Freightliner power steering problems

I had the same issue but when the fluid would get hot after pulling a hill it would lock up. Turned out to be the gearbox and every tech that looked at it said I was crazy and nothing was wrong.that was in my 16 cascadia with 300k miles

 

you should check the kinpins jack the unit up with both wheel off the ground and try turning the wheel if its hard check your king pins i just did 4 freight liner this week

 

you

should check your kingpins jack the unit up both wheels off the ground and see if you can turn the steering wheel freely if not the check your kingpins i changed 4 trucks with kin pins problems from not being grease

 

How do you check the slip joint. This is just starting and I want to nip it in the bud.

 

I don’t know. You can check it for slop, make sure it’s greased. The shaft connected to the gear box has a nylon type ( usually blue) coating. I guess it would have to be worn, or just have a loose fit. Mines a bit sloppy when I wiggle the slip joint. Still works fine though. The joint needs to be greased till it comes out onto the shaft. What’s the symptom? How’s the filter? Maybe need a new filter?

 

Known Steering Gear issue reported to NHTSA
MC-10193210-0001.pdf

For reference, should be able to figure it out with pressure check only. If flow is low it should still allow you to steer slowly, low pump flow will just limit steering speed. With this problem you won't be generating pressure because of internal leakage. Pump also doesn't care if you are steering right or left, so if it is working right, then the pump will still be doing it's job steering left.