240 steering gear

Hey guys i have a international 240 utility with a front end loader, when i aquired the tractor the steering gear and worm gear were shot, i replace the worm gear and steering gear, my problem now is , with the tractor not moving the steering was really hard to turn actually you couldnt move it if it was sitting still, but you could move it the tractor was moving but only small increments, now today i tried moving it now only the the the tires wont move at all, take the presure of the front end ands the tires will move, i took the front end apart, and both the gears are fine, my question is can i shim the worm gear out because i think the worm gear it too far back and not making good contact with the main gear, or could i have installed the wrong gear (if so does anyone have any info on the correct measurements) i appreciate any input thanks...mike

Did you compare the gears with your old one? I believe there is a different faster gear ratio for a power steering model that would be harder to turn without power.
I have an "add on" Charlynn unit with a the slower ratio, so it works okay. I had to replace my gears last year also... seems to be a weak point with a lot of IH utilities. My only issue is it is run off the live pump through a priority valve and when the tractor is idled down, I lose flow to my 3 point.

i took a look at my tractor and looks like it has power assist steering with a pump right under the steering wheel, would it make a difference if it has the worm gear and steering gear out of a manual steering tractor? i was looking at external_link and the worm gear they show for the tractor has considerably less rings on it ( only 4-5) im thinking the gear in it is out of a farmall 240 or something else comparable, thanks...mike

If you have the PS unit, or torque motor under the dash, you may have a a PS problem. It could be the torque-motor or something in the hydraulic supply to it. Tractors with factory PS have a "regulator safety and flow control valve", basically a relief valve and priority flow divider so the primary goes to the PS and the rest to the balance of whatever hydraulic system you have (there are 4 or 5 different versions for these tractors, depending on how your tractor is equipped). If the rest of your hydraulics work, I'd suspect your problem is one of these two places. Mine is an aftermarket Charlynn PS, so it has an external priority flow valve and not one built into the system. The torque-motor is added into the steering shaft that runs along the left side of the motor, and not under the dash.
If you changed the gears to a manual set of gears, it would steer easier, but have more turns "lock to lock".
added: I just checked my parts breackdown and they do not show a different ratio for a PS equipped tractor, but do show a different worm for the Farmall vs. International. Of course the mating gear is entirely different due to either a direct hookup tricycle tractor or the Utility steering arm. I replaced mine and had a hard time finding the right gears. Finally got one from a place south of St. Louis, don't recall the name, but a big IH used parts place. A salvage in Nebraska also had one, but wanted to ship the entire front bolster which probably weighs 300 lbs.

Thanks for the info i also wanted to add that when the front of the tractor is raised by the loader i can turn the turn freely side to side, but with it down no luck, i looked and when its down the steering shaft is turning the worm gear shaft with it, what i dont understand is that if the steering shaft is turn the worm gear shaft the same amount whether the front end has pressure or not why wont it do it with it down? is the front end is os difficult to turn with pressure on it that i would need power assist? thanks...mike

Sounds like the key is either missing or sheared off. Mine had been sheared off in the past and a new Woodwuff keyway milled in the shaft 180 out from the original. then it had also had sometime in the past had a steering arm from a 404 installed which would be in a bind when it reached either end of the stroke. I got the correct 240U arm with my new gears, bearings and bottom cover and it clears fine. That also made it easy to change out.... pull the worm shaft, jack up the front, block up the tractor, drop the front axle, drop the gear/shaft and re-install the new one. I had a buddy do it 'cause he had the jacks, etc. and it took him 3 hours to do that and install new brake discs.

This problem happened thursday night, which at that time i did dissemble the front axle and the worm gear and steering gear look like new well not new but you get the idea, as for the wood ruff key it also was intact, is it possible my worm gear bearing race is wore out causing the worm gear to be back too far? making the worm gear spin the steering gear only the front splines which are taper making it skip? like i said the steering shaft and worm gear spin fine in conjunction with each other, i found a website showing the worm gear and it looks like it only has 4 rings as mine i thought atleast has more but i will have to look to be sure

You should be able to have someone turn the steering wheel and watch the big nut on the end of the shaft. That would tell you if the worm gear is turning the "bull gear". If it doesn't turn, you are probably right... if it does turn, maybe I'm right.
I was lucky that I got all the parts, worm gear shaft complete with good bearings, and the bull gear/shaft with the bottom cover, bearings and arm all together. Never had to do anything except swap out the assembled parts.
This is where I found my parts: http://www.jptractorsalvage.com/