About Tractor Parts & Repair: Our site brings you the info and resources you need to care for your tractor. Learn more about Tractor Steering here, and find the parts you need to maintain your tractor and keep it at optimal performance.
Tractor Steering
Tractor steering is an important part of a tractor, but it can be very difficult if one does not know what they are doing. This is because a tractor must be able to steer itself and it does this with little help. The way a tractor works is that it has a boom in front of it that it uses to push or pull a small unit, which can be a combination of various other things like rope, earth, or whatever else you can think of. Once the unit is in motion, all of its wheels will be turning at the same time, and they will be making the same turn in the same direction. It sounds complicated, but it's really not, it's just that there are many different components that need to work in unison in order for the tractor to turn correctly, and the turning requires a constant force to make it happen.
This is where the Steering Pump comes in. This is a device that is an internal combustion engine and that converts the force of the turning of the tractor's wheels into an external force to move whatever it is that the tractor is towing. The Steering Pump does this in a couple of different ways. First, it either uses a counterweighted force from inside the tractor to turn the wheels, or it uses an electric motor to do it. With modern designs, the counterweighted force is often made of stainless steel to prevent rusting, and it uses high torque to increase the effectiveness of its application.
Another component of the modern tractor steering system is the Hydraulic Towing Hubs. These are piston-type pieces that connect the front of the tractor to the rear and they are usually powered by an air compressor that supplies a steady stream of compressed air to move the front and rear moving parts. In order to do their jobs, they must be almost perfectly level, and they must remain connected to the tractor throughout the operation. Because of these things, each one of them has a limited lifespan and must be replaced every now and then.