smithed

I have posted prior about my IH 460 utility when I changed the fluids I lost power steerig. I tried bleeding and etc to get air out of the line to no avail, so I sent it to a mechanic. He is telling me the preasure test is good on the pump but there is something that must be bad in the steering box. This seems odd to me since the power steering worked prior to changing the fluids. When I lift the front end up with the bucket the steering works freely, so it is odd to me that if something was binding in the steering box it would bind no matter what. I am looking at a thousand dollars to fix according to him. What do you on the forum think? I am new at owning a tractor so I am unsure what to think or do. I have tuition due and am supporting two households so fixing it at a grand is not an option for me right now and I am not knowledgable enough to tear it down myself.

dangeroustoys56

I mess with lawntractors, but its in the same ballpark - years ago i had no clue about how to fix them- so i got a few off a buddy and got them running.

Its pretty much the same with any sort of issue i come across, rebuilding decks, rebuilding transmissions, only thing i havent actually attempted yet is a motor rebuild- hope to do that sometime.

I had a tractor with a stuck trans- i figured since it was technically broken, why not try n fix it - i planned out how to take it apart, make sure i didnt loose anything, solved the problem ( rusty indexer shaft- used sand cloth to repolish it) put it all back together and works like new.

I would research on how to do the repair, get a parts drawing of the setup, get a nice big table to set the parts on and rebuild them - take your time, disassemble it in order, lay it out in order, replace whats needed and carefully reassemble it with proper torques/settings.

It sounds like a seal might be leaking or gone, maybe a bering/seal together - when under pressure it leaks.

Another approach is to find a used steering box and dissasemble that, rebuild it and learn on that - either replace the original with it or keep as a spare.

smithed

I have done that with a harley rebuild I did. One thing I attempted was to un lace the front wheel and powder coat the spokes, and then re lace it. I took pictures and did what you say, lay it out. I got it done and then didnt trust myself since a mistake in the spokes would be a bad thing. I took it to an old harley mechanic and asked him to true it. He put it on the jig and said it was good. I then told him what I did and he was impressed. But this was years ago and I had time then. This is one thing I am missing now. I have the book on the tractor, but if a valve is bad I would have no idea how to check it since there are no tell tale signs. The seal and bearing thing sounds promissing. The guy that had the tractor before me replace an outer seal, but he was then told he should have replace the bearing and inner seal. I am at the point to say what the heck and maybe give it a go. I just wanted to see if other guys my have an idea that may not be so expensive. Thanks again for the pep talk.