steering broke
 

While rototilling with my 149 the steering bound up, so to prevent ruining some rhubarb plants I put the muscle on the wheel, felt it pop, and the 149 turned and acted like it should for the rest of the time I was in the garden, I drove it to the house to hose the tiller down, and left it there until I tried to take it to the barn. I started it up pushed the lever forward to take off and ran into the back of my truck with the steering wheel spinning like a top. Looks like there's a steering column removal on the to do list.

Sounds like you had a tie rod end break or it came off.

Cam follower maybe... When they get worn they are easy to shear off. Keep us posted and good luck!

Ps, how often do you hose off your tiller? It will speed up the rust and lessen the lifespan of your bearings. I would just blow it off if it was mine.

Here's a couple of pics of the column after removal. looks like something's missing as there's a gap where alot of grease has come out. Didn't get a chance to go any farther. Had trouble getting the steering wheel off using a puller, broke alot of plastic, ended up using a 2x4 seen in last pic.

ye, I've had that tiller for over 20yrs, and use it alot during the summer in my garden and compost pile, thanks for the concern.

Took the steering box apart today and found the following
the numbers correspond to the parts breakdown from the tech library.

4 stud is broken,

6 seal and retainer, one of
them is missing

9 bearing is in pieces

10 retainer and ball assembly in pieces only
found a few balls

16 retainer in pieces

Are these parts available, and where, thanks


here's some pics from today

The bearing, race, retainer kit is IH-71930-C91, and the stud, seal, etc. are all available from CC, the sponsors, etc.

STEERING REBUILD ISSUES
 

the steering on my 149 broke, and after tearing it apart and seeing what was wrong, I got the parts together, got everything cleaned up and started to dry fit it, and things didn't look right. I've got pics at the bottom showing how the bearings went on the shaft, but I'm thinking that the shaft is worn and should be sticking through the bearings alittle bit, am I right or does the shaft sit this far inside, this pic was taken without the balls installed, just the plastic and the retainers. When I took the shaft off the tractor and removed the steering lever the stud was broken off and all the ball bearings and retainers were in pieces mixed in with the grease.

update
 

This sentence doesn't make any sense, and so I don't understand what you think the problem is. There is nothing to wear the end of the shaft that protrudes through the bearing. The shaft centers on the bearing race on the shaft, and the end of the shaft has nothing to do with this. How are you going to know if it 'looks right' when a) the balls were not in place when you took it apart and b) you don't have them in now?

Inspect the bearing surfaces on the shaft for wear, and if they're fine, put it together and adjust it as per the service manual.

I've never had one of these steering column's apart so I didn't know what to expect when mine came off. All I got when taking it apart was a handful of grease and broken parts. I'm guessing that the retainer on the bottom rides inside the adjusting plug, and when I screw in the plug it makes a sandwich out of everything, the cotter pin holds it all together.