# ih 1206 not steering



## dyan (Feb 25, 2012)

The power steering on our international 1206 is not working. We took the power steering pump out and it is working, but the tractor will not steer, even with the engine shut off, as the steering wheel just turns freely. Why could this be the case? 

Also, we overhauled the injectors and injection pump and adjusted the valve spread, but the motor is still blowing white smoke. Any ideas?


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

Have you tested the system pressure at the hydraulic cylinder for the steering? If you have good pressure there and it won't steer, its possible that the seal around the piston in the cylinder is blown, allowing the oil to freely pass back and forth between the two sides of the cylinder. If you don't have pressure there, then I'd suspect either the steering sector isn't getting oil from the main pump, or that the sector itself needs to be rebuilt. It could also be caused by air in the system. Have you tried bleeding the lines at the cylinder to make sure the system doesn't have air in it?

As for your white smoke, it can also be caused by water in the combustion chamber. Have you tried pressure testing the cooling system to be sure there isn't a leak into your cylinders? There are many places coolant could enter the system including the o-rings at the bottom of the sleeves, a blown head gasket, damaged sleeves from electrolysis over the years, or a cracked block. IH did have problems with electrolysis eating away at the sleeves around that time period and made coolant filter kits to help with the problem. The filter contains a chemical that helps to prevent electrolysis from happening in the coolant as the pistons slide back and forth in the cylinders. If I were working on the tractor, I'd do a pressure test on the cooling system and a compression or leakdown test on the cylinders to see if there are any leaks.


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## dyan (Feb 25, 2012)

thanks very much for your in depth response. It is definitely appreciated. We will definitely check it out.


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## Country Boy (Mar 18, 2010)

I just hope both problems are something simple to fix. Good luck! 

By the way, I'm a bit jealous of you. I have always loved the looks of the 06 series Internationals, especially the 1206. They had a good combination of aggressiveness and curves that hasn't been matched in the later models.


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