Ford 4600 hard steering

[59chevy36]

Hello, hope all is well. I have a ford 4600 and when i purchased it about a year ago it had sloppy steering. about a 1/2 turn from left to right. but it did steer. So i tried to adjust the slop out by tightening the adjusters on the side of the steering box. That got rid of some of the play but not it is hard to turn. with the weight off the the front it feels fine but with a load it is hard. almost feels like gears binding.by adjusting could i have moved the wear patern and thats causing the bind. or could the powersteering be weak? any where to start looking? Thanks

 

[Ultradog MN]

I have more questions than answers.
Is this a 4600 all purpose tractor or a
4600 SU?
Does it have power steering or manual
steering?
Did you tighten the adjusters according
to the manual?
Answer those and we may be able to help
you.

 

[Ultradog MN]

My bad. It does have power steering.
Answer the other questions though.

 

[Bern]

If you made 2 actual adjustments, you must have a 4600SU. If it is hard to turn after you made the adjustment, you likely adjusted the screws
too tight or else on the wrong position. The steering box must be centered before making the adjustments.

 

[59chevy36]

Its a 4600su. has power steering and i used the procedure in the manual. I adjusted the screws a little from each side. and watched the movement of the arms on both sides so they moved the same to turn left or right. The wheel does not move up or down more than 1/8 in when turning. i used the front loader to take the weight off the wheels and it feels smoth then when turning the wheel.Tires are full of air,ps pump is full.have not tried to stear with tires off ground and engine off to see if the ps is helping. try that next.

 

[sotxbill]

loaders are hard on frontends.. especially a 3000.

replace both thrust bearings that support the spindles on each side as they have failed...

this will help some...

But it sounds like the steering box has a lot of wear and will also need a rebuild. Thrust bearing are cheap and easy first fix to loosen up the steering at the spindles....

 

[59chevy36]

(Thanks didnt think of the problem being farther foward. was hoping not to have to rebuild the column but that may be next step reply to post at 05:23:40 06/07/20)