300 u manual steering

ericlb

Well-known Member
we're working on a 300u with manual steering, the tractor has steering problems, we removed the box and found it about half full of rust and goo, cleaned everything up, original problem was hard steering and more turns to the right than the left. looking at restored tractor pics, i noticed the pitman arms on both sides on the restored tractors were in different positions than ours ie, slanting slightly back with the front wheels straight, ours has 1 pointing forward, and 1 straight down, does anybody have a pic or info on clocking the box gears correctly?
 
I thought the pitman arms had a chisel mark and lined up with a chisel mark on the shafts.You might have to wire brush them to see the marks.Mark.
 
Funny you say that, Charlie......hard steering. That's the first thing I think of when any older utility tractor is mentioned.
 
got it, this one steers good, nice tight tractor, its had a broken spindle for decades , hit by something much larger its probably what saved the rest of it
 
Possibly a PO disassembled the steering gear box after the accident and did not get the pitman arm shafts placed in correct position when the shaft pinion was in middle position. The shafts and arms on mine both aim slightly to the rear when the wheels are straight ahead. I don't know whether you can reclock the shafts without taking the steering box off the tractor. It might be possible. If you remove the steering box, look carefully at the bottom of the case for gear oil leakage. As I recall, there is a freeze plug which can be the source of leakage. It might need replacement.

Good Luck!

Paul in MN
 
Folks,

I've a '55 300U which I like a lot; however, I've also had my share of problems with the manual steering box: One particular sector gear tooth has broken off several times (I don't remember which one right now) due to my not knowing of it's issues combined with a fairly large fully-hydraulic front bucket (not just a drop bucket). With proper care, the gear won't break [i:752ce42204]while moving[/i:752ce42204], steering even with a good-sized front-bucket load (a bit over 1,000 Lbs).

Have replaced one 300U steering box with another used one which I was very fortunate to find. Same tooth on that box also broke and was re-welded - but, I added weld to the unused outside of that tooth as a buttress for added strength - it has been working very well - thank you.

I've also re-machined a new steering pin for the drive gear: Ultimately made it from air-hardening (A-1, I think) tool steel; and, hand-fit it to the steering shaft drive worm with machinist's bluing and hand-finish work for best contact throughout its whole range. That was done, of course, with box apart. Note, also, that hardened stainless steel was first tried, and didn't work at all - it literally "wiped-out" right away!

Also note, though, that I now use my full-function front bucket all the way down to lift the front-end slightly off-ground (even when fully loaded) in order to position my steering for the anticipated next move (cheap-man's "power steering")! Yes, it's a pain; but, it works for me.

My last advice is to take the steering box apart and thoroughly clean. Then try to very accurately set the drive sector gear pin and helical steering shaft gear mesh as close as possible without drag (maybe a VERY SLIGHT drag).

Next, very carefully set the offset adjustments on the now-mounted matching plate (with driven sector installed) to obtain very minimal backlash (again, maybe VERY SLIGHT drag) between the two gears. As a further help, I used a very good high-pressure moly grease on both the drive pin/steering screw, the steering shaft bearings, and the sector gears; no oil - it just dilutes the grease. This has worked-out very good so far for me for several years now; both winter and summer (Northeast MN near Lake Superior - can be very cold (down to -45 F) & harsh winter conditions in which I use it to move [i:752ce42204]a lot[/i:752ce42204] of snow.)

Enough for now, hope this helps.

Regards, JLB
 

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