# ford 3400 power steering



## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

just recently purchased a 1967 ford 3400. everything seems to be working fine, except the power steering.it has no power assist at all and is almost impossible to steer.it has no leaks. i decided to put a gauge on the power steering pump, cranked the engine, gave a slight bit of throttle and the gauge immediately went over 1000 lbs. i was a bit surprised,because my repair manual says it should only have 650 lbs. of pressure. i don,t really know what to check next, the repair manual is not good on diagnostics,it does have some bubbling in the resevoir,i don,t know if this is a problem or not,any help or advice would be greatly appreciated,thanks again, Steve Barrett


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

Take a look at this parts slide:
https://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr52383ar259051

Assembly #14 is the relief valve for the power steering pump. When the pressure goes too high on these systems, the check valves in rotary power steering valve in the steering control at the bottom of the steering column can get stuck.

If that is not the culprit, it will be in the rotary valve in this slide:
https://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr52383ar258807


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

RC Wells said:


> Take a look at this parts slide:
> https://partstore.agriculture.newholland.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr52383ar259051
> 
> Assembly #14 is the relief valve for the power steering pump. When the pressure goes too high on these systems, the check valves in rotary power steering valve in the steering control at the bottom of the steering column can get stuck.
> ...


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

sounds like i might need to remove the pump and check the relief valve, if that,s not it, how difficult is the rotary valve repair?


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## RC Wells (Dec 26, 2008)

Not bad, but you will want the repair manual, and take photos of your hydraulic connections before the tear down. My cell phone camera gets a real workout even with full sets of manuals!


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

well i removed the power steering pump,cleaned the exterior up real good,and inspected the relief valve,it was very free in the housing and the spring was intact,reinstalled the pump with new rubber hoses on the two lines from the pump to resevoire ,added new fluid, but no change. still have air bubbles in the resevoir,and no power assist at all,the pump never even makes a sound,even with the front end jacked up and turning the wheel full travel in both directions,any advice on rotary valve repair or what to look for? also do they make a kit for this assembly.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Howdy sbarrett, welcome to the tractor forum.

When you get to working on your PS control valve, search this forum for a post entitled "ford 3000, power steering problem". There's a lot of good information in there.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

sixbales said:


> Howdy sbarrett, welcome to the tractor forum.
> 
> When you get to working on your PS control valve, search this forum for a post entitled "ford 3000, power steering problem". There's a lot of good information in there.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

thanks i will do that


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

sbarrett said:


> thanks i will do that





sixbales said:


> Howdy sbarrett, welcome to the tractor forum.
> 
> When you get to working on your PS control valve, search this forum for a post entitled "ford 3000, power steering problem". There's a lot of good information in there.





sbarrett said:


> thanks i will do that


when working on the control valve, is it necessary to remove the entire gear box,or just the control valve portion,the manual says first to remove the entire assembly,looks like a lot of extra work.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

No, most guys work from the top down. Leave the steering gearbox in place.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

thanks for the quick reply,i will continue.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

well i took the control valve apart,don,t really see anything strange,8 check valves,4 springs all appear to be in good shape,only thing i noticed was the large nut holding it all together was not staked in place, but not loose, i tore the gasket on top of the steering sector,and can,t seem to find a listing on that part,is there anything in particular i should look for that might cause the power steering not to work,thanks again Steve


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

QUOTE: "well i took the control valve apart,don,t really see anything strange,8 check valves,4 springs all appear to be in good shape,only thing i noticed was the large nut holding it all together was not staked in place, but not loose"

Couple of things.....

1) You saw 8 plungers and 4 springs.....You should have seen 6 plungers with 3 springs between them, plus two special plungers with "horns" on them and 2 bearing balls between them. I do not know if the valve will work with regular plungers in place of the "special" plungers.

2) The large nut holding it all together must be tightened till all end play is removed, and then backed off 1/6 turn (One hex flat = 1/6 turn). And then staked in place. The shaft must be free to move up/down very slightly, or the valve will not work.

Search this forum or the internet for "*ford 3000, power steering problem*". This valve is discussed at length there.


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Sixbales, I'm unsure if THIS is the article of which you speak of, or THIS thread.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Hoodoo...it's the first post you refer to entitled *ford 3000, power steering problem *written by dave1shere......lots of good info in there.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

i geuss i am really confused, i expected to see the six plunger setup like you all describe,because i have seen that in other posts,but mine has 8 plungers that are all exactly the same,in the ford,new holland breakdown they only show the parts that i have and no different plungers like some of the pictures show,really don,t know what to do now.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

I have contacted ultradogMN (the Ford PS guru) to see if the valve will work with regular plungers? It surely would be simpler if they were all the same. Stand by till I hear from him. He visits this forum quite a bit, maybe he will chime in here.

Your power steering with the large nut holding it all together must be tightened till all end play is removed, then backed off 1/6 turn and staked or the valve will not work.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

In the meantime, try calling the messicks parts hotline 877-260-3528 for clarification regarding the plungers.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

For the benefit of others, attached is a picture illustrating the PS valve and plungers, etc. On the left, is what I call 'special' plungers with bearing balls between them. sbarrett found regular plungers with spring between (same as the other three) in place of these. Will the valve work with this arrangement? I don't know!


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

thanks for all of your help,hopefully ultradog will see this and give me some advice,thanks again,Steve


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

called messicks yesterday for some advice,they said they would check with there service department and give me a call back,never got a call after waiting all day, hopefully ultradog will give me some needed advice soon,thanks for the help everyone.


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

Steve,

I stopped by my New Holland Dealership today and hopefully resolved this plunger issue. They no longer make the special plungers with balls. The part numbers for them are superceded by 310960 (spring) and LA33579B (plungers), which are the same P/N's as the regular plungers which you have. Therefore the plunger setup that you have should work.


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

thanks for the special effort,i will try to put it back together and see what happens,thanks again Steve


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## sixbales (May 18, 2011)

If it fails to work, you may have PS lines crossed (one PS cylinder working against the other?)


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## sbarrett (Sep 5, 2018)

after reviewing some of the other posts on line placement i think that mine are installed correctly,but i will do a little more research on that,thanks


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