Power steering for B, C and CA's

Or 720, D-10 series III.  Or any model.

I've seen on C with power steering it had a GM steering box where the gemmer box used to be/ with a power steering pump below the generator. it look kinda cobbled and I didnt take any pictures. I dont beleave a electric powersteering would work. the F150's coulnd have a snowplow mounted the extra force and constant movement burned them up. at least thats what the plow site guys told me. A tourque generator in the shaft would work but then your putting the extra torque through a fairly weak gear box.

Edited by Dakota Dave - 24 Mar 2017 at 9:16am

I have looked at the Cub Cadet power steering units and they seem to be availbable. Might try and go that route. Didn't know if they were powerful enough but bet it would be better than what I have now.

There are a few things that could make the steering easier without adding power steering.

Change the front tires from one or three rib to a smoother turf or highway tire so they don't stick in slots in the ground. Making turning the steering wheel easier will probably make turning the tractor on turf and in worked ground poorer.

Turn the steering wheel only while rolling, not while stopped.

Shorten the steering arm on the gear box but keep the others the same length. That will reduce the maximum steering angle but reduce the torque required.

Add an inline gear box between the steering wheel and the steering gear box. That will reduce the torque at the steering wheel but take more turns of the steering wheel to make any turn.

At an extreme, take the gear box apart and remove the gears. Have a machine shop cut new ones with a finer pitch worm and more teeth on the worm gear to give the effect of the inline gearbox without it showing. Not every machine shop is capable or willing to cut custom gears because its a tedious task. I know that from having cut gears.

Gerald J.

thoughts on what unit or vehicle that is off of?

We had a C that had a bad steering box, I replaced it with one out of a '56 Ford car.  Took more turns of the wheel to turn but worked good.  This was back in the 1960's.  I regret selling that tractor, wish I could find it.

I think the 800 series Ford tractors used what Joe described

Check out farm show magazine's archive, there's plenty that have built them.  I built one on a chinese rhino tractor, years ago.  You need a pump off'n a a car, and the drag link cyl from an early ford torino.  You cut and weld the cyl and valve, into the steering arm.  The way it works, is you apply pressure from the hand wheel, to the valve on the cyl, it activates the cyl to extend or retract, depending on the direction, of the hand applied pressure, no orbit motor needed.  I had 40 hrs of time in that system, for that chinese bastard, every bolt in it was a grade too soft and a size too small...

Bull wrote: I think the 800 series Ford tractors used what Joe described

Actually The 801 series had the PS valve in the gearbox. The 901 series had an external valve on the drag link.

  Well,,now,,that right there is a nice installation,,,I don't recognize the steering box but the pump appears to be a GM style. Think I would have mounted the pump some lower to keep more tension on the alternator pulley from slipping.,,but maybe it's OK,,???

Adding P/S to a CA with a loader will be asking for trouble. If you are picking up enough weight make it hard to steer, that should tell you that you are overloading the tractors components. Add P/S and you will be breaking spindles and wonder why. Although Allis made a loader for a CA, the CA tractor is not really built to handle the added stress that a loader will put on the tractor. The steering box is only a slight upgrade for what a B or C had and the spindles are the same size. Looks like a good reason to get a better bigger loader tractor and save your CA for regular work. 

I found out the othe d ay, they have EPS on 'sleds' now........