steering froze

[watersteps]

The heater showed up in the mail, it is about 6 inch by 6 inch and maybe 1/8th inch thick. One side is adhesive coated. I wrapped it around 2 sides of the steering box and held it in place with a piece of wire. I started the tractor and checked the steering and it was froze up again. I plugged it in to a 110volt line and waited about 5 minutes. I tried the steering again and it moved a little, I then moved the steering wheel back and forth a few times and it freed up and worked great.
Caution these things get hot! real quick so don't touch it. I would not leave it plugged in for an extended period time. The brown pad on the oil pan is the heater.

 

[mpapiary]

After reading this thread I picked up a 200 watt Kats heater from Tractor Supply and mounted it on the reservoir. The tractor started at 20 degrees no problem after leaving it warm for most of the day. Never would have started without it. I use 15W-40 and my prior attempts at cold starts have been mostly unsuccessful. The heater seems to really help!