Official front end repair thread
 

Hello all.

This is going to be the thread where I post all the progress, work, thoughts and questions regarding the front end/steering repair on my 147. My goal is to get the machine working 100% or as close to 100% as I can mechanically before I cosmetically restore it.

I asked for $$ for my birthday in october so I can work on the steering/front end etc but don't want to dig into it too much as it is my snow removal machine; I'll really tear into it this spring or summer. However, I figured I could do wheel bearings fairly easy.

The old ones came out fairly easy. I found a lot of junk in the hubs, including old bearing material and some old balls. Even though there was some grease in the new ones, I packed them as well. A couple of the old ones were so loose they audibly jiggled when I shook them in my hand.

I did find that there is play where the spindle meets the axle, as well as between the bearing and the spindle. Not a lot, but enough to be annoying. Can that be shimmed up somehow? What can a backyard mechanic do to eliminate the slop?

Thanks

PS not sure why the images are rotated incorrectly (?)

Old tin cans work for shims. Aluminum beverage cans also work but won't stand the pressure that the steel will stand.

Take the old spindle axle bolt out, ream it and put the appropriate size bolt in. I can’t remember off the top of my head what size it is but I’ve done at least a dozen this way and tightened the steering tremendously. Between that and the axle channel is the spots I see that cause the most steering play. Of the two tractors I’ve restored I’ve used McMaster Carr tie rod ends and rebuilt the steering gear and have tri tibs it’s like having power steering. Not too expensive or difficult to do either

I'm not following what you mean about the axle bolt. Are you referring to the steering assembly on a wide frame? This is a narrow frame and doesn't have axle bolts.


It is my understanding that there are not any bushings in the cast iron axle that I can replace that will eliminate steering knuckle slop. Or is this something that isn't as critical when rebuilding the steering? My thought is to make everything as 0" play as possible.




I plan on doing the channel clamp and tie rod ends in the future.

The left side steering arm assembly is pinned to the steering knuckle shaft that comes up through the axle. That is often a point of play. Best way I've found to fix that is to drill it out and pin it with a larger pin to remove any play. Actually, I bought a taper drill and drilled it out to a taper and put in a tapered pin. I think it was a 5 or 6 taper? McMaster Carr has the taper drill and the pins.

You could drill it out to slightly more than 1/4 inch and make a new pin, but unless you go metric you likely won't find a 9/64 or 5/32 pin. Well maybe you can. Never tried.

Or, drill out the top of the steering arm assembly and plug weld the dang thing to the knuckle.

Of course, most steering play is in the gear box, so it's best to start there. New follower stud, easy steer bearing update, tighten up the gearbox cover bolt, etc.

Not much in the way of repair as of late- it's been too cold and I don't have a heated garage/shop. Plus I've been using it for snow removal so I don't want to tear into it now anyway. In the interest of making it easier to remove the steering wheel come spring time, I've started soaking the shaft/nut with penetrating oil now and will probably hit it once a week or so until it does warm up. May as well; figured it won't hurt.

Acquiring of new parts continues. Knowing I'd need a different steering wheel (as the hub of the one installed is destroyed) I had a bit of a difficult time trying to find another one. I would have bought new, but new doesn't exist. I found one with a good hub, and good chrome on the splines, but at one point around the circumference it looked like a dog chewed it. I think someone had mounted one of those useless spinner knobs on it at one point :angry: so now I'm looking at finding a way to smooth it out or fill it in. (any suggestions?)

The seller also had the grille screen insert that my 147 was lacking that he threw in for a package deal. The screen that was in it when I bought it was simple and sturdy, but to the correct police (me) it was wrong. It's white- pretty sure it should be cadmium plated/colored- but that's just aesthetic. I also got the springs that hold it in.

That looks much better with the correct grill!

Yes, you can shim the 3/4" axel spindle from behind the inner rim bearing, and the stop flange. My model 71 had shim on both spindles, and made for a noticeable amount of play in the rim sliding in and out, when I removed the shim to find out. I took the time to share what I done with my model 71 to fix much of the steering slop I had, you can take a look.

I like the wide frame front axles, as they incorporated removeable steel sleeves in the cast iron axel. Could be an idea for you if they were bad, or just find another axle.

I love spinner knobs, but mine are all workers. Just saying.

Back in the day, we put Necker Knobs on all the tractors/vehicles.
They have a valid purpose.
My first '40 coupe, had one with a pix of a "pinup lady" in it.:biggrin2:

steering
 

Tightening the steering parts makes a big difference. Ol'George, you are showing your age. Pretty soon you will catch up with me. Have a great day.
Bob

Mine is a worker too, but can't stand those stupid knobs. To each their own.

Looking to buy tie rod ends today- are all 4 right hand thread? Or am I missing something?

