Not exactly sure of the setup on your 254. I have an ’06 284 which should be similar. According to the parts manual there were a couple of different designs back then. The parts book is not real clear but it looks like the original design had the steering cylinder on the left side of the tractor running front to back. There is no indication how it is mounted. I believe the later and more common design was to have the cylinder mounted on the back side of the front axle. One end is attached to the left wheel with a ball joint. The right side of the cylinder is mounted on a stud welded to a plate. The plate is bolted to the axle while the cylinder is held onto the stud with a bolt. Here again the parts diagram leaves something to be desired.
Post a picture of your setup if you can. Otherwise I can post a picture of mine and you can see if it looks familiar.