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Worn Spindles


LMichaels

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So I may have inadvertently hit on some of my slightly hard steering on the Sovereign I bought this spring. An issue I never saw on my old B10. Anyway I had occasion yesterday (due to a flat front tire) to jack the front of the machine up. I noticed the front "spindles?" loose/worn. The previous owner did grease them regularly it was very apparent he did grease the machine and he liked Amsoil grease BTW. So now I am wondering how to handle the situation. BTW makes me rethink Amsoil stuff too, Because that old B10 of mine had gone for MANY more laps around the sun than this Sovereign, was badly mistreated before I got it too. Plus it didn;t even have grease fittings there when I got it. I took the spindles out, drilled and tapped them for fittings. And, when I greased them up I used good old Farm & Fleet grease nothing fancy. Gotta wonder if Amsoil is the reason. Anyway not wanting to knock anyone's living here.......................but what is the best way to handle these sloppy spindles?

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I would run an add in the sale section of our site...Someone may have an extra set of spindles. I just sold my last of 3 sets that I had.

Otherwise Flea bay .

Good luck

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I didn't pull them apart so I didn't realize they had bushings in there. Do they just press out? Easy to find? I will have to look at the actual spindles. Odd though in all the years I had my B10 they were still nice and tight. And, they did not have grease fittings until 1990 so it went from 1961 or so until 1990 with no grease zerks I tapped some in and used regular old grease and they were nice and tight. Very odd.

I won't be pulling them apart until spring though. Supposedly 6" snow going to hit us tomorrow UGH I really hate winter (not the cold just ice and snow). I can deal with brutal cold with no problem. Snow is my Achilles heel

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1 hour ago, LMichaels said:

I didn't pull them apart so I didn't realize they had bushings in there. Do they just press out? Easy to find? I will have to look at the actual spindles. Odd though in all the years I had my B10 they were still nice and tight. And, they did not have grease fittings until 1990 so it went from 1961 or so until 1990 with no grease zerks I tapped some in and used regular old grease and they were nice and tight. Very odd.

I won't be pulling them apart until spring though. Supposedly 6" snow going to hit us tomorrow UGH I really hate winter (not the cold just ice and snow). I can deal with brutal cold with no problem. Snow is my Achilles heel

They can be driven out or new ones pressed in that moves existing bushings further in. See this post:

https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic/61770-steering-bushings-removal/?tab=comments#comment-492787

 

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17 hours ago, fishnwiz said:

I should have asked if the spindles shown external damage. If damage free ...Bushings .

 

I didn't even look. I just greased them up good again and worked with it. The weather reports were talking about an 8 to 12" snowfall today, and I wanted to get those leaves chopped up as it was too windy to sweep them up and burn safely. So I had both machines going. Wife and grandson taking turns on the Honda and me on the Sovereign. We "gotter done" I figure the spindles can wait until spring. I am going to take advantage of having two machines. Going to pull the deck on the Sovereign and go through it, power wash, wire brush and repaint it do the bushings than the Honda will go in for a tear down, new oil pump gear, new timing belt and water pump, maybe new PTO clutch, go through the deck and all back together again. Than I will make a decision to either sell one or keep both. I have to admit I am getting a little "spoiled". The Honda is easy to maneuver, light and quick to steer, while the Sovereign is like that feeling when you've been driving that little sporty coupe and you get into a nice luxury sedan. Lower speed, engine, heavy and smooth ride. Time will tell. Bottom line I figure spring/summer will be the time to actually sell one (if I elect to) and I can at least sell one fully serviced and ready to go

20181123_133443.jpg

20181123_133435.jpg

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Hello,I bought a sovereign 5-6 years ago it had blown engine.   I rebuilt it, and the front wheel bearings were falling apart from rust ,before I owned the tractor it had sat outside for 5 years. I was shocked when I pulled the front  wheels off.

front wheel bearings 1 (2).jpg

Edited by maxwood
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I bought a set of Simplicity bushings while buying parts for the BGB. I am rethinking, though. I do not have enough room vertically for a sealed thrust bearing without visiting a machine shop, and the BGB is still not back from the machine shop, so..will likely have to wait for further funding availability. However, while looking at the front end, there should be room for a flanged bushing on the bottom. That simple step would yield not only new bushing surface, which I need, but a bronze surface on which the steering could wear. That, along with the longer needle bearings in the steering gear, should be an improvement. I have had the longer needles in the steering gear for about 20 years. 

