1963 Massey Ferguson 203 won't steer

jgates4321

New member
I have a 1963 Massey Ferguson 203 Industrial that I have rebuilt. Now that I have it running I can't get it to steer. I flushed the power steering pump because it had some kind of gray fluid in it and I replaced it with ne power steering fluid. when you try and turn the steering wheel the wheels will not turn and fluid comes out of the top of the steering shaft. I know the seal in the top of the steering shaft will have to be changed but does anyone know what I can do to get the steering to work. I NEED HELP PLEASE?
 

shona13

New member
G'day jgates.

jack up the front axle then make sure the power steering hoses are connected properly,make sure the pump tank is full then with the engine running on idle turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times to eliminate any air that may be in the system ,keeping an eye on the oil level as you go.
the power steering transmitter valve is on the steering box column ,it has four pipes connected to it one is oil supply from the pump the other is return to reservoir and the other two go to the steering rams as said make sure the hoses are connected properly.
The transmitter valve has and adjustable turn buckle which if needed can be adjusted to fine tune the power steering operation.
If you need more information just SHOUT.
Happy Days.
Hutch.
 

jgates4321

New member
G'day jgates.

jack up the front axle then make sure the power steering hoses are connected properly,make sure the pump tank is full then with the engine running on idle turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times to eliminate any air that may be in the system ,keeping an eye on the oil level as you go.
the power steering transmitter valve is on the steering box column ,it has four pipes connected to it one is oil supply from the pump the other is return to reservoir and the other two go to the steering rams as said make sure the hoses are connected properly.
The transmitter valve has and adjustable turn buckle which if needed can be adjusted to fine tune the power steering operation.
If you need more information just SHOUT.
Happy Days.
Hutch.

I ended up rebuilding the entire steering in the steering column all of the plungers and spring were stuck as well as the seals and o rings were bad How do I adjust the Transmitter valve. After rebuliding this part of the pump the tractor will steer left with no issue but is tight to steer right as long as the wheels are off the ground. once the wheels were on the ground it will not steer in either direction. I was told it could be the main power steering pump so i removed it and checked it and found that the filter in the pump is so bad that the side of the filter has blown out. I have ordered a new filter and if I need to I will order a new pump but I want to make sure im not overlooking something simple. Thanks for any assistance you can give.
 

shona13

New member
G'day jgates.

When you say that you overhauled the steering on the column I think you are saying that you removed the transmitter valve and fitted a repair kit ??.

The transmitter valve receives the mechanical "Instructions" from the steering column ,that is when the steering wheel is turned from left to right/right to left the steering shaft if properly adjusted will raise and lower about three sixteenth of an inch ,unless this has been adjusted dont touch.

raise the front of the tractor enough that the wheels are just clear of the ground ,start the engine and watch the small adjustable turnbuckle ,it will travel up and down as you turn the steering wheel, if say you want more power to the left SHORTEN the turn buckle by loosening the lock nuts a little bit and adjust a little bit at a time till you Balance it out that is with the wheels now on the ground and tyres inflated to say thirty psi the power steering will operate with the same effort in both directions.

To check the power steering pump pressure ,install a TEE Piece and a Pressure gauge (2000 psi will do) anywhere in the pump Discharge line coming from the pump to the transmitter valve,with the engine running at say 1400 rpm the and the steering wheel held hard left or right lock there should be around 1500 and sixteen hundred PSI I say around because the power steering will operate ok at example 1100 PSI.

If the Pump is good again with the engine running at say 1000 RPM turn the wheel left or right lock and the engine will labour a little bit that is it will slow down and you will hear the Relief valve hiss , if necessary the relief valve can be adjusted a little by either screwing it in a bit ,and at the same time watching the test gauge installed ,DO NOT adjust to much or you may damage things so a little bit a a time is good:wink:.

