Landlord 101 Steering tips?

[Iraqnbackvet]

I love my 1967 Landlord 101, but the sloppy steering drives me nuts. I have replaced the u-joint bushings and bolts with loc-tite 10 times. The bolts continue to loosen. I have new tie rod bushings as well. The most play seems to be in the front axle pivot. The axle actually pivots quite a bit, even with a new bushing. I may weld the bushing in place to the axle beam. I also removed the small steering gear and hub at the bottom. The shaft also has some slop ,but nothing I would think is extreme. It seems I have a quarter to half turn travel in the steering wheel before it turns the wheels. Any tricks, tips, ideas? Any of the parts avail? Thank you!!!

[Neilo]

Most of the slop in my 64 LL was from the tie rod ends and the gear to link key below the chasis. Adjusting the tie rod ends carefully took a lot of play out as did ensuring the grub screw below the chasis was tight. You could try spinning the steering shaft gear 180 degrees to engage some less worn teeth too. My universals have two nuts to lock them together. Neilo

[dentwizz]

If you have the earlier two-piece steering gearset, you can adjust the clearances by loosening the 3 bolts that hold each of the bearings onto the chassis and clamp it together. Tighten and check. A good bit can be taken out that way. The rear pivot for the axle is a big wear point unless it is enhanced by a bushing/collar. There have been posts or articles about that mod. I have it on mine and it made a huge difference. The spindle bushings in the axle(the ones on the vertical portions of the axle) were very worn on mine and on many that I have seen. They are not hard, but they can be a little challenging the first time.

[MrSteele]

HAve you checked the needle bearings in the steering gear? Mine was basically nonexistent, allowing the steering shaft to move without turning anything at all on the front of the tractor. I did not use the Simplicity bearing, but bought a needle bearing from Slow Motion Industries. The new bearing was longer, giving more bearing surface, and I liked that better. Adjusting the gearing also helped. You said you have new bushings. Replacing a bushing in something that has worn beyond the OD of the bushing is useless. You might consider machining a sleeve to press in before pressing the bushing itself in the pivot, as I had to do. That takes a lot of play out. A few thousandths here and there adds up to a lot at the steering wheel.