Adding Power Steering to Ford 1700 4wd

[Soundguy]

man.. 3 steering box repairs on that young of a tractor?

are they aluminum gears?

I've bene into some pretty worn out manul boxes ( fords to boot ).. and usually at most it is thrust bearings bushings and seals..

were you welding up the gears or something?

soundugy

 

[BWBrown]

I bought the 1700 new in 1980 or '81, so it's going on 30 years old. As long as I was cutting grass, or pulling a wagon, it was perfectly happy. But put on a frnt end loader and head into the manure pit, and things get ugly.

Post-mortem has been revealing - really the first time I took everything apart. What I found was this: the steering stops (grade bolts intended to hit a boss on the axle to physically stop the wheels from turning beyond a preset point NEVER were adjusted properly. In 30 years the bolts never hit their intended target, were too short.

When turning to an extreme, the steering box itself would stop. Then any additional force on the front wheel, a rock, ledge, etc., any shock would be transmitted through the linkage back to the steering box and it would break a tooth inside the box. Had I taken the time and paid closer attention three years ago when I started having the problem, I might have saved myself a lot of grief. I never looked closely enough at the outer end of the whole steering system.

Lesson learned: EVERYBODY OUT THERE - CHECK THE ADJUSTMENT OF YOUR STEERING STOPS!

 

[Soundguy]

pretty much what I was expecting to hear.. not a mechanical failure due to box setup.. but a failure due to misadjustment..

soundguy

 

[BWBrown]

Yup, it came from the dealer that way - wasn't a problem 'til I got into more "stressful" situations. Even then the stops never hit home - after nearly 30 years the paint on the stop-point/boss is pristine. I had to install longer bolts to get them to actually function. Sometimes when you have looked at the same thing for a looong time, even if it is very wrong, it looks ok.

The steering box was absorbing a lot of punishment. Broke off teeth, literally split ball bearings in half, drove others right through the ridges on the steering shaft worm screw. Pretty incredible forces.

It has only been the past three or four years that I've been clawing around in a very rough bottom manure pit (horses) with holes and ledges. Put lots of stress on the front end. Adjustments would have been a lot of prevention.
All that said, the new power steering is great.
Bob