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 | Bernie Galgoci
Join Date: Posts: 1 
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2002-09-20 42710
I find it useful to have a "spinner" (a.k.a. suicide knob) on the steering wheel of a tractor, mostly because it's so handy when manipulating in reverse through tight spaces. Last fall I put a spinner on my JD4400 , mounting it at about the 1 o'clock position on the steering wheel with the tractor pointing straight ahead. Recently, I noticed that when I'm driving straight ahead, the spinner is no longer at the 1 o'clock position where I originally installed it, but in fact it could be just about anywhere - 3 o'clock, 11 o'clock, 7 o'clock, you name it. Today I decided to investigate. There's a quiet stretch of straight country road heading east from my mailbox, so I went down there, pointed the tractor east, and started driving. The spinner started out at about 7 o'clock, and after about a mile of straight-on driving it was at about 5 o'clock. No big deal, I thought. Normal play. I turned around and headed back home, but decided to rock the steering wheel back and forth from right to left and left to right to see if that made a difference. Needless to say, it did. While traveling along in a straight line, if I turned the steering wheel say 10 degrees to the right, I had to turn the wheel back 15 degrees to the left to make the tractor go straight again. And if while traveling along in a straight line I turned the steering wheel say 10 degrees to the left, I had to turn the wheel only 5 degrees back to the right to make the tractor go straight again. By turning the steering wheel back and forth while going down the road, I could make the spinner travel counterclockwise around the wheel from it's starting position. No matter where the steering wheel was originally positioned with the tractor driving straight, if the steering wheel was moved, it had to be returned to a position a few degrees counterclockwise from the original "starting position" in order for the tractor to go straight again. (I hope I'm explaining this clearly!) Anyway, is this behavior "within normal limits" or is there a leak somewhere inside the steering valve? I have an old JD3010 that doesn't have a hint of "spinner wander." Then again, the design of the 3010's steering valve is probably totally different. I probably never would have noticed any of this if I hadn't had something (the spinner) marking the position of the steering wheel. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-09-21 42722
Sounds like this could lead to an interesting discussion. I'll start by saying that I don't know JD steering systems. On heavy equipment and some farm tractors I believe that servos are used and there's not an actual physical linkage through gear faces, arms etc. I guess something like you describe might easily happen on such systems, but I imagine that compact tractors would use more traditional steering systems.
I suppose that different combinations of sector play and linkage play and some geometry would result in steering and corrections that aren't necessarily symmetrical, but I don't know what might be normal. I hope there will be comments from somebody who can do some thing more than my speculation.
....
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 | Billy
Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 975 Southeast Oklahoma 
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2002-09-21 42723
I can't tell you why but I've had 2 JD compacts (4600 & 4610) and both do as you've described.
I think Tom hit it when he said "On heavy equipment and some farm tractors I believe that servos are used and there's not an actual physical linkage through gear faces, arms etc. I guess something like you describe might easily happen on such systems".
There's nothing wrong with your steering, just the characteristics of the JD compacts.
Billy ....
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2002-09-21 42726
It's either the servo thing or your tractor has a built in adjustment for daylight savings time. ....
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| Ted@Abbeywoods, LLC
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-09-21 42728
Dear Bernie, both Tom and Billy are 100% correct: there is nothing wrong with what you describe. Your steering wheel assembly has what is commonly called a "steering hand" pump that determines direction of flow to the double acting steering cylinder attached to your steering linkage.
A brief note of humor; a friend decided to service his hand pump, made some errors like not assembling the spool properly, and when he started the engine the steering wheel just kept spinning. These pumps can act just like a hydraulic motor if they are not serviced properly. He eventually decided to let the dealer fix it, a good idea after it almost broke his wrist!
Incidentally, I find the "necker's knob" very helpful, especially doing loader work. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-09-22 42761
Thanks for the info Ted. The story that goes with it puts a new twist on 'taking the tractor for a spin.' Must have been pretty spectacular. ....
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| Bernie Galgoci
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-09-22 42776
Guys: Thanks for your expertise (and even your humor). You've made me a little more knowledgable and alot less worried about my tractor, and I appreciate it. Bernie ....
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| Tom L.
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2002-09-23 42815
You guys are correct on the steering (servo concept). I built JD combines in the 80's and they were that way also.
Tom L.
Moline, IL.
TL39597@deere.com ....
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