|
Dave, It's not a normal thing. My 1020 steering is smooth and effortless as long as I keep it filled with good, clean fluid. There are two different flavors of power steering on the Ag 1020's. The industrials are probably the same -- in Ag below S/N 45200 the pump is driven off the cam gear and mounted on the timing cover. Above that S/N the steering is driven off the pump in the transmission. Either way junk in the screen will starve the pump, maybe make it squawk, and cause it to jerk. I'd guess it's worse in the later models if the screen is clogged. In the earlier model the separate steering pump can work off the resevoir next to the radiator. Also, lack of fluid will make the hydraulics jerky as you describe. I'd check the screen first. It's behind a plug cover on the right side, behind the brake box. You'll pull out a long tubular screen that filters the fluid just before it enters the back pump. It can collect a lot of crud. You'll loose some fluid doing this. You'll also loose a fair amount of fluid when you pull the filter -- but maybe only 2 - 4 quarts. Not the whole ten gallons. You'll see there's a sort of metal wall around the filter, so it's not at the same level with the rest of the transmission. To be totally safe, replace the fluid with the same brand stuff that's in there now. If you don't know, use JD Hygard. I got a good deal on 20 gallons of Pennzoil hydraulic fluid last year and have been using this, no problems, seems to be good stuff. The common wisdom is to stay away from the off brand or no name bargain types of fluid. Good luck in getting it fixed up. Steve
| 
