Power steering diagnosis Ford 4600

[DeMak2375]

My Ford 4600 power steering suddenly stopped. If I push down with the bucket and lift the front end, it steers fine. I mistakenly put some waste oil in it, (dumb but it really wasn't very much, just a top up). Thinking I may have plugged up the filter, I took the filter out. I dropped the replacement in the dirty oil so I put it back together without a filter and topped it up so I could move the tractor. The steering wasn't any better. How do I tell if it's the pump or the system in the steering column?

 

[DeMak2375]

Well I found out what was wrong. It wasn't the tiny amount of waste oil. It wasn't a problem in the steering column. I replaced the pump and it works fine now. That didn't seem to make sense so I took the pump apart. The gasket fell off the cap and had gotten sucked into the pump. I thought it had fallen on the ground.....dang.