Those wheel bearings above look like they could use a bit of grease! I put a set of Timkin in mine many years ago, do a yearly wash and repack/adjust. 

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You can eliminate yearly front wheel bearing maintenance by installing bearing buddies and grease them once a year. I have them on all of my BGB tractors. I put them on my new Sovereign in 2000 and they are still running.

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55 minutes ago, LMichaels said:

Are there replaceable bushings on that front axle? Are they single piece?

Two bushings for each spindle (part #8):

image.thumb.png.7d0356b9f20e8d3759c5da6573abbfe9.png

Part #2154289SM

 

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FYI, I replaced the washers, item 7, with 3/4" thrust needle bearings (0.078 thick), and thrust washers (0.030" each). There is not much room left for a thicker bearing assembly. The thrust bearing is not sealed and most likely will fail due to dirt. But they are easy to replace and inexpensive enough to keep a spare set on hand. I am not aware of and unable to find a sealed thrust bearing to fit within the real estate allowed. If someone finds one please let us know.

I wish Simplicity would have made the spindle tubes welded on the end of the axle with a thicker wall thickness and would have used needle bearings instead of bushings. Then all spindle wear could be eliminated rather than pay $186 for the LH spindle or $98 for the RH.

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@Bill725

From @tweinke's post about his thrust washer install:

On my recent PMPS install, I used tweinke's wheel cylinder cup "dust seal" instead of a bicycle inner tube that I've used in the past. I think they look fine:

IMG_9069a.JPG

A pic of the inner tube "dust seal":

IMG_4432a.JPG

The inner tube "dust seal" does cut with time, but still provides some protection. The wheel cylinder cups, since they are made of thick rubber, should last forever. Tweinke, as you said, cutting the hole is a bear. What did you use to cut the hole? I used a 1 1/8" forstner bit. The hardest part is keeping the cap from turning without distorting it.

His post:

https://simpletractors.com/forums/topic/53857-poor-mans-power-steering/

 

 

 

 

 

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I tried a gasket punch, with poor results. Holding the darn things for a rotating type tool was a bear also. I ended up cutting the hole with an exacto knife, and still have all my fingers! They are holding up good since the install.

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Question. Do you have a part number on the thrust bearings? I can't seem to find a 3/4" ID. I tried the sealed thrust bearings, but do not have room without machining the tubes. Opted for a flanged bottom bushing, though not certain I am happy with the choice. And I have a bunch of the brake cups to play with

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6 hours ago, MrSteele said:

Do you have a part number on the thrust bearings? I can't seem to find a 3/4" ID.

A part number is NRB NTA-1220.  I've gotten them from Motion Industries at decent price:

https://www.motionindustries.com/productDetail.jsp?sku=00094476

They also have both the thick (TRB-1220) and thin (TRA-1220) thrust washers.

Others have used different suppliers to get the same parts.

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Thanks, I read this after posting a different fix, then searched for the original article and Zippo's movie. I ordered them from Motion this morning, should have them in the morning

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  • 2 years later...
On 12/3/2018 at 5:42 AM, dhoadley said:

I'm planning on doing this upgrade to my A/C917 over the winter. I got these at Fastenal. 20mm I.D. converts to ..7874".

DSC02351.JPG.97740f9202b731fdc4c3270e610c1f5d.JPG

DSC02352.JPG.7590458055a96f899642e8cc63deb1b3.JPG

DSC02350.JPG.040a771b362ecee200423d899c9e3607.JPG

I'm an eternal optimist. I did the left (easy) side about a month ago. (No noticeable difference) I did the right side this morning. With one of the thrustwashers replacing the OEM washer on top, the clip fit with no grinding needed. It is easier to steer, but no one is going to mistake it for power steering. I'll never be in the same class as B10Dave, who seems to finish a trailer build between one meal and the next. :$

Edited by dhoadley
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Not quite Dave. But the motorcycle trailer should be finished this coming week. Nice job on the "poor man's power steering".

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