[inspectorudy]

I have put FEL's on several GT tractors and they work just fine if you understand what they are capable of. Here in GA it is not possible to use a GT tractor with an FEL on it to gouge out and level GA red clay. It can be done but you have to get a little speed and then ram the ground with the bucket. Needless to say it is very hard on the front end of the GT and the whole tractor takes a beating. If you buy a truck load of soil or sand and want to spread it around then the smaller FEL's are just fine but you should go with a smaller bucket than 48" and that are deep. Also try to keep the dead stop, bucket loaded turns to a minimum. That puts a tremendous load on the steering system. If you can make all of your turns while slightly moving the strain goes way down. I found them to be a real back saver when I needed to move things around the yard like stones or fire wood. They are great tools! I would suspect that the bushings/bearings are shot on the front axle and any other worn parts might need to be replaced. Check out the hydraulic steering ram by watching it where it joins the front spindle and see how far it moves when you turn the wheel before the spindle actually moves. If it moves quickly then you have a wheel issue. If it doesn't move for a few inches of steering wheel travel then you have a PS valve issue. Also, the horrible back and forth of the front wheels when moving can be due to being out of tolerance for toe in. If the toe in is set too far outward the tractor will be real "Darty" when on a straight and smooth path.