Thanks

Yes, they are. OEM part number: 923-3000. You can also go with aftermarket Heim Ends.

:ThumbsUp:

Lots of videos on you tube on steering wheel repair.

What are everyones opinions on replacing the races in the steering box? Necessary or no? Thanks

They should come with the parts repair kit Charlie sells.
Look upstairs here CCS

It's been a while since I've updated this thread, and haven't really done any work until as of Sunday.

Sunday I prepped the motor for removal to swap the flywheel shroud. The flywheel tin has been off of a 149 since I got it in ‘12 and it was time to change that.

Yesterday I did some wrenching on the tin. I pulled the motor with the aid of my brother's engine hoist (because he's got it so why not use it). The engine didn't come out too bad- the front motor bolts are in a really dumb spot but I got em out (and back in.) Even my little girl got in on the action- she's shoving a wrench into the flywheel opening. The worst part was trying to get the four phillips screws out of the screen. Lots of heat and they finally broke free. Everything went back together with anti-seize for when I rebuild the motor (next project) it'll come apart better-hopefully.


I like the location of the coil mount much better now. It's no longer tucked up against the sediment bowl with the spark plug wire in a weird location.

Started work on the steering today. I pulled the wheel off, drag link and tie rod.

Next came the steering column. Gross! The foam seal is completely gone (which I figured) and I opted to paint the column while I had it out even though I'm not restoring cosmetically at this point.

I tried tightening up the channel that the axle sits in but it didn't make any difference...apart from pulling the axle pin and putting a grade 8 bolt in, what else can I do?

Thanks

Keep up the good work. Glad to see you have a helper.

My 126 has a lot of play and most of it is front channel play. Interested to see how you do this.

I use a long 5/8ths bolt with a few big washers, and a good nut and squeezed the channel together. My experience is that the narrow frame are the easiest to squeeze. Then it’s a rascal to get the axel back in if you over squeeze. But that channel will stay put and the axel won’t move back and forth. Any and all steering play you can remove will impress you when you notice how much better you done with your tractor. I reused my old pivot pin since it was still in decent shape and even the old coil keeper pin went right back and stayed.

Do I have to pull the engine again to do that? Is it easier to do with the axle removed? Never pulled the pin...how's that work?

Thanks

It would have been easier, but you can still do it.
There is a spirol pin up front that holds it in. Hopefully it has been greased so it will come out easy.

Enjoy the little ones while they are young, all too soon they are grown up and have their own families.
She just might turn out to be a "Delta cub"---- not a bad thing :biggrin2:

Did some mulling over it today, and as much as I'd like to just keep plugging on (and didn't want to pull the engine again) I didn't want to work on the axle but decided if I'm doing it I should do it right. I removed the bolts on the engine and lifted it up slightly allowing me access to work on the pivot bolt.

I followed the specs by this thread: https://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/...ad.php?t=18991 and chose a bolt that matched it (Local hardware store didn't have a fine grade bolt this size grade 8 so I went with coarse) I picked up some GUNK and tried it out on the front axle (it worked great!) Mocked it up in the frame and it eliminated ALL of the sideways slop. I have to cut down the head of the bolt so it clears the oil pan better, but so far, I like what I see.

Be careful on the front nut end if its sticks out too far it can get in the way of the mule drive socket if you have one with a pin all the way across it.

More progress today...ground the head of the axle bolt down to clear the oil pan. Then cut down the nut some to clear the mule drive which is essential for cutting grass. It removed ALL of the axle play. I plan on keeping the OEM pin in case of the bolt not working or if I need to change it back for some reason.

I found the guide pin for the box was flat spotted/worn. I have a new one. I spent time cleaning up the old parts that I need to retain, and assembling the new ones for ease of location when I want to dive into the box. I also installed the two tie rod ends but didn't adjust them just yet.

Dove in and rebuilt the box today. New ball bearings (in the old retainers) and a new cam follower because the old one was worn. I opted to go with a thrust bearing in place of the jam nut, and a ball bearing in the top of the column in place of the plastic bushing.

I worked on setting the toe, centering the steering and obtaining the proper drag link length. My supervisor even got in on the action keeping me on my toes with tool relocation. I took it for a quick ride today and can't believe how much of a difference it made. No constant steering to go in a straight line. The bearing upgrades make the front end want to turn. It makes a super small circle now. It's hard for me to believe that I put up with the lousy sloppy steering for so long and didn't just repair it. I have to thank Merkle for his support; I leaned on him quite a bit for technical questions and advice for the process. I didn't button down the steering wheel just yet; I plan on doing that tomorrow. I have a few minor details to iron out but it's almost done.

Nice work! My 147 is in need of the same repairs.

After 7 hours of rain, I was able to get back at it today. I wanted to take it for another drive so I could ensure I'd get the steering wheel centered where I wanted it before I put the nut on and tightened it up. Got it where I wanted it and I really like looking down at that IH logo in the center.