That should get you going , If you decide you need a new pump it is important to raise the front of the tractor and fill the new pump with oil BEFORE starting the engine A.T.F Dexron 2 is good ,"O" rings and seals will last a lot longer, start the engine on IDLE ,turn the wheel full lock both ways watching the oil level as you go and finally ,don't overfill ,fill only to the BOTTOM of the threads on the filler hole otherwise you will get oil leaks , .
Happy Days.
Hutch.:whistling:
 

jgates4321

New member
After looking my transmitter pump over I haven't found any kind of adjustments so I have bought a pressure gauge and I am going to test the pumps out put pressure. I put a new filter in the pump since the original one was stopped up and the side blown out of it, and it still isn't steering. It will steer as long as the weight is off the front wheels but as soon as the frontend is on the ground there is no steering.


G'day jgates.

When you say that you overhauled the steering on the column I think you are saying that you removed the transmitter valve and fitted a repair kit ??.

The transmitter valve receives the mechanical "Instructions" from the steering column ,that is when the steering wheel is turned from left to right/right to left the steering shaft if properly adjusted will raise and lower about three sixteenth of an inch ,unless this has been adjusted dont touch.

raise the front of the tractor enough that the wheels are just clear of the ground ,start the engine and watch the small adjustable turnbuckle ,it will travel up and down as you turn the steering wheel, if say you want more power to the left SHORTEN the turn buckle by loosening the lock nuts a little bit and adjust a little bit at a time till you Balance it out that is with the wheels now on the ground and tyres inflated to say thirty psi the power steering will operate with the same effort in both directions.

To check the power steering pump pressure ,install a TEE Piece and a Pressure gauge (2000 psi will do) anywhere in the pump Discharge line coming from the pump to the transmitter valve,with the engine running at say 1400 rpm the and the steering wheel held hard left or right lock there should be around 1500 and sixteen hundred PSI I say around because the power steering will operate ok at example 1100 PSI.

If the Pump is good again with the engine running at say 1000 RPM turn the wheel left or right lock and the engine will labour a little bit that is it will slow down and you will hear the Relief valve hiss , if necessary the relief valve can be adjusted a little by either screwing it in a bit ,and at the same time watching the test gauge installed ,DO NOT adjust to much or you may damage things so a little bit a a time is good:wink:.

That should get you going , If you decide you need a new pump it is important to raise the front of the tractor and fill the new pump with oil BEFORE starting the engine A.T.F Dexron 2 is good ,"O" rings and seals will last a lot longer, start the engine on IDLE ,turn the wheel full lock both ways watching the oil level as you go and finally ,don't overfill ,fill only to the BOTTOM of the threads on the filler hole otherwise you will get oil leaks , .
Happy Days.
Hutch.:whistling:
 

shona13

New member
G'Day jgates.

Lets start at the beginning ,You are talking about the Massey 203 Tractor ??.

Can you detail exactly what you stripped and replaced.

To service a power steering pump it is necessary to Completly strip it down, clean all parts and inspect in detail to do this remove the pump from the engine.
The power steering pump is located on the Right hand side of the tractor and is driven via the front crankshaft drive gear( Internal) and held in place by two long through bolts.
If you remove the power steering pump and strip it ,you will find inside ,a pair of pump gears a centre pump element and the pump input housing all are sealed together with quad seals , ( square section nitrile moulded seals) these seals to perform correctly need to be flexible and have NO cuts, pieces missing or deformation, the shaft seal should be serviceable and the shaft to housing seal area should have NO grooves or signs of wear , any wear in this area will result in premature seal failure resulting in loss of power steering fluid to the engine sump.

The centre pump element ,this is the part of the pump that normally wears out ,if you look closely where the pump gears track inside the housing there should be NO wear , if there is sign of a groove of any description I would consider the pump unserviceable.

The biggest enemy of any hydraulic system is contaminated oil and NO oil and you have already mentioned that the filter was damaged, I would say that there is every chance that the pump is u/s.

