# Ford 800 Power Steering Problems



## dsolsbery (Aug 23, 2012)

I have a Ford 800 with a power steering pump that has the reservoir mounted on top. The steering cylinders were leaking, so I had them rebuilt. Got the cylinders remounted and tried them out before I hooked the rod ends to the steering linkage. Both cylinders worked, but seemed a little slow. Serviced the reservoir, and checked for circulation of fluid with the cap off as the pump was running. Seemed to be circulating as it should. Anyway, tried moving some hay bales and the steering was so hard, I had to struggle to turn it. Anyone had this problem before, and what would you recommend to fix it? Would appreciate any advice.
Dennis


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

You "serviced the reservoir", meaning you changed the power steering filter??? If not, you probably need to change it. 

Power steering systems do not work with air in the system. Did you purge the system of air when you were done?? You can jack the front end up to make this easier. Purging air very simple to do:

- Fill the reservoir. Start engine. Leave the cap off if possible to allow air to escape more quickly. 
- Turn full right.
- Refill the reservoir.
- Turn full left.
- Refill the reservoir. 
That's all there is to it. Check it out and let us know how it went...

I've noticed that power steering on my 3600 is lagging with fast turns (turns harder on quick maneuvers). Works fine for most things I do. I assume that my pump is not performing like it used to do. Your pump may not be performing???
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One further note: Old Fords have "POWER ASSIST" steering. It's NOT a heavy duty power steering system. Check this out on tractordata.com Lifting heavy round bales with ease of steering is beyond the scope of your power steering system. But it should help. Others have complained about hard steering with loaded front end loaders. The least expensive way to handle round bales is to use the 3 point lift with weights on the front end to keep it on the ground.

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Visit "Roland Jacksons Power Steering" website to see what he has to offer for for your tractor.

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I attached a diagram of a Power Steering Pump for a 800 series tractor. From the New Holland Online Parts Store. Is this correct?? From your comments, I think that you have the old style pump with the reservoir on top??


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## dsolsbery (Aug 23, 2012)

I do have the older pump with the reservoir on top. I also tried to change the filter, and found there was nothing inside the reservoir. The filter, plate and retainer are all missing.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Dennis, 

If you want power steering to make easy handling of big round bales, I recommend that you get with Roland Jackson owner of Jackson's Power Steering to see what he can do for your tractor, and how much it will cost before you put a lot of money in this Ford "POWER ASSIST" steering system. Power assist will help, but steering will still be difficult with heavy loads up front.


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## prateroad (Feb 8, 2015)

you have to get all of the air out of the ford system, sometimes you have to loosen the lines to let air out,any air in there will just compress and you will be steering ahead of the power cylinder, also if you have play in any of the attaching ball joints the power cylinder will be pushing that play out before it starts actually turning the wheel. You can take the play out of the joints by driving the end caps in toward the ball and jb welding them in place, unless they are single piece sockets, which all you can do is weld new ends on them


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## Ultradog (Feb 27, 2005)

prateroad said:


> you have to get all of the air out of the ford system, sometimes you have to loosen the lines to let air out,any air in there will just compress and you will be steering ahead of the power cylinder, also if you have play in any of the attaching ball joints the power cylinder will be pushing that play out before it starts actually turning the wheel. You can take the play out of the joints by driving the end caps in toward the ball and jb welding them in place, unless they are single piece sockets, which all you can do is weld new ends on them



Arrrgh,
Ford steering system does not have to be bled. You just hook it back up and with the engine idling turn the wheel back and forth.
And IMO JB weld is not a good fix for much of anything around a tractor.
If it was up to me I would outlaw that darned stuff.


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## Pats801 (Aug 25, 2020)

Ultradog said:


> Arrrgh,
> Ford steering system does not have to be bled. You just hook it back up and with the engine idling turn the wheel back and forth.
> And IMO JB weld is not a good fix for much of anything around a tractor.
> If it was up to me I would outlaw that darned stuff.


my power steering on my 861 is whining and not responding very well any suggestions? it has the reservoir on top and was working just fine the other day. How do you flush the steering fluid from the entire system and replace it?


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## Ultradog (Feb 27, 2005)

How long has it been since the filter was changed?
To flush the system, crack a line on one or both cylinders. Let it puke all the old oil out as you cycle the steering wheel back and forth. Keep adding new oil to the reservoir till you get clean oil puking out. Use the same UTF oil  that meets Ford 134D specs that you use in the main hydraulic system, transmission and rear end to refill.


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## Pats801 (Aug 25, 2020)

Good question! I just bought the tractor and it sat for at least 2 years with no use. I will definitely change the filter and fluid and see if that helps thanks! You don’t happen to have a part number for that type of filter?


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