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7117 steering gear


Tom45

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I am trying to remove the steering gear assembly from a 7117 to replaced suspected rusted bearings. After removing the mounting bolts the assembly won't drop down because of the hydraulic lift cylinder line. It is mounted solid with a clip with an almost inaccessable bolt. The drive shaft might be a problem too. Does anyone have suggestions other than removing these? Thanks
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I just did mine.You must remove all the bolts from the rear shaft where it mates with the bgb.There is a steering box mounting bolt that might be covered in dirt that you get from the underside of the tractor.That could be why there is no drop?The assemby come s apart easily once out and you're right the bushings don't have a grease fitting and seize.
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I have had the steering gear out of my AC 919H tractor last year.;) You have to remove the mount for the hydraulic lift cylinder. Unbolt and remove(move)the drive shaft out(of way). Than with some moving back & forth the steering gear will drop out the bottom. This was not a simple job.:o)[:0] Karl
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I also pulled mine out recently. Remove the four screw that attach the dash and lift the dash off the steering shaft. Remove the two bolts on the side of the frame and the one bolt that is installed vertically through the frame tunnel. Remove the two bolts that attach the driveshaft to the rear flex disk. Remove both hitch pins and clevis pins for the hydraulic cylinder and allow the cylinder to hang from the hoses. I had to remove the clamp (p-clip) that clamps the hydraulic lines to the underside of the tunnel. I removed the hydraulic lines from the hydro lift valve and also removed the lines from the fitting on the transmission. Make sure you tape over the fitting ends to keep any dirt out of the hydraulic system. I was then able to drop the gear down and remove it from the frame. As I recall, without getting the hydraulic lines out of the way, there was no way the gear was going to drop down. My guess is that the bushing is corroded to the shaft. The steering arm shaft is probably fine. I'd press out the shaft from the bushing and clean up the corrosion on the shaft and the bushing and then apply never-sieze to the surfaces and re-assemble. If the shaft is corroded to the inside of the bushing you'll have to remove the c-clip holds the pinion gear to the shaft. Clamp the gear into a vise and using a brass drift/punch, drive the end of the shaft back through the pinion gear and out the bushing. The pinion gear might also be tight on the shaft and will take a little heavy pounding to get it free. You'll have to go through the procedure to set the correct endplay/backlash on the steering gear. It's kind of a pain because if you tighten the two bolts that press the bushing farther into the casting the gear will become too tight and at that point you'll have to loosen the two bolts and smack the bushing back and start all over again. The trick is to anticipate when the clearance is as good as you are going to get. It's not exactly obvious how the steering gear endplay is adjusted but if you follow the manual and go through all the steps, it'll become evident. If the rack and steering arm rotate easily when you have it apart, I wouldn't bother with disassembly. Just pump some grease through it until the seals purge clean grease. If you already have a significant wear pattern on the pinion and rack teeth, you might have a little more difficulty getting the end play adjusted exactly.
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Thanks for the response. I was hoping that there was some easy way that I was missing. The bolt in the clamp on the hydraulic lines is a real beast to get to. Tom
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I have a little bit of a different problem with my AC 716H. It is hard to steer. I have the wide front tires, that I have overinflated. Tonight I stopped by the dealer to pick up a belt. They had a Soverien with an 18hp. It was on black top and steered pretty easy. Any ideas??
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quote:
Originally posted by Terry_Hart
I have a little bit of a different problem with my AC 716H. It is hard to steer. I have the wide front tires, that I have overinflated. Tonight I stopped by the dealer to pick up a belt. They had a Soverien with an 18hp. It was on black top and steered pretty easy. Any ideas??
One more item to check out. My 17GTH-L was very hard to steer. If you turned the steering wheel it would not self return. I figured it was the steering gear, but after pulling it out, I realized that this was not the problem. When I was bolting it all back together, I noticed that the steering shaft was being side loaded by the upper bushing in the plate on the dash just below the steering wheel. The steering shaft was not centered between the two cage nuts in the upper dash. I removed the two cage nuts and used a flat washer and a locking nut on each screw. Now the steering shaft is not side loaded and the shaft turns freely. Make sure that the front spindles are not binding. You can jack up the front of the tractor until the wheels are off the ground and then rotate the spindles.
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