Manitou mb26jc forklift power steering

[Manitoumb26jc]

Hi all,
I have a 1980s Manitou rough terrain forklift and its been stripped down for three years while I very slowly replaced the transmission clutches.
Now I have it running again but the steering is very heavy, unusable and not at all like it was before. I tried jacking up the rear wheels and turning the steering wheel fully right lock then left many times but no difference. I also cracked off the two hose connections on the hydraulic steering ram and got oil but no air. The hydraulic pump is working ok and feeds both the mast hydraulics and the steering box which is immediately under the steering wheel. I can’t see any obvious bleed screw so any suggestions would be very welcome.

[mechman]

Hi Bob.
A silly one, but are the King pins free as its been standing a good while?
Norm.

[Jeremy Rowland]

Hi Bob.
A silly one, but are the King pins free as its been standing a good while?
Norm.

As Norman has just said, make sure that you have some grease through the kingpins and any steering joint ball joints, once you are happy that they are free, jack up the machine and disconnect the steering joints till you can find where the tight spot is, if all is free with them, the only other thing I can think of is that the hydraulic oil is passing the seals in the steering ram.
Also check as I am not sure of what this machine has, but double check that it does not have a separate power steering system, I would not have thought that it would have, just a thought.

Jeremy

[Manitoumb26jc]

Yes kingpins well greased and free