The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

I'm trying to find out the oil level in my Dexta. Is it filled by taking the steering wheel off and pouring the oil down the centre of the column?

Do you simply fill it until it reaches the top?

Many Thanks

"Every 200hrs, remove the nut from the centre of the steering wheel (no need to remove the steering wheel) and if necessary replenish the oil. Move the steering from lock to lock whilst adding oil to make sure that it works down past the steering worm and the nut and completely fills the column below the worm." The level should be above the central shaft with the steering in the straight ahead position.

An 'Operator's Handbook' is your friend!

Well I didn't just post on here I did read my owners manual and the workshop manual but it only tells you about refurbishing the steering box.

Is it easy to see the worm drive then after removing the centre bolt?

Prototype wrote:Well I didn't just post on here I did read my owners manual and the workshop manual but it only tells you about refurbishing the steering box.
Is it easy to see the worm drive then after removing the centre bolt?

The Operator's Handbook describes it.

Yes if you rotate the steering wheel lock-to-lock with the central nut removed, you'll see the worm shaft in the centre rising and falling.

Brilliant!! Thank you for the infomation. I've been working on cars, vans and Mazda rotary engines since the age of 14 but this is my first tractor so i'm new to it.

Are there may of these old tractors left running out there?

Are there may of these old tractors left running out there?[/quote]

And the answer to that question is "yes",probably thousands, many still in active service too. Scroll the member list will give you an idea of how far these tractors were exported to. TSG.

According to DVLA there are still 11,160 "Fordsons" registered in the UK(including 1,100 with statutory off road notification, i.e. no road tax). Unfortunately they do not distinguish the model, however I would guess most would be New Majors (E1a) followed by Dextas and a few E27Ns and Standards. So as a guess there are probably around 4000 Dextas still registered in the UK.

There is an independant website that makes the information available http://howmanyleft.co.uk/

Filling up my steering box with Fuchs 90LS gear oil (following Mark Russell).

BUT it takes ages, as the oil is too thick to flow down through the top nut - perhaps the reason why the spec calls for less viscous engine oil. The air trapped in the steering box prevents the oil flowing down.

AND I don't propose to remove the upper dash cover panel to access the bleed screw and risk disturbing my wiring.

So my plan is to use a fan heater to heat the steering box, then let it cool and suck the oil down. Repeat the cycle in a sort pump of pump action. Still could take a day or three to get 1.2L in there.