...FARMALL 656 Diesel - 1966 - Power Steering...

Any clues?

I couldn't get the power steering lockout loose from the flow divider valve.

We keep the hydraulic level high and everything is working great!

I hope this helped.

Thank you VERY MUCH for the update. I really appreciate it.

Have a great week.

First check to make sure you have the correct amount of oil in the transmission. Make sure the filter is clean. If you still have bubbles, try adding an additional five gallons of oil to see if the makes the problem go away. If you still have the problem, you may have a leak in the hose between the hitch drain and the oil pickup tube.

I started it up, lifted the wheels off the ground, run the steering back & forth, closed the power steering lockout valve on the flow divider valve and shut off the tractor. I then turned the steering wheel and the wheels (still off the ground) manually turned with it back & forth a few times. That tells me the hand pump is working and it may be the flow divider valve. I will try to open it up from the front this weekend while on the tractor. I'll find out then if i can see somthing wrong or not. Tractor vet may be right on this on, I hope.

My international dealer (www.straubih.com) has internet access to the parts catalog like the caseih webiste has but this one allows you to check on the parts you want and forward it to Straub where they will email you back with the price of the parts, etc. I tried to price the pump element/rotor set for the hand pump and it came back as no parts available. All you can get are the seals, etc. They quoted me a new hand pump for $1078 so I'm glad that I don't have replace that.

It is halftime of the KU basketball game so I am not working on mine tonight. Maybe this weekend. With the daylight savings time change, I won't get off work till dark. With my case dealer in Hutchinson, KS they have to order stuff all te time and they want to see the part since we are having trouble with part numbers. Since I'm working all day, I can't just drive down there anytime since they close at 5:30 p.m.

The I & T manual for a 606/2606 in the trouble shooting section says for not steering manually:
a: binding mechanical linkage (I don't have thisP
b. excessive load on front wheels or low air pressure in front tires (I don't have this).
c: pumping element in hand pump faulty.
d. faulty seal on steering cylinder or cylinder damaged.
e. pressure check valve leaking.
f. control/pilot valve relief valve spool binding or centering spring broken.
g. control/pilot valve spring broken.

I don't know if the 656 has hand pump below the steering wheel with a flow divider vavle and control/pilot valve and a separate steering cylinder on the axle like the 606 or not. The 460/560/660 seems to have this gear assembly that extends down below the steering wheel to a gear unit.

It still opens it up for every major part of the hydraulic system could be bad. I have been discussing this problem in my earlier posts within a page or two of this one on 606/2606 steering.

My system schematic does not show a "check valve" anywhere in the system unless tractor vet means the power steering lockout & pressure relief valve inside the flow divider valve or the pressure adjusting valve inside the control/pilot valve. There does not seem to be one in the steering hand pump. I am hoping to isolate the problem without rebuilding the entire system one part at a time.

I hope someone here can tell me where start. All my repair work will be outside in the cold and probably after dark. Since I have been adjusting the power steering lockout on the divider and the adjusting valve on the control valve, I may be able to pull them out and start the tractor to try to flush them out as a quick check without removing all the lines and unbolting them from the tractor. I may also be able to remove the flow divider valve spool without tearing it all apart.

Otherwise I may have to tear into the hand pump again and replace some parts. I had ruled out the steering cylinder since it doesn't leak but I suppose the seal could be bad causing an internal leak.

The question is (besides where is the check valve) in everyone's experience, which part is likely to fail first? The steering cylinder may be the easiest to repair but gut instinct tells me that those seals rarely fail. Thanks for any help.

:) Shawn...

You're describing a bad manual pump.

When the engine is shut off, the steering ought to feel like a tractor that is NOT equipped with power steering.

Fluid is leaking by inside that manual pump.

Allan

Thanks.
Shawn...