Posted by WindrowFarm on May 26, 2019 at 11:23:34 from (75.69.44.68):
Hello all!
I have a 1968 MF 165 diesel (perkins, no multipower, yes independent PTO). I've had the tractor for three years, heading into my fourth season haying with it. Power steering has never been wonderful, but worked well enough (sometimes it would need to warm up a little or be at higher RPM's for better operation, which I could deal with.) I've replaced the power steering fluid annually (perhaps skipping a year last year), using hydro-trans oil.
This year, after the fluid change, the power steering is terrible. Every now and then it will catch and work well for a single turn, but most of the time I'm stuck doing two-handed steering, and almost as much work (maybe more?) as a my non-power steering 135. Any thoughts about what could be causing this? No leaks that I can see. Some possible thoughts:
1) The power steering reservoir is held on with a single center bolt, and as such it's not actually clear from the manual where it should be rotated to for the position of the fill plug. Right now the plug is at about 10 o'clock (looking from the back), which is how it was when I bought the tractor. This means there is some air space at the top of the reservoir, which I figured was intentional to allow for heating, expansion, etc. But, should the fill plug be on the top and the reservoir totally full of fluid?
2) The screen seemed fine when I changed the fluid, but I'm not sure how to check if there is a blockage in the line somewhere.
3) Is this a symptom of the power steering pump going bad? What are those like to replace on a 165? (complication and $$...)
4) Since it is power assist steering, I gather there is some potential fine tuning in the very front of the tractor where the steering rod interacts with the assist-cylinder. I know there are set screws to adjust, but have never felt like I knew enough about what was going on to try.
Couple of things I've tried:
1) Following the manual, post fluid change, where you are supposed to crank the wheel all the way to the left, then right, three times, without going so far as to blow the relief valve, and then top off the reservoir again. I've never been positive if I'm doing this right, but this year it was nearly impossible with how hard the wheel was to turn while stationary and at an idle. I think I got through it, but again hard to tell about the relief valve.
2) After using the tractor for a while, a couple of times I have cracked the fill plug to vent air buildup. Is this wise? Unclear if it helped temporarily, but in the long run, no effect.
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