I'm trying to help out an extended family member who has an old Massey Ferguson 250 tractor. It's one of the later models so it uses the same power steering cylinders as the 253 model. The ball joint and pin are worn out and he can't run down the road with it because of the chatter in the front wheels.
A pair of replacement cylinders from the Massey Ferguson dealer is $600 and he's thinking about getting a new tractor soon so investing $600 in it is not ideal. I volunteered to replace the cylinders to save on labor but I got to wondering about just replacing the ball joint. I did find these cylinders on eBay for a little less (see below) but they're still kind of high.
Unfortunately, this version is welded to the rod on the cylinder, so there is no easy way to replace the ball joint. I was thinking I could cut the bad joint off and then connect the cylinder to one of these: http://www.abilenemachine.com/massey...1851618M2.html
I can also get the above with a male end, which is actually cheaper: http://www.abilenemachine.com/massey...1851617M2.html
So the question is: what is the best way to go about this conversion? I'll have to get through the chrome skin, but I assume the rod itself won't be too hard. From what I remember, the larger cylinders machined just fine after you got through the chrome and a thin hard skin on the steel. Should I grind off the chrome and turn threads on the shaft (I don't have much to work with, remember - only a 9/16" diameter shaft to start with). Should I cross drill for pins? Weld? Braze?
I was thinking about using the male version and then turning a coupler. One end would be threaded for the joint and the other end would slide over the cylinder rod. It could then be pinned, welded, brazed, etc. What do you think?
Here is what a new cylinder should look like:
A pair of replacement cylinders from the Massey Ferguson dealer is $600 and he's thinking about getting a new tractor soon so investing $600 in it is not ideal. I volunteered to replace the cylinders to save on labor but I got to wondering about just replacing the ball joint. I did find these cylinders on eBay for a little less (see below) but they're still kind of high.
Unfortunately, this version is welded to the rod on the cylinder, so there is no easy way to replace the ball joint. I was thinking I could cut the bad joint off and then connect the cylinder to one of these: http://www.abilenemachine.com/massey...1851618M2.html
I can also get the above with a male end, which is actually cheaper: http://www.abilenemachine.com/massey...1851617M2.html
So the question is: what is the best way to go about this conversion? I'll have to get through the chrome skin, but I assume the rod itself won't be too hard. From what I remember, the larger cylinders machined just fine after you got through the chrome and a thin hard skin on the steel. Should I grind off the chrome and turn threads on the shaft (I don't have much to work with, remember - only a 9/16" diameter shaft to start with). Should I cross drill for pins? Weld? Braze?
I was thinking about using the male version and then turning a coupler. One end would be threaded for the joint and the other end would slide over the cylinder rod. It could then be pinned, welded, brazed, etc. What do you think?
Here is what a new cylinder should look like:
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