Tractor refuses tp run straight

angaadi · Oct 29, 2012

Hai,
sorry for the fauxpas. I meant an Indian make and not the other word, that I observed only after posting. I am using a laptop and for some reason neither the mouse pad nor the key board wants to live in harmony with me. The mouse goes all over the screen and just like a monkey goes on destroying every thing on the screen forcing me to redo the things. The key pad, as it appears, is too sensitive and likes the ways of mouse and keeps company to it. However I have put an end to this by putting external mouse and key board.

DJ54 · Oct 29, 2012

Sounds somewhat like a toe-in problem. The fronts of the front tires should be a bit narrower than the rear. With the worn bushings, one side may be toed out, while the other side may be running somewhat straight, and causing it to pull to one side. Just a nudge on the steering wheel to correct direction may totally reverse the situation, going in the other direction.

If the front end has been widened, or narrowed, they may have not gotten the toe in set/adjusted properly. Could be just the worn bushings allowing it to wallow that far. Not sure what the exact toe in should be, but guessing between 1/8" and 3/8" should be fine.

shona13 · Oct 29, 2012

G'day angaadi.
Firstly let me welcome you to the forum and i am sure we can solve your problem ,Consider it like going to the Doctor ,the more information you give the easier it will be to diagnose,after reading your comments I tend to agree with DJ54 The front wheels should be for the purpose of the exercise be parallel that is if you measure the distance between the front of the front tyres at the horizontal position and then measure the same at the rear of the front tyres they should be the same or a little bit less at the front.
If you jack up the front axle and check the wheel bearings they should rotate freely and there should be no or very little looseness in the bearing if there is remove the cap in the centre of the wheel and take the split pin out and tighten the bearing not to tight the wheel should turn freely at all times,this done replace the split pin and fill the cap with grease and refit also grease up the steering KingPin that is the grease nipple that is half way up the shaft which the steering turns on fill it up then do the same the other side, there is also a grease nipple underneath this one allows the front axle to swivel when going over uneven ground.
Try all of this and let us know how you go .
Happy Days .
Hutch.:thumbsup:

banjodunn · Oct 31, 2012

G'day do you have a link from the steering box under the steering wheel to the front axle or do you have hydraulic hoses going from the bottom of the steering wheel to a hyd cyl at the front of the tractor? The reason I ask is depending on what type of steering you have got will have a bearing on how to fix it, Is there any chance you can post some photo's of your steering?

Jon

angaadi · Nov 5, 2012

shona13 said:
G'day angaadi.
Firstly let me welcome you to the forum and i am sure we can solve your problem ,Consider it like going to the Doctor ,the more information you give the easier it will be to diagnose,after reading your comments I tend to agree with DJ54 The front wheels should be for the purpose of the exercise be parallel that is if you measure the distance between the front of the front tyres at the horizontal position and then measure the same at the rear of the front tyres they should be the same or a little bit less at the front.
If you jack up the front axle and check the wheel bearings they should rotate freely and there should be no or very little looseness in the bearing if there is remove the cap in the centre of the wheel and take the split pin out and tighten the bearing not to tight the wheel should turn freely at all times,this done replace the split pin and fill the cap with grease and refit also grease up the steering KingPin that is the grease nipple that is half way up the shaft which the steering turns on fill it up then do the same the other side, there is also a grease nipple underneath this one allows the front axle to swivel when going over uneven ground.
Try all of this and let us know how you go .
Happy Days .
Hutch.:thumbsup:

Thank you very much for the message. I am away from my land and would be going over there in a few days time. In fact, we are in the midst of a cyclone(it is common to us in this part of India) and should be going over to my land in about 5 days time. Though I am not quite knowledgeable to answer the questions asked here on my topic, I am making the best possible efforts. Fortunately I could buy a manual from ebay uk and my goodness, it changed my level of confidence, say on a scale of 1 to 10, from pre manual-2 to post manual 4 and would be at atleast 6 as the manual is extremely informative and works like a real guide.The manual is not exactly for my tractor model but appears to be very much nearer to it. Equipped with this, I should be in a position to give the good samaritans here, a near accurate picture of my problem and hopefully resolve it myself. The local mechanic estimated the cost of doing this job at around Indian rupees 7,000/(About $120) but I do not want to spend that kind of money and I intend to do it myself. Thanks to all for their replies.

Bwana64 · Nov 5, 2012

I too have a Massey Ferguson 230 which has steering problems. Mine has the hydraulic cylinder type steering. This thing wanders all around. I will try tightening the bearings.
Tom

BigBoyinMS · Nov 5, 2012

This drawing shows toe-in. It may help you understand better.

angaadi · Nov 6, 2012

Thanks for the drawing and shall try to use this to rectify the problem in my tractor. Thanks also for the quote. However,I beg to reason that for some people this is the situation,to be really honest. I should not be discussing this as this is not the forums arena and am only responding because there is a quote.
In my country we have a great man,Baba Amte, who said, charity destroys character. If only we believed in this, but unfortunately it is not the situation.