988 steering conversion

I have heard that it is almost impossable,At the very least EXPENSIVE.

Earthworm;
What do you mean when you say, "Don't cut it"? Hard steering? Don't turn one way as far as the other way or what?

Earthworm;
What do you mean when you say, "Don't cut it"? Hard steering? Don't turn one way as far as the other way or what?

It's hard to see from here Ross but I have a vision of an old 87A with worn center and steering cyl pins. Maybe the steering a bit off center from a bent anchor due to pushing it around with a dead engine sometime during it's life.
Conversion will eliminate the trickey adjusting but not the poor control from worn pins and bearings. Either system needs good pins and bearings aswell as the Deck bolted securly to the rear frame.
Later Bob

That's a minor problem Ross, sounds like the steering pump might be worn.
You need to put a block between the stops on the frames and stall the steering. Put a gauge in the valve body by the supply line. Compart the pressure you get at high and low idle. Pressure should hold 90% of reading at high idle when you drop back to low idle.
Later Bob

bob thanks for that info what does that arm do and coud you un hook it if you converted it to hyd steering or is it more of a pain in the a-- to change to hyd

Ross, the arm is part of the Follow Up Linkage. The follow up linkage between the steering box mounted to the deck on the rear frame and the anchor mounted on the front frame doesn't actually force the machine to steer. The hyd's create the steering force. When you turn the wheel one way or the other the follow up holds the rack inside the box and the worm inside the rack screws up or down. The top of the worm has a slot that has a piece on the steering valve lever shaft in it. As the worm moves up or down the steering valve lever will move back or forth. This moves the steering valve spool and causes the machine to steer. As the machine steers the follow up linkage will move, moving the pitman arm, the sector gear inside the box and the rack. This moves the worm back untill the steering valve spool is neutralized and the machine stays at the angle requested by the movement of the wheel. The Hand Metering steering uses a hand metering unit on the steering column to generate pilot pressure that moves the steering valve spool to steer the machine. This requires a lot of parts including a new steering valve. It will do nothing to improve steering at low idle if your pump is worn out or steering cyl piston seals are no good. If you find the steering acceptable at high throttle check out the pump and or the steering cyl's.
Later Bob

i will check out the hyd pump pins are good thanks again bob

Ross, the biggest pump is the Hyd pump, the smaller two section pump is the steering/brake pump. The largest section is the steering and the smaller one is the brake pump. The brake pump oil also goes into the steering once the brake accumulator is fully charged. The valve under the RH front of the floor plate does this. Come on back with what you find.
Later Bob