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850 steering problems

D

duckrock

Member
Workinng with the 850 today and caught the left front time on a tree stump. Wasn't going that fast but it did stop the tractor. Now it has a sever toe out problem. Can't even get it back to the shop. The front tires plow up so much sand is won't move anywhere. What are some possible problems that I might have caused?
 
Do you have manual or power steering? Are both wheels toed out? Or is one toed out and the other in? To diagnose the problem I'd start at the weakest link. Check the wheel that hit the stump and make sure the center is not bent. Then check the steering arm. You may have hit so hard that the retaining key broke or is otherwise damaged and allows the steering arm to pivot on the spindle. Then check the drag links to make sure they are straight. Check the ends to make sure they are ok too. Then check the steering box. I don't think the gears could have jumped out of sink, but the could have. If they did you may need to pull the pitman arms and sides of the steering box to see what condition they are in. Let us know what you find.
 
I figured out what is wrong. The left side pitman arm is striped and slips on the steering box. Good and bad is the loader. It lets me get the front end off the ground to pull things apart and re-align them. But the weight is making it impossible to drive without things slipping again. It will probably spend the night in the field. Second time today that the starter got bound up somehow. Push the button and nothing. What would cause the starter to bind? How hard is it to change the steering gear?
 
Changing the sector gear is not difficult. It comes down to the alignment of the gears which can be tricky. A manual would be invaluable.

As far as the starter goes, It's really hard to say based on the description. What do you mean the starter is "bound". It sounds like the bendix could be going out. I'd pull the starter and check the bendix gear and the ring gear. You can also bench test the starter by using your battery to see if the bendix is operating. I'd also check the starters bearings to make sure they are not so worn that they cause things to bind. While you're at it check the brushes.
 
Forgot to mention before that this tractor is manual steering. I found my manual and see that it does look pretty simple to fix. Does the left side steering just simply pull out the right side. Are there any tricks or things to watch out for?
 
Is it the external splines on the sector shaft that are stripped.. or is it the internal splines on the small steering arm that are stripped.

If it's jst the arm. slip it off. clean the sector up and slip the new arm on.

soundguy
 
Soundguy has given some good advice, check to see which splines are stripped. Sometimes without cleaning them it can be difficult to tell.

The best I can tell you is to carefully read the manual. The steering gear is a recirculating ball nut type steering gear. The left side steering is the one that meshes with the steering shaft. Try to observe the alignment of the sector shafts and steering shaft before you pull it out. Before taking it apart you might put some alignment marks on the shafts and housing for future reference. While you're at it take a close look of the seals on the sector shaft and replace them. They are cheap and easy to replace. The steering gear can be rebuilt with new seals and bearing if you want to go that far. Hope this helps.
 
the box is easy to rebuild, but you must follow the repair sequence exactly. Use light gun grease to fill. This is a General Motors box.
 
The best I can tell it looks like the pitman arm and external splines are stripped. The steering seemed to work just fine with the exception of the wheels toed out. The pitman arm looks funny to me. I might try to replace it for starters before tearing into the box. I was wondering if something like pipe thread tape would provide some extra grip? Maybe to at least help get it back to the shop.
 
You might try just tighening the nuts first. If I recall correctly the shaft is tapered and just tightening the nut should help.
 
If you can slip the arm off ( should if it really is stripped ).. then lay it on a anvil and take a sledge hammer and hit the splined sofket face dead on a few times.. this will 'shrink' the hole by flattening the arm socket... That might let you snug it up enough to get it back home.

Pipe thread tap is teflon.. and I doubt it would help -any-.

If I was in a real pinch i'd heat and beat it till the ID of the hole was undersized, and then take a triangular file to it and an hour of patience and make her fit again.

soundguy
 
Won't get a chance to look at it until at least Wednesday. I did try the over tighten method with no luck. Ground is really sandy. First attemp to make a right turn bend the left wheel back out. The pitman arm did pull of by hand with a light tape of hammer and little wiggling. Think I will try to shrink the size of the hole. If that don't work I think I might have to tack weld to get it back to shop. I broke it putting up new fence. So, I decided the shortest route back to shop is through old fence line rather than around it.
 
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