wheel with hand for static steering. While rotating the steering wheel rightward, the valve
core rotates for a 1030 angle to drive the rotation of valve sleeve, linkage shaft, and rotor via
shifting pin. In such case, the rotor and stator are functioned as oil pump. The rotation of rotor 5
sucks out the oil from the oil port T and inputs the oil into the oil inlet chamber of rotor pump via
check valve, valve sleeve, and valve core. The oil pumping action during the manual steering
compresses the hydraulic oil sucked into the steering oil so that the compressed oil enters into the
rodless chamber of steering cylinder to extend the piston rod and steer rightward the loader. The
oil in the rod chamber flows to the oil inlet chamber of rotor pump from oil port A through valve
sleeve, valve core, valve sleeve, and check valve and continually refills into the rodless chamber, in
order to maintain the steering action.

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5. Combination valve block

The valve block is a combined hydraulic unit that is mainly composed of check valve,
two-way damping valve (overload valve), and oil refilling valve. Its connected
between the steering pump and steering gear and is assorted to the fully hydraulic
steering gear (Generally, its directly installed on the valve body flange of the
steering gear and works along with steering gear to form an integral unit).
Its functioned to guarantee the normal and stable working of steering gear and
entire steering system under rated pressure on one hand and guard the steering
cylinder and connecting pipelines against damage in event of sudden overload and
protect the steering pump on the other hand.

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1) Check Valve

The check valve is composed of the valve seat 1, valve core 2, and spring 3 and is
installed within the oil inlet port of the valve block body so that the high pressure oil
from the oil pump flows into the oil inlet port of steering gear via the check valve. It's
functioned to prevent the backflow of oil from automatically deflecting the steering
wheel and leading to steering failure.
2) Two-way damping valve

The two-way damping valve incorporates two constant pressure direct-acting safety
valves composed of the spring, ball valve seat, and steel ball. Its installed within the
valve port for connecting the valve body with the orifices of left and right chambers of
steering cylinder and is connected with the oil return port, in order to protect the
hydraulic steering system against impact of over-high pressure and ensure the safety of
oil lines.
3) Oil refilling valve

The oil refilling valve incorporates two check valves composed of steel ball and is
installed within the valve port for connecting the valve body with the orifices of left and
right chambers of steering cylinder and is connected with the two-way damping valve.
When the pressure within one chamber of cylinder is higher than the pressure setting
of damping valve, the damping valve relieves the load and the oil refilling valve on the
other chamber of the cylinder refills the oil to prevent the formation of cavitation in the
system.
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II. Priority valve

The priority valve is mainly composed of the valve body, valve core,
spring, safety valve assembly, and screw plug, as shown in Figure 7-4.

Figure 7-4 Structural diagram of priority valve

1 Safety valve assembly 2 Control spring 3 Valve core 4 Valve body 5 Screw plug

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II. Priority valve

There are 5 oil ports on the priority valve, namely oil inlet port P, oil outlet ports EF and
CF, feedback oil port LS, and oil return port T, which are connected with oil outlet port of
steering pump, oil inlet port of hydraulic oil radiator, oil inlet port of steering gear, port
LS of steering gear, and oil return port of hydraulic tank respectively.

This valve is matched with the BZZ6 steering gear to form the load-sensing steering
system. At the speed variation of the steering wheel, it can preferentially guarantee the
flow required by the steering gear and the remaining oil flows into the working device
hydraulic system.

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Port EF
Port P

Port CF

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When the steering wheel is stationary, the pressure oil from the steering
pump flows to port EF from port P through valve core and enters into the
working device hydraulic system or returns to oil tank directly.
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Port EF
Port P

Port CF

Ls

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When the steering wheel is rotating, under the joint action of the spring force and LS pressure, the
valve core moves rightward to connect the port P with port CF so that the pressure oil enters into
the steering gear and drives the cylinder for steering of loader and the excessive oil diverges into
the working device hydraulic system or oil tank through port EF.

