MF 165 brakes and power steering

[nothackingyou]

I recently purchased an MF 165. Don't know the year but it's a gas engine and the axle tubes look pretty square. The power steering doesn't work at all and the brakes are very weak. It has a FEL with a 6' wide bucket so I'd like to get both working.

Brakes
I adjusted the very long brake rod from the pedal pivot to the actuator rod for the left brake pretty tight and now I can lock up the left brake pretty easy. Is this too tight? On the right, I need to fix the threads on the adjuster rod with a die before I can adjust them. Is there another adjuster I am missing?


Steering
The power steering doesn't work at all. The PO said it worked last time it was parked, about 6-8 months ago. I found some great information here from David but mine doesn't look quite the same as the others in the ram area.I checked the fluid and it was full but the motor wasn't running then. I'll try it at left full lock with the motor running. I'm trying to find the filter to see if it's plugged - any help on where to find the filter?

Thanks!!

 

[nothackingyou]

Anyone?

 

[massey driver]

sorry just came across your post. this a diesel or gas tractor. I know on the diesel the pump is on the RH side of the block. the lines from the pump run across to the LH side and then come out to the front of the rad and then across to the steering control and cylinder.The steering control and cylinder are basically one unit.There are some linkages etc: that have to be set just right in order for the power steering to work.if things are worn out in the linkages or pivot points etc: the power steering isn't going to work.One way to check if the power steering cylinder is working is to open the grill to get access to the steering cylinder and control.Looking at the rod that goes into the control valve if you can get it free from the moving arm that pushes and pulls the rod then with the tractor running you can push and pull on the rod and see if it makes your wheels turn either right or left. try not too loosen the two nut that are on the end of that rod otherwise your going to have quite a time getting them back into there proper place. Let me know what you find by trying the above,because if the steering works by trying the above then there's quite a bit of adjustments that will be needed in order for the steering to work. Also there is a filter up near the top of the rad looking in from the front on the left hand side. That filter is actually a washable screen type that is used by the Mulitypower is your tractor has this trans .let me know what you see and find out I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if your posting results.

 

[nothackingyou]

Hi Larry, thanks so much for this very helpful response. It is a gas tractor. The pump is on the right hand side of the engine, as you sit in the seat.

We looked at it yesterday and noticed that the valve on the control cylinder doesn't seem to move during steering action. Instead, the whole ram seems to move around.

I will try your suggestions tomorrow and report back.

 

[massey driver]

The control rod doesn't move very much at the best of times.By doing what I mentioned this will give let you know if the pump and cylinder are doing there job. I'am pretty certain your going to find that all the linkages [pivot points] have wear in them thus creating the poor power steering. Even with them being worn there are some adjustments that can be made to allow the power steering to sort of work. I basically had to rebuild all the pivot pins etc: on my 175 to get it to work better. Most of the parts are no longer avaliable so you have to be creative and make or rebuild what you have. I'll see if I can dig up some pics of when I did mine. below is a link to when I rebuilt part of the steering last summer [can't seem to find any pics on my computer.]
Home made lathe to repair steering shaft on MF 175 - Compact Utility and Farm Tractor Forum - GTtalk

 

[nothackingyou]

The control rod doesn't move very much at the best of times.By doing what I mentioned this will give let you know if the pump and cylinder are doing there job. I'am pretty certain your going to find that all the linkages [pivot points] have wear in them thus creating the poor power steering. Even with them being worn there are some adjustments that can be made to allow the power steering to sort of work. I basically had to rebuild all the pivot pins etc: on my 175 to get it to work better. Most of the parts are no longer avaliable so you have to be creative and make or rebuild what you have. I'll see if I can dig up some pics of when I did mine. below is a link to when I rebuilt part of the steering last summer [can't seem to find any pics on my computer.]
Home made lathe to repair steering shaft on MF 175 - Compact Utility and Farm Tractor Forum - GTtalk

Your suggestion worked perfectly. I removed the connecting pin connecting the adjustment rod to the actuator control rod (yellow arrow). I tapped on the actuator control rod with a hammer and it would not move at all. I kept gently tapping and it came free and the wheels turned left. This told me that the pump, ram and control valve work.



I put it back together and spent some time adjusting the adjustment rod setting (green arrow) and got the power steering to work temporarily. The actuator control rod was stuck again. I removed the pin and used a wrench and some PB blaster to rotate the actuator control rod. I adjusted the adjuster nuts back and forth quite a bit but could not get steering. I set it aside to work on later. I came back a few hours later and the power steering works perfectly. I ran up and down a few acres and the steering has stayed working. Thank you so much!

In order to gain access, I propped the bucket on the pack of my pick-up.

 

[massey driver]

It's the simple easy fixes that we all hope for,glad it's working again.

 

[nothackingyou]

Thanks again so much. Any thoughts on the brakes? I fixed the threads on the right brake adjuster rod and adjusted it as tight as it can be and the right brake is still pretty bad. I can lock the left one easy. I understand that a brake job is pretty involved on these, but is that what I'm looking at here?

While I'm at it, I noticed that the diff lock pedal seems to be stuck and no amount of prying will coax it to move. Anything I can do there?

 

[massey driver]

Thanks again so much. Any thoughts on the brakes? I fixed the threads on the right brake adjuster rod and adjusted it as tight as it can be and the right brake is still pretty bad. I can lock the left one easy. I understand that a brake job is pretty involved on these, but is that what I'm looking at here?





The brakes are a pretty involved job to do. It requires the removal of the axle's and axle tube's. Inside the housing the disc's get applied by a rotating plate that ramp up on ball bearings. So if the disc's are worn out no amount of adjustment is going to help.As long as everything is moving in the linkages like it's suppossed to ,then you'll have to dig into it deeper.



While I'm at it, I noticed that the diff lock pedal seems to be stuck and no amount of prying will coax it to move. Anything I can do there?

The diff lock if you can't move it either up or down simply means the shaft in through the side of the trans has gotten rusty and if you can use some sort of penetrating oil on the shaft to try and free it up. Only problem is that you'll only beable to move it a bit unless the cogs/dogs are in there proper place that slide into let the diff lock. But still you should beable to get some movement of the pedal at least enough to free up the shaft.

 

[nothackingyou]

Thanks, I will spray some PB on it for a few days and try it again.