I was messing around with it some more and realized the pitman arm wasn't tight enough. Simple enough; tighten up the jam nut. Doing this knocked the cam follower out of adjustment (the steering would bind in the center) so I had to unbolt the box from the tractor (removing the bottom tin piece first) swing it over some and adjust the follower. Fortunately it adjusted while still in the tractor and I didn't have to completely remove it.

Took it for a few more tests run and I'm completely thrilled with how it drives. I should have done this years ago. Now I've got to throw the mower deck under it and start cutting grass! If it ever stops raining and the grass starts growing........................................... ....................

I like the way you tackle the job at hand, the front end came out as I expected, now about that fender...

Haha, yep. Plan is to get a better hood (corners are hacked on this one) and a new fender pan. I want to restore it cosmetically at one point but I want it 100% mechanical before then. Nothing annoys me more on a 'restoration' than a good looking tractor that won't run, smokes, leaks, worn steering, etc.

The next project is going to be an engine rebuild. This one is a 60/40 motor; 60% gas 40% oil.

Today was the day to mount the mower deck. I removed the 10-30 oil (for ease of winter starting) to go to straight 30W. (5 bucks a quart for that :bigeyes::bigeyes:) After I got the subframe/mule drive installed, it had a hard time raising, then the steering bound REALLY BAD when I tried to steer it. The tie rod was dragging the subframe. Made no sense to me..I compared an old tie rod end to a new one (same size) and realized my mistake. I had made a classic ID10T error. The tie rod was on upside down. I flipped 'er over and viola it steers better and the subframe traverses the full length.

I drove it around and did some mowing with it- it steers way better than ever before. Way easier and sharper. I did notice that when it sits stationary and I try to turn it the axle will still move some....but I don't seem to get that when it's driving. Most likely because of the force needed to steer it while it's not moving (tire patch contact with concrete), but I'm sorta second guessing the repair that I did; meaning the quality of it. The only things I didn't replace was the roll pin in the drag link arm and the spindles themselves.... Then again I'm probably worried about nothing, IDK. I thought I may have had the pitman arm too loose, but the book says 3/32” lateral movement and it’s only at 1/16th, so it isn’t that. ��

currently working on a 129, I actually checked the slop because of this thread and that one's not terrible. not gonna worry about that one. but I maintain a pair of 1200s and a 125o for a farmer that I know, and I know his 1250 is super sloppy.....

I meant to ask you.... I remember the comments earlier in the thread, about how bad the felt/sponge rubber gasket was... did you replace? or make a new one out of some material you had laying around? I just tipped this 129 over yesterday to power wash it, and saw part of what was left of that steering box gasket come out as I sprayed it from the bottom.

just like they do with Kohler engines and Sunstrand hydros a lot of companies use the same Ross steering box as the Cubs did.... I have a few Ariens machines, and have rebuilt the steering on 2 of them. On one I had to beat on the steering shaft to get the steering wheel off... and I discovered that the bearing cages were shot... all cracked and such, I have a feeling it was because of what I had to do to get the steering wheel off. With that one, I wound up building one steering box out of 2, as on the one that I didn't kill the bearings on, mushroomed the end of the steering shaft beyond belief. That was when I discovered they were hollow and SOFT steel. Good thing I had a 2nd one to salvage parts from... made me do something different to get the steering wheels off of this 129 and the 1650 that I recently gutted..... got both steering wheels off and didn't destroy the shafts in the process, didn't have to beat on the ends of them much, these columns don't bind like the Ariens one did after steering wheel removal, so I'm thinking the bearings on these 2 will have survived the steering wheel removals. Hopefully a helpful tip/ "gotcha" for those that see this thread and are wanting to tear into their own steering columns....
I admit I was afraid to tear into one, before I did it for that 1st time.

That's funny you mention putting the tie rod on upside down, the rod is upside down on my 126. The deck goes to the notch below all the way up. Putting that one off for now until I do a channel squeeze.

See my previous posts; I did indeed replace the foam seal. A new one is like 15 bucks but last month I did a laminate flooring install in my kitchen- I used some left over foam underlayment for a replacement. Traced it out, cut it out, etc.

The biggest mistake IMO that people make in doing the steering rebuild is incorrect steering wheel removal. I soaked mine in rust penetrate for months before I even attempted to take it off (each week I'd spray it again) so after removing the top nut it just popped off. Too many use the hammer-the-shaft method which can peen the top of the shaft so the nut doesn't go back on, or worse yet, blow out the adjusting plug on the bottom of the box as the box is cast aluminum and really not that heavy. Best method is to use a puller if it won't pull off on its own.

I did a lot of research and thought process before I jumped into this project- new parts, etc so I knew what I was getting into and didn't half a$$ it. I think I did an OK job.