TeedOffMFer

Hi folks, I just bought my first Tractor, a Massey-Ferguson MF 135. I guess i inherited a problem with it. It seems to be pushing the fluid out of the vent on top of the steering gear. It empty's the resevoir real quick.

I went back and looked at the paperwork i received from the previous owners. They had taken it in to the local Catepillar shop complaining of this exact problem. They completely rebuilt the steering gear to the tune of about $4,500 dollars for parts and labor. So now, it has been five years, but only about 25-30 hours of operating time and it is doing the same thing!! Seems like a shoddy repair to me but i would imagine i have no real recourse since i am not the owner when it was repaired. I am gonna talk to them in person and hope they will help me out in some way, maybe a discount on the parts? What are your opinions on this matter?

So, I spent 4 grand on the tractor and i'm pretty darn broke now, i was hoping to get the work i needed to do on my property without spending much more. has anyone had this problem? similar tractor?Any ideas on cheap parts? or where to get a used steering gear for reasonanble price(lol,funnyi know)?

I called an oregon tractor parts place that had one and i don't think it is even rebuilt, 1,100 bucks.. ouch!

Thanks in advance for any and all info and suggestions. have a good day, Roy.

CMW

Did you ever find out what the problem was. I have A 135 doing the same thing, So I Found A bad seal in the cylinder so I replaced it. Then it blew out the steering shaft seal, so I replaced it also. Then it blew the seal out in the cylinder again. Then I pull down the steering valve and found that the springs that keep the shaft in center postion were the pressure would not stay on cylinder all the time were broke installed new springs and put back together and blowed the steering shaft seal again. Any information would be helpful. Thanks Mark.

shona13

G.Day teedoff.
First remove the reservoir tank this is the small tank secured to the end of the pump when you remove it there is a small filter in there either carefully wash it out in petrol or replace with a new filter ,refit the cover making sure you fit a new "o" ring or gasket Important when you refill with oil use ATF transmission fluid ,dexron 2 etc dont use ordinary hydraulic oil it will eventually stuff the pump when filling ONLY FILL TO THE BOTTOM of the threads on the filler hole start the engine and let it idle ,turn the steering wheel full lock left to right a few times to expell all the air in the system then leave the wheel straight ahead and turn the engine off top up carefully do not overfill if you overfill there is no room for the fluid to go when it warms up,this can cause leaks like you describe.
Make sure the hydraulic hoses going to the power steering rams are connected properly ,if they are connected wrong you will have a situation where one ram is pushing and the other is pulling this can cause an overload of the system.
The only hydraulic part on the steering shaft under the dash is the transmitter valve and this valve has two power steering pipes going down under the battery box and joins flexible hydraulic hoses two going to each ram to repair replace all "o" rings in the valve should cost no more than ten dollars for a kit from your local mf dealer you can easily do this job yourself just remember where all the bits go Ha Ha no seriously it is easy.
The power steering rams are the same to strip them if you look closely at the end of the ram there is a cap nut which unscrews you may need to use muligrips be carefull the cap is very thin material and is easily damaged ,
Before removing the cap nut remove the track rod end thats the bit with the castellated nut with the split pin going through to do this remove the split pin and undo the nut say three turns and get a hammer and hit the casting where the end goes through do not hit the nut with the thread ,hit the casting on the side what you are trying to do is shock the taper on the ball end, When loose take the nut of and unscrew the cap holding the ram in remove the ram this will be easier if you LOOSEN the hydraulic hoses.
Once removed take the rams into a vice and using soft jaws or a rag to protect the ram look carefully look at the swivel track rod end you wil see a small roll /spring pin going through this stops the ram from unscrewing use a pin punch and knock it out you can then unscrew the rod end and slide the ram end cap of ,replace the seal ,next remove the split pin on the piston undo the nut and replace piston seal . Reassemble ,refill with fluid and you have overhauled the power steering .
I dont know what was replaced for 4500 dollars sounds like he was had.
anyhow a long story But this will get you out of the S---T and it wont cost that much .
The massey 135 is a great tractor and very simple to work on.
See Ya.
Hutch.