JD 4200 steering wheel spins freely

[JD4Life]

Egon,

I will definitely do that. I am assuming that I will need to take the wheel off and start DOWN from there. As I can't seem to see anything from the bottom. I have this diagram but I still can't understand how that steering control unit works, is it electronic? As I do not see a shaft coming through that unit.

JD4Life

 

[Henri88]

So lets see, the steering turns freely when engine is running, but as soon as you turn it off, it get stiff like every thing is normal, except it still won't turn the wheel. So we can assume that the steering is hook up. You have a good oil flow on both hoses at the cylinder when you turn the steering, but we don't know the pressure. You may be right, it could be the cylinder as you mention, but a pressure gauge at the end of one of the hoses could confirm this. I personally never heard of a cylinder bypassing oil at that rate, but I guess everything is possible.

 

[beenthere]

jd
Here is the trouble shooting chart for the 4200.
Note the three possibilities under "steering wheel spins freely"

1. mounting loose
2. shaft splines worn off
3. nut missing or loose

Have you removed the cap in the center of the steering wheel to see if the nut is tight, or if the splines are normal and turning the innards of the steering valve?

 

[Egon]

JD4; from the diagram it looks like the steering flow control happens at the cartridge looking device just below the steering wheel.

I'm a long way from my 4200 and manual so there is no way I can go look. It would seem there is very little mechanical linkage involved. Is the steering wheel down tight on the shaft?

 

[mjncad]

JD4:

Are you sure the nut is from the tractor and not just a coincidence that you found a shiny new nut in the creek.

I'm hoping it's a steering cylinder problem; because getting at the steering valve under the cowl is going to be a PITA.

Any chance you can get it towed somehow to your garage? Working on it in the creek bed is also going to be a major PITA.

 

[JD4Life]

Been There, thanks for the trouble shooting. The center cap on the steering wheel came off and wouldn't go back on. I assumed at the time that it was because of the excessive spinning. The steering wheel however did not feel loose and it got "tight" when the tractor was not running.

Does anyone know the thread type and size of the hydraulic fittings on that cylinder? I would like to cap them off to test the steering control unit.

As far as moving it from the creek, I tried just about everything to pull/tow push it and was unsuccessful due to the excessive rain we have had. Perhaps I can create some mechanism to keep the wheels pointed in the direction that I need and adjust accordingly (like a large ratchet strap to the tie rod end and back to an anchor point). I didn't think of that at the time.

I am going to head down there again today (at my hunting camp about 70 miles from my house)

 

[Glen Watkins]

Where is the tractor located and have you got some help with you?

 

[JD4Life]

It is south of Rochester NY and my help just bailed. Looks like I will be waiting until next week.

 

[Egon]

Have you taken the covers off of the base of the steering wheel?

Cap not fitting may be an indication the steering wheel has lifted up from the cone it sits on. Can you tell if the steering wheel turns in realationship to the nut that holds it down?

My opinion indicates the problem may lie with part 10 and above as shown on the previous diagram.
Note: Most times my opinions have no correlation to actualities.

 

[beenthere]

I'm of the same opinion as Egon. A disconnect (missing or worn splines between part 10 and the steering wheel), as it fits with the OP and the troubleshooting chart for the 4200.