# steering problem need help asap



## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

Hi Guys hopefully I'm in the right place for my question. I got a problem with the old Ford 2600. The steering is all bound up when turning to the right. It takes all the strength I have to crank the wheel to the right. It steers to the left way easy, too easy in my opinion. It sometimes takes off and steers to the left on it"s own. This problem came up all of a sudden last summer when I was mowing. I haven"t been able to use it since, no way is it usable like this. What I found was one of the lines was leaking, tightened it up added fluid attempted to bleed any air out of the system by cracking the lines open. That didn"t do any good, I don"t know what else to do at this point. Any ideas guys?


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

Has that tractor got the hydralic cylinder that helps assist the steering if so you might need to rebuild that cylinder or get a new one.

Welcome to Tractorforum


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## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

It's got a hydraulic cylinder on each side. What do you think could have happened to that cylinder? This problem came up all of a sudden with no warning, and has rendered the tractor useless. I guess I could disconnect that right side cylinder and loop the line. If the steering is just a little bit stiff I could use it until I can afford to replace the cylinder. Right now the steering is too hard to steer the tractor. I thought I would never get it back to the barn when that happened, luckily I was fairly close. Thanks for the reply this is the fifth forum I have posted to and the only reply so far. I guessing not a common problem.


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

Unfortunatly its a very common problem with the dual cylinder. We have one at work that has been to the shop so many times over this. If your not careful you will bend one of the cylinders. Im really not sure that you can disconnect one side we did on one but ended up having to back the tractor to the shop because that sides wheel just wanted to turn in. You may come out cheaper in the long run taking it in instead of throwing money into it like we did, we even rebuilt all the hydralics under the dash that attaches to the steering wheel and we still have problems out of it. Our problem though is that we keep bending the cylinders so you might be OK with just a simple rebuild of the cylinder. Good Luck


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## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

The cylinders are not bent as of yet. It seems as if they would bend under these conditions. It's almost like the return is stopped up, and you need to force that right cylinder in and out. I can't afford to take it in, I'll just keep asking around. I would hate to replace the cylinder and have the same problem. I haven't talked to the dealer as of yet, but might go up there and ask questions about it. Thanks for your input.


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## chrpmaster (May 5, 2004)

Morgan

I am curious. Are these single action cylinders? In other words is there only one hydraulic line going to each cylinder? I have never worked on one of these before and was wondering how they worked.

Andy


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

The cylinder has two hoses as shown in the picture that I pulled off the internet. The whole brains of the thing is in the steering colum and its a pain in the rear to work on the colum.


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## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

Yes two lines going to each cylinder.


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## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

Well talked to the dealer and they seem to think that it's a steering column problem. They want me to bring it in. They said is was about a 4 hour job to tear down the steering column @ 60 bucks an hour. One of the techs showed me the diagram of the parts breakdown. It looks complicated, and I wouldn't want to tear it down myself with out having those diagrams for sure. The thing I didn't like is they couldn't give me a ball park price for the repair. Which I can understand somewhat, but still can't afford a thousand dollar surprise. I'm not even sure I could even drive the tractor up on to trailer the way it is. They did mention that the spindle could be seized up, I doubt that since I keep everything greased well, but it's worth checking.


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## chrpmaster (May 5, 2004)

Mike 

It sounds like you are on the right track hiring it done by the dealer. Definitely worth the money so long as you can set an upper limit, like $400, that if they need to go higher they have to call and get permission.

Hopefully they can get it done soon cause the grass is growing fast!

Andy


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## Morgan (Oct 26, 2006)

Good Luck and Keep us informed


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## yunkyarddoggie (Apr 3, 2009)

Yes the grass is already out of control. I've got to do something and fast.


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