JD400 Steering play

[70jd400]

I took the old girl down the road today and that was a scary ride! I have noticed the there is play in the wheel but man its a lot worse than i had expected. So when i got home i was looking at it and when i turn the steering wheel right the whole steering wheel turns up and that is about 3/4 of a turn then when you turn left it will go down. So is there an adjustment for this?

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Well there are certainly people with more 400 expertise than me but from what I can see from the parts breakdown on the JD website the upper steering shaft (21) seems to be held in place by two snap rings (7) and a thrust bearing (11) with more shims and washers between.

It seems likely the snap ring and/or thrust components have failed causing the excess travel. I’d be suspicious if failure of another component in the driven end of the steering system could’ve forced the upper shaft and caused the damage. You wouldn’t want to repair it to have the same thing happen again so hopefully someone more familiar will be able to answer that.

There are a few threads on the Green Tractor Talk forum about these old machines and one of them that was about hydraulic issues had drifted to the topic of steering. I had a look but I didn’t see it. I’d start there, there are a couple members very knowledgeable on these. I only know what I’ve figured out keeping mine running.



View attachment 593194

 

[70jd400]

Ok. So it looks like I have the power steering option. I have one hydraulic line on the bottom of the steering column on the right side.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I don’t have a manual, maybe someone else can offer more advice but if it were me I’d start by looking at the adjustment nut on the top of the stack and confirm there is no damage there and if it takes up some of the slack.

Looking at how the control valve is laid out it looks like there should be some up down travel but if the adjuster nut has been forced out of the threads, something lower down has probably failed forcing the upper control shaft up. I’d probably pull it all apart regardless to be sure nothing else has failed paying particular attention to the snap rings and thrust washers. Also a good time to replace the o rings.

 

[70jd400]

the adjuster and adjuster not do not move up and down like the steering wheel does. I tried to turn the adjuster nut by hand to see if it was loose and i couldnt move it. The whole steering shaft moves up and down. Well it looks fun to take this apart. Ill see when i have some time to take it out. Hopefully its just the snap rings.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

I’ll look forward to the pictures. Hopefully someone else will have some insight also.

I would also ask on GTT, there seemed to be a few people with first hand knowledge of this machine on there.

 

[Tx Jim]

The steering shaft that steering wheel attaches to is designed to move up/down a little as steering wheel is turned from one direction to the other as this movement open/closes control valves in housing. I can't remember the correct amount of movement up/down BUT the top adjusting nut has a specific torque value. I'll bet the steering slack isn't in the valve housing but in the steering lever(key 12)attached to valve housing shaft(loose capscrew) or the bellcrank has worn bushings(key 12) from lack of grease under fuel tank. Remove rear inspection cover in clutch housing & be sure capscrew(key 14) is tight.

 

[Zebrafive]

The steering shaft that steering wheel attaches to is designed to move up/down a little as steering wheel is turned from one direction to the other as this movement open/closes control valves in housing. I can't remember the correct amount of movement up/down BUT the top adjusting nut has a specific torque value. I'll bet the steering slack isn't in the valve housing but in the steering lever(key 12)attached to valve housing shaft(loose capscrew) or the bellcrank has worn bushings(key 12) from lack of grease under fuel tank. Remove rear inspection cover in clutch housing & be sure capscrew(key 14) is tight.

You might get by with replacing the bushings, but shaft of bellcrank could also be worn. Then there are tie rod & drag link ends that are most likely worn too.

 

[70jd400]

I can turn the steering wheel 3/4 of a turn before the drag link even starts to move. I removed the cover on the left side of the transmission housing to look at the steering lever and the steering wheel moves 3/4 of a turn before that even starts to move

 

[Zebrafive]

Looks like you narrowed it down to the column.

 

[Chilliwack Murray]

Any progress with the steering play? Would love to see some pictures to reference when my turn comes around.

No pun intended.

 

[70jd400]

Ok. So i have taken the steering column out and disassembled it part by part and checked it to the parts diagram as i was taking it apart. Everything is there nothing is missing or broken. But somebody was in there before me. They left they marks in there on some pieces. I have been smashing my head trying to figure out what would make the steering shaft go up and down and NOT move anything else. The only thing that I could think of is when it was put back together the other person didnt make sure the 2 valves were not all the way down inside the steering column when they reassembled it. I have not checked this theory yet because I am waiting on the 2 "C" clips I broke them trying to get them out

 

[jjarmstrong47]

I've just brought my new to me JD400 home and it has a similar problem. There is good half turn of the wheel before anything happens. It's all right when it is in the paddock going slowly but on the road it was a bit scary. I read somewhere that there is a pin that wears which can be rotated to fix the problem but is better replaced. I'm not planning to pull it apart to check until I can get my hands on a manual.

 

[Tx Jim]

Welcome to TBN
It's normal for steering wheel & shaft to rise/fall a little during turning of steering wheel. Check bolt(item 14) & bellcrank bushings (item 12 2nd link) that tie-rids attach to under front of tractor to be sure their tight

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79759/referrer/navigation/pgId/200459

https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/79759/referrer/navigation/pgId/233166

 

[jjarmstrong47]

Thanks Jim
That is exactly what I need to start looking. I see you are in Texas. I came to Dallas twice forty years ago and on one of the trips, drove down to Laredo as we had a week off and wanted to see more of the state. I have very happy memories of Texas though, like here in Australia, no doubt it has changed a lot since then.

 

[Tx Jim]

I attended a JD dealer sales meeting in Laredo in 1978. Back then there wasn't much to look at between San Antonio & Laredo but scrub Brush & Cactus. I haven't been that far South since them.

 

[jjarmstrong47]

Hi Jim
Your manual solved my steering problem. There is a large bolt on the steering that someone told me I needed to tighten. I did that and it improved things but when I looked it up in the manual it said it needed 170ft/lbs. When I put a torque wrench on it, I had nowhere near that sort of pressure and it took all my strength to get it up to that. This seems to have fixed the problem and the steering is working fine now. Thanks again.

 

[Tx Jim]

Congratulations on your repair. Thanks for update & you're welcome.

 

[Zebrafive]

Hi Jim
Your manual solved my steering problem. There is a large bolt on the steering that someone told me I needed to tighten. I did that and it improved things but when I looked it up in the manual it said it needed 170ft/lbs. When I put a torque wrench on it, I had nowhere near that sort of pressure and it took all my strength to get it up to that. This seems to have fixed the problem and the steering is working fine now. Thanks again.

John Deere did an update. The large washer was changed to a thicker one. IIRC from 1/4" thick to 1/2" thick. The bolt then had to be longer too. JD also changed the torque spec from 170lb-ft to 240lb-ft.
Changing the bolt and washer and the increased torque really made difference on my tractor.
The tech manual also says torque, strike with hammer, torque again.