The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Looking for some information please and not sure if this has been covered in previous posts. Just rebuilt my steering box. Ive had to remove all shims from left hand trumpet to remove all free play at the steering wheel. The box was totally stripped and all parts cleaned. Now that it has been rebuilt and all together again including replacing the top bearing as soon as i turn the steering the drop arms are moving and the steering feels really good. I have it bolted to my bench to try before fitting to the tractor. Should there be play on the rocker arms i.e. There is slight lateral movement on each with slightly more on the side that the shims should be on. Is this normal?? Want to make sure it is right before refitting to the tractor.

Hi Charlie I have just rebuilt my '59 Dexta steering box which was devoid of oil and full of watery, rusty gunk. I've cleaned it up and fitted new seals, gaskets and top repair kit. The problem I'm left with is that there is still about 1/8th turn of play in the steering wheel. Do I remove the shims in the bottom left trumpet to remove this play as doing it at the top makes no difference? The manual isn't clear on this.

thanks Mike

Mike,
It is the shims on the trumpet that you remove to remove the play on the steering wheel.

Regards
Charlie.

Hi Charlie
Just been to check the play on my Dexta steering box, unfortunately I have no drop arms on yet but by grasping the spline I feel movement after turning the steering wheel about 4" either way. Again unfortunately this job was done awhile ago but looks like there are two shims plus a gasket(0.004mm thick). Also I'm sure you are aware that there are different thickness shims, I might have used a thicker one and a thinner one. Did you notice any ware on the mechanism inside(shafts, at the opposite side to the drop arm spline and end of the steering shaft/ I did notice a little bit on mine but ignored it. Sorry I can't help but hope you find a solution. I do recall battling to get what I got.

Kind regards
Mervyn.

Did my steering about 12 months ago. Top and bottom rebuild, along with all the ball joints etc. Found top end was reasonable but replaced it anyway. Bottom end was the real problem, very worn shaft and arms. Rewelded the shaft and ground back. Didnt do the arms, because it was probably beyond my skill level and i didnt want to stuff them up. Hard to find Dexta parts over here. The result was much improved steering, quite usable, especially at low speeds, but not perfect. Amazing how little the tolerance is down there with freeplay. Guess that shows with the width of the shims. Fairly simple design when you pull it all out and realise how it all works.

When I stripped down my original steering box it was found that the shafts were badly worn and pitted and the internals of the steering box were in bad shape due to sitting for years with no oil in it but full of water. I managed to pick up a good second hand complete steering box which still had oil in it. This was totally stripped down all parts cleaned and inspected and rebuilt with new seals top bearing etc. I did find I had to remove all the shims and only leave the gasket at the trumpet to remove the side play on the steering wheel. This was tested bolted to my bench before painting and fitting on the tractor. It was also filled with 120 gear oil which was heated up in a pan and then put in to the steering box. ( The wife is still wondering where her good little pan disappeared to lol. ) I have found since fitting to the tractor and all new track rod ends etc fitted that I still have slight side play at the steering wheel but the steering feels positive and I can live with slight play and no oil leaks so far.

Charlie.

Hi Charlie
After rebuilding my steering box and then stripped in down again to remove a lower shim I have virtually no play so many thanks for the advice. However, I have a new problem in that I re-installed the steering box together with new temperature gauge, dash lights and panel rubber, but the shaft is sticking too far out. When I installed the shinny shinny chrome steering cover and nut there is an annoying gap - see below. I had the same problem as Bensdexta had with the steering shaft not being central so simply removed the front rubber spacer below the tank. Now I'm thinking I need to put it back and build up the forward tank spacers. Any ideas would be welcome but please be quick as I have a paddock full of nettles that needs topping!

20171006_172123[1] by Michael Jones, on Flickr

20171006_172206[1] by Michael Jones, on Flickr

many thanks in advance
Mike

Hi Mike,
Hopefully your field of nettles haven't grown too much.
You need the rubbers under the tank so will need to refit the one that you removed. When I refitted my tank I also used penny washers that I shaped and fitted under the rubber pads. If I remember correctly I had to grind a flat edge on each of them to sit properly. The reason I fitted these was to get the steering shaft to sit correctly and also get my bonnet to sit correctly as well. Glad you managed to get your steering box all sorted out. Hopefully this info will help you sort out your problem.

Regards
Charlie.

Mike,
Here is a picture of mine when all rebuilt. Sorry I didn't have a side view but you should see that the steering shaft is central and very little gap on the chrome cover which I painted blue.



Regards
Charlie.

Thanks Charlie
It looks as if I do need to add spacers under the tank. You appear to have a chrome washer between the steering wheel and chrome nut? If so where did you get the washer from?

thanks

Mike

Mike,
There is no washer between the nut and the steering wheel. It does look like that but it is only part of the steering wheel boss that you are seeing.

Regards,
Charlie

MikesDexta wrote:Hi Charlie
After rebuilding my steering box and then stripped in down again to remove a lower shim I have virtually no play so many thanks for the advice. However, I have a new problem in that I re-installed the steering box together with new temperature gauge, dash lights and panel rubber, but the shaft is sticking too far out.

Did you fit a new top shaft, ie the bit the steering wheel splines onto?

If so did you check the measurements were the same as your old one?

When I purchased my replacement shaft from Agriline, I had to take my old one and sort through their stock till found one the same. Their heights varied a lot!!

Ben,
Good point you made there. I never thought that there would be different lengths of top shaft available as when I replaced my one it was like for like. Mind you its the same old story with a lot of the replacement parts available in that a lot of them need a bit of fettling to get to fit correctly. That would definitely give Mike the problem that he is having with the cover and gap. The rubbers still have to be fitted below the tank as well and the reason I fitted thin penny washers below the rubbers was to get the gap between the tank and the bonnet just right. Im sure the rubbers act as some kind of vibration damper the same as the radiator pads.

Oh lordy, I had no idea this problem existed. Although raising it using penny washers (and the rubber spacers) worked I wasn't comfortable with it and haven't refitted the bonnet yet! Unfortunately I had to grind off the old top as the wheel wouldn't come off so it went into the local recycling skip. I will ring Agriline and see if they can source a shorter one. I've spent today wrestling with an Agriline wiring harness ending up replacing open ended connectors to the light switch with closed ones as the open ones were poor quality, spreading open and working loose. I've already had a refund for a poorly made steering wheel nut from the same order. I'm using Dunlop now.

Just an update on the steering top shaft. I actually bought the kit from Mayhill and after I complained this was his reply:
Hello Mike yes these are a problem hence this is why our second picture on the eBay listing has very specific dimensions shown and the description states check dimensions on picture no.2. We have experienced that the repair kits will also not fit the Super Dexta, a large amount of eBay sellers advertised them to fit but they don't properly, unfortunately to my knowledge there is no other kit available, a lot of people if they have the Super or different size top shaft just try and get away with fitting the bearings and use the old shaft
Sorry i cannot offer a solution if you want to return the item we can issue a refund,

He's since agreed to measure his stock for me to see if he can find a shorter one (close to 102mm). If this doesn't solve it then I will post a request for a 2nd hand one.