[AT] 8N Hard Steering - Update

Dudley Rupert drupert at premier1.net
Thu Dec 8 00:15:42 PST 2005


Well Al you appear to have hit the nail squarely on the head -
Yesterday the 8N owner and I raised the front end of his tractor and dropped
the spindles.  The bushings looked good, there was very little evidence of
wear on the spindles and there was plenty of grease up and down the
spindles.  BUT the spindle thrust bearings were locked solid.  In fact after
taking them out I drove a conical shaped piece of oak up through the inner
bearing race, clamped the bottom of the piece of oak in the vise and then
had to use a pipe wrench on the outer race before I could get the bearing to
start turning.  The inner races of both bearings were very tight on the
spindles and the outer races were very loose in the axle extensions.  The
"actual" thrust-bearing surface appeared to have become the surface between
the top of the bearings and the bottom of the axle extensions.  The
abundance of grease in this area probably attenuated what would otherwise
have most likely been some excruciating grinding noise when turning/steering
the tractor.
Amazing the difference two new fifteen-dollar ball bearings made - they may
wind up saving the owner hundreds of dollars.
Again, thanks for the responses.
Dudley
Snohomish, Washington

Al,
The owner bought the 8N we've been discussing some six or seven years ago
and he has no idea what its' history was prior to that.  I know that since
he bought it the spindle bearings have not been checked so you may well be
on to a problem area.  I talked with him briefly today and we plan the next
time he comes out, which will probably be within a week, to drive it into
the warm garage and drop the spindles and take a look.
Thanks for the tip -
Dudley
Snohomish, Washington


Dudley,
I'm wondering if the spindle bearings got too short on grease in the
past, allowing them to rust. Maybe not enough to lock solid, but enough
to impair function. I recently bought a farm wagon with this "feature"
and now get to replace the spindle bearings on it. Just my .02 worth.
Al in NW MN






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