farmall m power steering

i bought a m with a loader that is run off the pump at the distributor. i also have a behlen power steering unit with the pump that goes by the distributor, resevoir tank,and hoses that i would like to put on the tractor. i am wondering what my options are, i want to leave the loader hydraulics alone. can i mount a power steering pump off a automobile or won"t they work. i am new to this so any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks

You can plumb in a priority valve for the power steering off the live pump that runs or your loader or you can mount another pump specifically for the power steering. Saginaw automotive power steering pumps are very popular and work well. They are most commonly mounted off the side of the governor or above the governor, in front of the manifold.

(quoted from post at 04:47:34 10/31/11) You can plumb in a priority valve for the power steering off the live pump that runs or your loader or you can mount another pump specifically for the power steering. Saginaw automotive power steering pumps are very popular and work well. They are most commonly mounted off the side of the governor or above the governor, in front of the manifold.

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I would go the Saginaw pump route... if you use the tractor's pump and priority flow divider, you will definately slow down your loader. It will slow to the point where if the engine is idled down, the loader will not work at all. I have a CharLynn on my 240U and if it's below about 1/3 throttle, my 3 point does not work at all. My loader is on a separate crankshaft driven pump now, but I can tell by the way it is plumbed that at one time the loader was hooked to the tractor auxillary valves, but it must have been re-plumbed when the PS was added.

thanks for your reply. iguess i would rater go with a separate pump. is the saginaw pump a certain type of automotive pump? and can i plumb that directly to the power steering unit or do i need a reserve tank? thanks again.

Typically they come off 60's and 70's chevy trucks. The nice thing about the saginaw pumps is that they have a mounted reservoir, and yes you need it! I have attached a picture of the pump mounted above the governor and in front of the manifold. I like this setup best as the pump is hidden neatly under the hood. If you have a CharLynn motor, no one will even know you have power steering and attempt to steal it if your tractor gets left outside.

This would be the alternative pump mounted on the side of the governor with the reservoir mounted higher. With this setup the pump is clearly visible and you need the extra crankshaft pulley.

The other setup I showed just uses a longer belt between the PS pump, water pump and generator/alternator.

(quoted from post at 14:28:36 10/31/11) Typically they come off 60's and 70's chevy trucks. The nice thing about the saginaw pumps is that they have a mounted reservoir, and yes you need it! I have attached a picture of the pump mounted above the governor and in front of the manifold. I like this setup best as the pump is hidden neatly under the hood. If you have a CharLynn motor, no one will even know you have power steering and attempt to steal it if your tractor gets left outside.

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That's a really nice clean instalation. I have thought about plumbing my PS from the loader pump, but I would need a priority valve that can handle the total flow from the bigger loader pump and I am not sure how big it is. The loader operates plenty fast even when idled down, but the PFDV would still need to handle the total flow when the engine is at full throttle, which may be as much as 25 gpm or so... it's more pump than the loader really needs.
Dad had a JD 60 with a CharLynn PS and it had a Saginaw (division of GM) pump that looked identical to the one in my 1955 Oldsmobile. PS was installed in the 1953 60 in the fall of 1958 when Dad bought it and a new 227 corn picker. Later after I left home for the service in '61 Dad sold it to his brother and about 10 years later I saw it and the Saginaw pump had been removed and the PS was plumbed into the tractor pump. By this time, I was working for a hydraulics manufacturer and noticed these things. Guess the pump went bad and rather than replace it, they just re-plumbed it. The drawback at the time was that the tractor pump on those JDs had a dis-connect so you did not have to run the pump if you did not need it. If you used it for the PS, you had to leave the pump engaged.

I really like how this pump is set up!! might you have any scetches or dementions of the brackets? Really a nice neat installation. Thanks Paul

I have made those brackets before but dont think I have the drawings around anymore. I believe the tractor in the picture is owned by GordoSD here on this forum. Might try getting ahold of him...I believe he is the one that gave me the dimensions for mine.

If you have the behlen pump to power the power steering, you can piggy back them. Bolt it to the live hydraulic pump then the distributor to it. Down side is it may load the front engine gears more and puts the distributor cap close to the oil filter housing. saw some well used tractors setup that way and still going though.
Never saw any that way on a early M with the bigger oil filter housing, so don't know if a horizonal distributor would clear.

Dave,

I was wondering if anybody had done that. A few years ago I started to piggy-back pumps on a H. The tractor is still apart. The first obstacle is the breather tube. Next is the oil filter. Both can be modified or relocated. I'll get back to it one of these days.

Just got my power back after 47 hours. What a blessing. There are some people who may have to wait until Thanksgiving. Only got eight inches. Highest inch total was in Peru, MA with 33 inches. We have tons of Norway Maples around here and they are still fully clad with green leaves.

could i use a pump with the resevoir built right in the pump?

A properly installed, properly adjusted priority valve will not affect the loader performance AT ALL.

The only time the priority valve takes precedence is when you are turning the steering wheel. Otherwise all hydraulic flow will go through the loader.

If you still have your heart stuck on a separate pump, any old power steering pump out of a car will work just fine.

(quoted from post at 14:03:22 11/01/11) A properly installed, properly adjusted priority valve will not affect the loader performance AT ALL.

The only time the priority valve takes precedence is when you are turning the steering wheel. Otherwise all hydraulic flow will go through the loader.

If you still have your heart stuck on a separate pump, any old power steering pump out of a car will work just fine.

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I believe the valving on a CharLynn torque generator is open centered, so the priority flow (2- 2.5gpm) tapped off for the PS is always flowing through the open center when you are not turning. There are different models of the torque generator, so maybe all are not that way. These are built at Eaton's Shawnee plant, so am not familiar with the later versions other than to see them in the Eaton catalog. I'm pretty sure mine has flow through it any time the engine is running, whether i'm turning or not... guess I could unhook the return line and find out, but seems like a messy job to me.

The pump in the picture is the same as Cadillac power steering pumps 1956 to and including 1958. I would like to get measurements for brackets to bolt it on too. Any help will be greatly appreciated. thank you. Jim Goplin [email protected]