Now that I've driven the tractor (B7200HSTD) with the loader attached I've noticed a pretty decent increase in steering effort. And that's with only the loader arms and SSQA adaptor, no bucket, no additional load. The front tyres are already at the max pressure.
The steering is also really loose (almost a quarter turn of the steering wheel loose) even with the backlash screw on the side of the steering box adjusted, so I'm thinking it's probably time for a steering box rebuild. But if that's all I do I'll still be left with really heavy steering, and a steering box that's pretty small and working pretty hard.
I've seen electric assisted power steering on YouTube, but I'm not a fan as it looks like this will make it easier to put an even higher load on the small steering box.
So now I'm tossing up between hydraulic power steering and hydraulic steering. I'm really new at this but my understanding of these systems (after a couple of days "extensive" research) is as follows....please correct me:
- Both use a hydraulic pump, either the one already on the tractor or a separate dedicated pump.
- Both use some form of steering control valve which is connected to the steering shaft to detect rotation of the steering wheel and send high pressure oil to the desired end of a hydraulic cylinder. Could the same steering valve work in both systems or are they different (apart from the steering shaft going in and out of over and only into the other) ?
- A hydraulic power steering system uses mechanical linkages that connect between the steering wheel and the front wheels, with a hydraulic cylinder assisting by moving part of the steering system when it receives the high pressure oil.
- A hydraulic steering system doesn't include mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels, but uses the output from the steering control valve directly to operate a hydraulic cylinder to effect the steering.
To me, hydraulic steering appears simpler as it does away with the steering box. If I went this way I could also avoid the cost of rebuilding the current steering box. I guess there's a safety issue that if the hydraulics fail there's NO steering, but how likely is this, and would it matter if I'm travelling slowly around my own property ? I'm probably leaning towards a dedicated steering pump so I avoid any issues about not enough flow left for other functions that I've read about on here.
From a quick search it looks like the main parts could be available pretty cheaply on eBay, maybe also at local vehicle wreckers. If these parts would actually work, it looks like a pretty interested fab project to get it fitted and working.
I'm really interested in your thoughts regarding the comparison between hydraulic power steering and hydraulic steering.
Also interested in your thoughts on what I've got wrong or missed in the above description.
The steering is also really loose (almost a quarter turn of the steering wheel loose) even with the backlash screw on the side of the steering box adjusted, so I'm thinking it's probably time for a steering box rebuild. But if that's all I do I'll still be left with really heavy steering, and a steering box that's pretty small and working pretty hard.
I've seen electric assisted power steering on YouTube, but I'm not a fan as it looks like this will make it easier to put an even higher load on the small steering box.
So now I'm tossing up between hydraulic power steering and hydraulic steering. I'm really new at this but my understanding of these systems (after a couple of days "extensive" research) is as follows....please correct me:
- Both use a hydraulic pump, either the one already on the tractor or a separate dedicated pump.
- Both use some form of steering control valve which is connected to the steering shaft to detect rotation of the steering wheel and send high pressure oil to the desired end of a hydraulic cylinder. Could the same steering valve work in both systems or are they different (apart from the steering shaft going in and out of over and only into the other) ?
- A hydraulic power steering system uses mechanical linkages that connect between the steering wheel and the front wheels, with a hydraulic cylinder assisting by moving part of the steering system when it receives the high pressure oil.
- A hydraulic steering system doesn't include mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels, but uses the output from the steering control valve directly to operate a hydraulic cylinder to effect the steering.
To me, hydraulic steering appears simpler as it does away with the steering box. If I went this way I could also avoid the cost of rebuilding the current steering box. I guess there's a safety issue that if the hydraulics fail there's NO steering, but how likely is this, and would it matter if I'm travelling slowly around my own property ? I'm probably leaning towards a dedicated steering pump so I avoid any issues about not enough flow left for other functions that I've read about on here.
From a quick search it looks like the main parts could be available pretty cheaply on eBay, maybe also at local vehicle wreckers. If these parts would actually work, it looks like a pretty interested fab project to get it fitted and working.
I'm really interested in your thoughts regarding the comparison between hydraulic power steering and hydraulic steering.
Also interested in your thoughts on what I've got wrong or missed in the above description.