So when you are happy that the pump is all good let me know and I will talk you through the next part, it is important that I know everything about what you are doing ,this will help me guide you along the path to success.

happy Days .
Hutch.
 

jgates4321

New member
I started buy taking the dash panel and battery box off of the tractor. Once they were removed I took the steering column apart and cleaned everything in the column and replaced the top seal and O'ring. Then I removed the transmitter valve and found that all 5 of the plungers were stuck so I as well as the spool in the middle of the pump. The spool had rust so after using a wire brush the spool was clean. I then removed the plungers and sprins 1 by 1 cleaning the plungers and their holes with a wire brush. The springs in between the plungers had been compressed over time and were so packed up in rust and dried grease that I had to replace all but 1 of the springs. I then changed the the lower seals and O'rings as well as repacked the needle bearing with grease because it was completely empty. I put the entire Column back together and made sure there was fluid in the pump and started the tractor. it would steer with the wheels off of the ground but as soon and the weight was on the wheels it will not turn. That is when I found out the main power steering pump on the motor had filter inside it So I removed the pump and that is when i found that the filter was busted. Now I have put a pressure gauge on the main line from the pump to the steering column and found out that straight ahead there is no pressure from the pump all the way left there is no pressure and all the way right there is 500 psi on the gauge. I think I need a new pump. I appreciate all of your assistance and if there is anything else you can think of that may be messed up I need all the help I can get.

THANK YOU.






G'Day jgates.

Lets start at the beginning ,You are talking about the Massey 203 Tractor ??.

Can you detail exactly what you stripped and replaced.

To service a power steering pump it is necessary to Completly strip it down, clean all parts and inspect in detail to do this remove the pump from the engine.
The power steering pump is located on the Right hand side of the tractor and is driven via the front crankshaft drive gear( Internal) and held in place by two long through bolts.
If you remove the power steering pump and strip it ,you will find inside ,a pair of pump gears a centre pump element and the pump input housing all are sealed together with quad seals , ( square section nitrile moulded seals) these seals to perform correctly need to be flexible and have NO cuts, pieces missing or deformation, the shaft seal should be serviceable and the shaft to housing seal area should have NO grooves or signs of wear , any wear in this area will result in premature seal failure resulting in loss of power steering fluid to the engine sump.

The centre pump element ,this is the part of the pump that normally wears out ,if you look closely where the pump gears track inside the housing there should be NO wear , if there is sign of a groove of any description I would consider the pump unserviceable.

The biggest enemy of any hydraulic system is contaminated oil and NO oil and you have already mentioned that the filter was damaged, I would say that there is every chance that the pump is u/s.

So when you are happy that the pump is all good let me know and I will talk you through the next part, it is important that I know everything about what you are doing ,this will help me guide you along the path to success.

happy Days .
Hutch.
 

shona13

New member
G'day jgates.
From your description you have an ORBITROL directional steering system which was never fitted to the Massey 203 industrial tractor, I would ask if you could take some pictures and post them ,It would be very interesting to see how the system works.
Regards.
Hutch.
 

jgates4321

New member
I'll try and get some on here thanks

G'day jgates.
From your description you have an ORBITROL directional steering system which was never fitted to the Massey 203 industrial tractor, I would ask if you could take some pictures and post them ,It would be very interesting to see how the system works.
Regards.
Hutch.
 

jgates4321

New member
So after rebuilding the power steering control valve and putting a new power steering pump on the tractor I have steering to the right but it will not steer left. I have a pressure gauge in the main line from the pump to the valve and if you turn the wheel right it shows pressure but if you turn left there is no pressure.
 

rossco

New member
G'day jgates.

jack up the front axle then make sure the power steering hoses are connected properly,make sure the pump tank is full then with the engine running on idle turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times to eliminate any air that may be in the system ,keeping an eye on the oil level as you go.
the power steering transmitter valve is on the steering box column ,it has four pipes connected to it one is oil supply from the pump the other is return to reservoir and the other two go to the steering rams as said make sure the hoses are connected properly.
The transmitter valve has and adjustable turn buckle which if needed can be adjusted to fine tune the power steering operation.
If you need more information just SHOUT.
Happy Days.
Hutch.
Hi Shona13,
I have a Massey 203 that has an issue now with the power assist it was working although losing a bit of oil and i probably didn't top it up straight away i've since topped it up but the power assist now won't work !! Any help would be appreciated
Rossco
 
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