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Section IV Cause Judgment and Troubleshooting for

Common Malfunctions of Steering Hydraulic System

1) Heavy steering (analysis and judgment procedure)

Cause
s
y
m
p
to
m

J
u
d
g
e
a
s
p
e
r
m
a
lf
u
n
c
ti
o
n

Yes

Cylinder creepage, air bubbles in oil, and regular

sound

Check steering
column for flexible
rotation
No

Is the steering heavy

at high speed and
light at low speed?

air from system

Air content in system Bleed
and check oil inlet port
of oil pump for air
leakage

Yes

Heavy steering and no action of

steering cylinder

Measure

Yes
No
Does system pressure
meet requirement?

No

Yes

Check feedback oil

pipe for blockage

Check steel ball for

presence and
blockage

Replace FK
combination valve

Check cylinder for
internal leakage

Failure of manual
steering check valve

Leakage of FK
overload valve

Internal leakage of
cylinder

Damage of steering
column

Repair or replace

Blockage of pipeline

Clean or replace

No

Yes

Adjust the system pressure.

Is there any pressure
change?

Yes

Low system pressure Repair or replace

No
Breakage of priority Adjustment system
pressure
valve spring or
blockage of valve core

Yes

Yes

Is hydraulic oil level

too low?

Shortage of oil

Add hydraulic oil

Blockage of pipeline

Clean or replace

Wear or internal
leakage of steering
pump

Repair or replace

No
Yes

Is oil suction pipe

blocked?

No

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2) No steering end or failure for steering to limit position (analysis and

judgment procedure)
No end
After the steering cylinder rotates to limit position,
when the steering wheel is rotated with high force,
the steering wheel can rotate lightly, namely there
is no feeling of end.

Malfunction
cause
Low pressure of
overload valve

Troubleshooting
Appropriately
increase pressure
of overload valve

failure for steering to limit position

The steering cylinder cant be

rotated to the limit position, with
heavy steering

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Malfunction
cause

Troubleshooting

Low pressure of
safety valve

Appropriately increase
pressure of safety valve

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3) Cause for off-tracking of machine

Due to leakage towards the cylinder port when the closed

core steering gear is at neutral position, the slight offtracking of the closed core steering gear is normal.
Check the cylinder connecting rod for presence of
looseness.
Internal leakage of cylinder.
High pressure difference between two tires.
Unilateral leakage of two-way overload valve or two-way
oil refilling valve.
Air content in oil.

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4) Incorrect steering
Air content in system.
Loose cylinder pin.

Stagnation of priority valve or shunt

valve core.
Internal leakage of cylinder.

Low pump efficiency, leading to

unstable pressure.

p
Fixed
Pump

Engine

Filter
Reservoir

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5) No rotation or slow rotation of steering wheels, though the steering

wheel can be rotated flexibly.

Serious internal leakage of

two-way overload valve

Serious leakage of cylinder

piston.

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6) Idle travel of steering wheel

Loose nuts of
steering wheel.

Air content in oil.

Internal leakage of
two-way overload
valve
Internal leakage of
steering cylinder

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Worn or damaged connection between

steering column and steering gear.

p
Fixed
Pump

Engine

Filter
Reservoir

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7) Vibration or autogiration of steering wheel

Incorrect assembly relationship. At the

time of reassembly after the disassembly

for repair, its required to align the

spline teeth of the linkage shaft shifting

pin slot with the corresponding inner
spline teeth of rotor.

When the oil pumped is connected to

the port R or L, the steering gear will

rotate on its axis like a motor.

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8) Bounce of steering wheel

Cause:
The check valve at oil inlet port of
steering gear is damaged.
Function of check valve:
It prevents the backflow of oil in steering
cylinder under the action of external
force when the pressure is higher than
the pressure at oil inlet port. If the check
valve is damaged, the backflow of oil will
lead to bounce symptom of steering
wheel.

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THE END

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