(quoted from post at 02:31:23 07/13/17)
(quoted from post at 16:22:20 07/12/17) Well I filled it with fluid again tonight and got different but still unsatisfactory results. After filling, with the wheels in the air the steering worked. Yay! I of course can't tell if the power steering is doing anything because there isn't any resistance. I put the wheels down and tried to move the tractor and the wheels won't budge in EITHER direction, so with oil in the system I can't even steer manually when the wheels are down. Whenever I try to turn you can hear a load on the engine. Also, the rpms would change without touching the throttle or moving the steering wheel. Almost like the gear in the pump was putting a load on the engine. ???
So with oil in and the wheels in the air the wheels turn. When wheels down they won't turn in either direction and there is a load on the engine.
Is it possible it is a faulty pump? Or do you still think control valve? I hate to turn the pump back in for warranty if that's not it.
Don't give up yet. The system in principle is very simple, there is only the pump, control valve and the steering cylinder actuated by the said valve.
There is a certain amount of free play in the mechanism before mechanical torque from the steering wheel is applied to the front wheels. The actuator to the control valve is connected to the rod from the steering wheel without play(or should be, this is likely the most common problem on these, play on the control valve actuator), so when you turn the wheel the valve actuates first and it assists in the steering without the user having to transfer mechanical power to the wheels. If the power steering is not working, then the mechanical actuation takes over after a bit of free play on the wheel.
With this in mind and going back to the results after your last attempts, I'm thinking of a few points
1) Pump is loading the engine, as the revs are going down. This points to the fact that the pump is good, and could be verified by cracking the pressure hose on the pump and seeing if you get oil out.
2) With the wheels in the air I suspect the valve is not actually actuating at all
3) With the wheels down they don't turn freely anymore, and you're actually actuating the control valve now. But, instead of steering now it is locked up. A couple of scenarios come to my mind. If by some reason the lines were crossed, the steering would actually shoot to the opposite direction. But since it's being locked up, I think the problem must be in the control valve either not providing fluid to the steering cylinder, or not letting the fluid out.
I think I would next crack open the lines going to the cylinder, and see if you're actually getting hydraulic fluid where you want it. If not, work on the control valve next.