B-12 steering

[KenK]

My B-12 steering is loose.I've got a little play at the steering gear.Which in turns gives me alot of play at the steering wheel.Its loose where the half moon gear slides on the shaft.Is there a simple fix or should I have a machinist weld it up then grind it down to fit tight.[A href='B-12 steering gear']B-12 steering gear[/a]

[John_RI]

That would be a start. I filed both the shaft & 1/2moon gear and then fitted with shim stock - your approach would have a better result. I've always felt the steering system on this tractor was very poor - the problem you mention, combined with the; u-joint, pinion gear and eccentric adjustment set-up all add up to a lot of slop in my system despite considerable effort to resolve it. I'm thinking about trying to pull the steering sys. out of a simplicity 725 to replace it with. Do you have the instructions for removing the backlash between the pinion & half moon gears? If not, let me know & I'll get them to you. Good luck, John(ri)