I have a solenoid valve similar to, not identical to, this one that controls my rear steer:
When I rev the engine the rear wanders left. The higher I rev the worse it does so. I've disconnected the valve electrically and it still does it, so the issue isn't electrical. I'm thinking something is internally wrong with it and it needs replacing. Has anyone experienced something like this? I've been using this valve for years and it only recently started doing it. There is no air in the system and otherwise everything works fine.
Remove the valve and air test it,its leaking fluid past one of the ports. I removed mine,cleaned out a little piece of garbage and its been fine ever since.....
I took the valve completely apart, couldn't find anything obviously wrong. Just in case I replaced the o-rings inside. Reinstalled only with the lines that go to the ram switched. I did this to see if it still drifted the same direction and it doesn't, it switched. So its bleeding pressure to the same port all the time, I just can't figure out why???
I never had to take mine apart,but I could see it leaking to both ports at the same time to keep the ram where you set it(pressure on both sides of the piston in the ram).
What centers the valve after you take power away? a spring? I wonder if it hasnt gotten weak and isnt exactly going back to center(rest position) when power is taken away?
I'm actually not putting much fluid through it right now. Its rated at 7gpm and I doubt I'm even anywhere near 5. My systems are separate so that I don't loose power at one while using the other.
Mine was from POS also. The guy at Parker was mildly helpful. He gave me the current replacement valve part number that goes in my existing block. Only problem is that everyone on the planet is out of stock and Parker estimates 6-8 weeks before their next production run. So it looks like I'm in the market for a new valve.
I used a similar POS valve on a customers buggy. It was a hydraforce valve. Maybe they could cross reference. I called them to see which port went to what, ther were fairly helpful.
Although I have not used it yet or even plumbed it yet, I'm watching your threads on this stuff to see what you wind up with finding or direction you head.
I like Staz and have owned 3 sets of his wheels, he's the only company I'll buy wheels from. And the version of his self-center that I have is a very early version. He's had, I think, 3 or 4 updates since. So maybe current versions work better. But I was a little disappointed with it in general. It does not return to center, it returns to the general vicinity of center. I bought it thinking I could use it for when I am going fast or am about to go fast but I can't because it doesn't ever return close enough to center to continue going straight quickly. You have to manually fine-tune after it stops on its own. The sensing ram got destroyed by rocks / branches the first trip out so it hasn't worked since and, to be honest, it didn't work well enough to begin with for me to want to spend more money fixing it. So now its basically a bunch of unused wiring and control box. My intent is to someday utilize the components of the system that are still in place to do my own thing but that's a long ways off.
To be honest, the addition of foot switches to control the rear is the biggest help, bigger than the return to center ever was. I find that my left foot knows what to do instinctively and my butt tells me when things are centered better than the auto-return did. I'm no rear-steer superstar though. I try to resist the urge to use it while full throttling steep shit.
If you have a single ended ram and leak oil into either sides with some pressure it will push out the rod. If you have a double ended ram then one side of the valve must be leaking.
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