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Steering question
Do all 8n tractors have the same steering?

Same basic design but there are two gear boxes. At serial number s/n 216989 they changed the design, everything before that number was the early design, later design after the number. The easiest way to tell the difference is in at the adjuster plate/housing. The early design had 4 bolts and the later design had two.

Later design steering gear can interchange with earlier, you just need to use the later design pitman arms and modify the dash panel to fit.

In addition to what 4Play said, here are some pix to help ID the two 8N steering boxes. The early box used an NPT pipe plug for the lube filler port, the later box used a 7/16-14 hex head bolt. Adjustment and arms are different as well. The later box was a big improvement over the early Saginaw Steering Gear supplied unit and a lot easier to work on as well. Note on both I replaced the OEM parts with my own modified parts utilizing Zerk fittings in order to make lubing the steering box much easier and less messy. Some books say to remove the acorn nut and pour oil down the steering column, but that is a recipe for disaster. If your seals and bushings are worn out, the oil will just leak out all over the shifter cover, running boards, and elsewhere. Many steering boxes were neglected to keep lubricated, and thus premature wearing of internal parts occurred.

FORD 8N TRACTOR EARLY STEERING BOX:
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FORD 8N TRACTOR LATE STEERING BOX:


Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)

I rebuilt my steering gear box on my 3000 , which is the same design as the late style 8N box . They have a bushing on the shaft between the gear and the steering arm , and another on the end cap , so the shaft has very little side to side movement .

The early style does not have an end cap with a bushing to stop the side to side movement . I have 4 early boxes torn apart for a rebuild and all of the shaft housings are slightly hourglass shaped from many years of applied force . They will probably be just fine for an old working tractor , but I will probably take the time and machine and bush one set for my keep her till I die N . The others will get seldom used unless someone has cash and really wants one .

I would not go and buy a late model box , in my case since I already have usable boxes and an N is not my go to work tractor , but if I ran across a good deal on one , I would pick it up .

As Tim has said , worn boxes usually leak . I have seen a few boxes that had dried up grease with the gears in an air pocket , no lubrication . If your steering wheel moves up and down as you turn it , you need to check your bearings . The lower bearing sits in the debris / water that settles to the bottom .

My 3000 has a small leak and it is just a worker , but the O'Reillys synthetic gear oil , which looks like crystal clear honey should keep the wear down to an acceptable level . I do not notice the leakage .