Steering Problem

Larry/tn

Member
I have a 900/901 row crop with narrow front end.
The front tires will not turn. Somewhere inside the pedestal its locked up. I took the steering a loose from the front of the pedestal. It has to be inside the pedestal. The two top gears inside the reservoir does not have any restriction in the teeth. What should I be looking for and also is this going to be a big problem to work on.
Thanks Larry
 
Larry- You said 900/901 but there are two different pedestal designs, the early fixed pedestal and the later two-piece design. If it will help, I can post pictures of the two designs showing the parts.
Also, did this suddenly happen, or was the tractor sitting for a long time? With either design it could be that the steering arm/sector shaft could be bound up due to lack of lube. Post back with more info.-Will
Edit- After some thought, there are bushings on the sector shaft which make it less likely to bind up. Assuming you have the later design, it looks like this-


mvphoto20306.jpg


If so, remove the wheels and the spindle unit which is bolted to the pinion shaft with 4 large bolts. See if anything has gotten in there and jammed it up. -Will
 
It has the one piece pedestal and it had only setting for a short time (less than 3 weeks). It has always been a little hard to turn because the power steering is not working.
 
Larry- Here is a picture of the earlier fixed-pedestal design. The spindle shaft is on bearings but I suppose they could have failed or maybe something is binding the sector shaft if, with the cover removed you can't see anything lodged in the sector gears. With this drawing it should help getting it apart. There is a disassembly procedure in the service manual, they suggest doing that before removing the pedestal unit from the tractor.
You mentioned that the power steering doesn't work. Is there any chance the cylinder is locked up preventing it from turning? If you have the front jacked up so the tires are off the ground and with the drag link disconnected from the steering arm, can you turn either the tires or move the steering arm? -Will
a127383.jpg
 
Yes I do have it jack up and the drag link is disconnected from the steering arm. Still just a wiggle of movement and that seems to be in the gear wear it self.
Thanks for the pic..........Larry
 
OK, to try to help just a bit more, if it comes down to having to disassemble the pedestal, here are the pages from the service manual outlining the procedure including removing the pedestal from the tractor if need be. If you have trouble reading the second page, hit the Ctrl and + keys on your keyboard at the same time to make it bigger. Hopefully you can repair it with it still on the tractor. Be sure to support the tractor safely. -Will
a127394.jpg

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Thanks for your help Will, clean out the reservoir found some large pieces of crud in teeth on bottom back side of gears also pulled the spindle to check lower bearing and it needs to be replaced, fill with the right oil and it will be ready to go.
Thanks..Larry
 
That's good to hear, Larry. I'm not sure how to get that bearing off but probably any automotive shop can remove it and press the new one on. Good luck!-Will
 

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