[Ford-ferguson] 8N Steering Question

[soffiler at myeastern.com]

Hi Ford-Ferguson folks:

I just got a note from a very good friend of mine who is
helping another friend with his 8N.  Please note his email
to me, below.  Any comments would be appreciated.  Online
sources for this bearing?  Rumor has it that Ford might have
superceded the roller bearing with a Delrin (plastic)
bearing.  Anyone heard of that?  Comments?

Best regards, 
Steve O.

-----ORIGINAL MESSAGE-------

> Hi Steve,  
>        How are you?  Tractor question.
>   I am trying to fix the steering on George's 1948 8n. 
The
> steering wheel has a half turn of play in it.
>   Are you familiar with the early (48-49)  4 bolt
> adjustable sector steering boxes?  I need to find a
> replacement bearing for the steering shaft. The bearing is
> made of 11  barrel shaped rollers loose in a bearing cage.
> It's angled like a tapered wheel bearing. 
>   I copied this old (1998) ATIS message below , because
> this is the same problem.  
>    Any suggestions for sources?  
>   Nat
 



> ----------------------------- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998
> 11:53:54 -0600 From: "John M. Bukowski"
> <bukowski at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Subject: RE: 8N Steering The
> ford-ferguson list is maintained by ATIS. See
> http://www.atis.net for more info.
> **********************************************************
> ****************** * Matt, I haven't been following the
> thread, so excuse me if I relay info you already have. I
> have a 49 8N which had the same wobble condition in 3rd
> gear and up. I think your steering gear is the same as
> mine (early 8N and not 2N). You can check for free play in
> the sectors by remove the drag arms at the steering arm,
> and move the arms back and forth while holding the
> steering wheel. If you feel any freeplay, remove the bolts
> in the adjustable eccentric sector and rotate to take up
> the slack. I think this adjustment is done after you check
> preload on the upper steering shaft bearing. (Its been 2
> years since I rebuilt mine, so the exact sequence is a
> little foggy - you can check the I&T manual). If your gear
> is as worn as mine was, you need a rebuild. My problem was
> the steering shaft bearings, which will reduce preload on
> the shaft and increase clearance on the sector shafts. The
> whole rebuild of the steering gear is straight forward.
> The I&T manual has good details; There was an article a
> few years back in the N newsletter which went through the
> procedure for each flavor of gear. The parts manual could
> be useful as well. I guess it is possible that your
> sectors are worn that much, but I would check for other
> causes first. I hope this helps, and if you more detail
> just ask. john bukowski bukowski at uiuc.edu