Adding power steering to my YM2310

[etpm]

It's getting close folks. The machining of various parts to put the power steering cylinder retrofit cylinder is virtually all done. All that's left is drilling some holes and tapping two of them. The spool on the power steering cylinder needed beefing up. It comes stock with a slot about 5/16" wide cut through the end of the spool. All this slot does is weaken the connection of the spool to whatever pushes or pulls on it. This is because the cylinder came with a 1" diameter rod that is bored at one end to fit over the end of the spool and the other end has a flat machined with a 12mm (I think) tapped hole. But the only thing that holds this chunk of rod on the spool is a 4mm or 5/32 hole through the end of the spool. And most of the material is of course gone because of the slot cut through the end of the spool. Oh, the spool diameter where the slot is cut is a little less than 3/4"

To make the connection to the spool more robust I removed the spool from the valve and machined a block of steel to fit the slot. I welded this in and opened up the hole in the spool end to .248". This dimension is what a grade 8 1/4" bold shank measured. It was a good thing I took the spool out because I found a damaged o-ring when the spool was removed. Anyway, the spool is back in the valve body so that's taken care of.

I forgot to take a picture of the block before I welded it in and before I opened up the 4mm hole to .248" but I will post a picture of the block welded into place. I have been taking pictures of what I have done so far and will post them with explanations of what I did in case anybody else wants to do the power steering conversion. Hoye and Fredericks both offer the power steering cylinders but nothing else. So hoses and brackets and other ancillary components need to be supplied by the end user. In my case I found a heim joint and a ball joint on Amazon to replace the drag arm that comes from the steering box arm. The original kit required the drag arm from the tractor to be cut and modified. This is fine but if the power steering fails for whatever reason and the tractor needs to be used then the modified drag arm won't work. So I am instead using the purchased ball joint and heim joint to make my own custom drag arm so that I can keep the original. A person without a machine shop could do the same as long as they have a good hand drill. It wouldn't be as accurate as using a lathe but it would work as long as a modicum of care was used.
Eric

 

[bmaverick]

It's getting close folks. The machining of various parts to put the power steering cylinder retrofit cylinder is virtually all done. All that's left is drilling some holes and tapping two of them. The spool on the power steering cylinder needed beefing up. It comes stock with a slot about 5/16" wide cut through the end of the spool. All this slot does is weaken the connection of the spool to whatever pushes or pulls on it. This is because the cylinder came with a 1" diameter rod that is bored at one end to fit over the end of the spool and the other end has a flat machined with a 12mm (I think) tapped hole. But the only thing that holds this chunk of rod on the spool is a 4mm or 5/32 hole through the end of the spool. And most of the material is of course gone because of the slot cut through the end of the spool. Oh, the spool diameter where the slot is cut is a little less than 3/4"

To make the connection to the spool more robust I removed the spool from the valve and machined a block of steel to fit the slot. I welded this in and opened up the hole in the spool end to .248". This dimension is what a grade 8 1/4" bold shank measured. It was a good thing I took the spool out because I found a damaged o-ring when the spool was removed. Anyway, the spool is back in the valve body so that's taken care of.

I forgot to take a picture of the block before I welded it in and before I opened up the 4mm hole to .248" but I will post a picture of the block welded into place. I have been taking pictures of what I have done so far and will post them with explanations of what I did in case anybody else wants to do the power steering conversion. Hoye and Fredericks both offer the power steering cylinders but nothing else. So hoses and brackets and other ancillary components need to be supplied by the end user. In my case I found a heim joint and a ball joint on Amazon to replace the drag arm that comes from the steering box arm. The original kit required the drag arm from the tractor to be cut and modified. This is fine but if the power steering fails for whatever reason and the tractor needs to be used then the modified drag arm won't work. So I am instead using the purchased ball joint and heim joint to make my own custom drag arm so that I can keep the original. A person without a machine shop could do the same as long as they have a good hand drill. It wouldn't be as accurate as using a lathe but it would work as long as a modicum of care was used.
Eric

When you get the time, post a finished pix of the new PS setup please.

 

[arto98607]

When you get the time, post a finished pix of the new PS setup please.

I agree please, without few photos it's almost like it did not happen at all.

 

[etpm]

I will be posting pictures. I have been taking pictures of the process and the parts. I would like it if somebody could use what I did as a guide for their own installation. I'll be posting sources for the parts too.
Eric