Steering wheel shock gave out

2thdoc · Mar 9, 2004

Mine quit working at 250 hrs.

Arkie · Mar 15, 2004

Mine just broke today! Steering wheel stays all the way up. I only have 234 hours on this thing and this is twice that it has broke. First time fixed by dealer and now I only have powertrain warranty left. I tore into it and do not see any leaks around shock. I'll try putting the oil to it.

Mosey · Mar 16, 2004

"I'll try putting the oil to it."

How do you plan to do this? When I pull up on the lever to adjust the tilt, oil squirts out of the top of the shock, so it must be under pressure. Please let me know how it works out. I've just put my tilt at a comfortable position and plan to just leave the lever alone for a while. Someday I'll have to come up with a permanent solution. I'm not about to buy another shock though, since they don't last long enough.

Arkie · Mar 16, 2004

Just by spraying WD-40 down from the top hoping it will free up the stuck pin that activates the shock piston. I checked it today,so far ...no luck. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I thought it was worth a try.

cdcole · Mar 20, 2004

search for "tilt steering"

you will see my (cdcole) story and pictures of the removal and a few photos of the shock

Mosey · Mar 22, 2004

I read through your post. It was very interesting. I'll fix this one myself or fabricate my own design before I give NH any money for a new one! What I don't understand is why mine has failed twice and others have never had a problem. I have always used it just about every time I used the tractor, but that's really not all that much, about once a week per year average, which means this one has been adjusted only about 200 times.

BeeFarmer · Mar 23, 2004

Do you pull on your steering wheel when you get up on to your tractor?

Mosey · Mar 25, 2004

Yes, but I pull on it sideways, so it doesn't seem like that should put too much strain on the shock. If that is what's causing it, then it's poorly designed because it should be able to hold up to that.

BeeFarmer · Mar 26, 2004

A friend of mine pulled on his all the time getting on and maybe a poor design but he thought that, that might be what caused his to give.

blackjack · Mar 26, 2004

A NH dealer told me the same thing. He thought that the main reason they give out is because people use the steering wheel as a handle while getting onto the tractor. It's difficult not to use it as a grab handle though!