[Farmall] Steering gear lube

Thu Oct 12 14:02:20 PDT 2006

I used JD corn head lube in the steering reservoir on my 340U (with PS), and 
it (so far) has cured the leakage thru the seals on the side steering arms. 
I did not replace the seals.  Basically it is a lighter grease ( #1 vs #2 as 
I recall) than the standard bearing grease.  But it is indeed a solid, and I 
had to pump it in via a grease gun.  My 340 required about 3 1/2 tubes. 
Worked for me.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Hall" <jthall at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 9:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Farmall] Steering gear lube


> Maybe it was on the tractor list guys were talking about using cornhead 
> grease to fill leaking gearboxes. Might be worth looking into.
>
> John Hall
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike Sloane" <mikesloane at verizon.net>
> To: "Farmall/IHC mailing list" <farmall at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 5:05 PM
> Subject: Re: [Farmall] Steering gear lube
>
>
>>I don't know what is right or wrong, but all the H/M type steering 
>>gearboxes I have seen, including the two I have owned, were filled with 
>>grease. That seems to be the generally accepted way of dealing with 
>>steering box leaking seals. The alternative is some serious major surgery, 
>>and a couple of bucks worth of grease seems to do the job just fine.
>>
>> As far as the transmission, you may find that just draining enough out of 
>> the housing to remove the water that has collected there may be 
>> sufficient - 90 WT transmission oil really doesn't lose it lubricating 
>> qualities over time. If the tractor has been sitting a week or so, all 
>> the water will be on the bottom, so all you need to do is crack the 
>> bottom plugs enough to let the water (and the usual crud and filings) run 
>> out, then check the level and top it off, if necessary.
>>
>> Just my (cheapskate's) opinion, and other may feel free do suggest more 
>> expensive alternatives. :-)
>>
>> Mike
>>
>> Dean Vinson wrote:
>>> I made some more progress today on getting the M caught up on 
>>> maintenance.
>>> Went around with a grease gun and the operator's manual to be sure I 
>>> found
>>> all the fittings, then took the cover plate off the steering gear 
>>> housing.
>>> The manual says to put 90-wt oil in there but it had some heavy grease
>>> instead, which seemed like a good idea so I added a little on general
>>> principle and closed it back up.  So there's a lot of grease slopped 
>>> around
>>> the worm and sector, but they're not literally bathed in it or in oil. 
>>> Is
>>> that the general practice?  I'm sure it'll be fine for the light use 
>>> this
>>> tractor is going to get.  My main concerns are (a) to keep the worm and
>>> sector from unnecessarily getting more worn, and (b) to not have oil 
>>> oozing
>>> down the steering bolster.
>>>
>>> Item b seems like a definite possibility, too, if I put oil in there, 
>>> since
>>> there's some noticeable play in the bolster when I turn the steering 
>>> shaft
>>> and the worm gear starts to pull on the sector.  There's maybe 3/32ds of 
>>> an
>>> inch of slop in the position of the sector gear, front to back along the
>>> axis of the tractor.  Looking at the parts book, I assume that means 
>>> that
>>> either the "upper bolster pivot shaft thrust bearing" or the shaft 
>>> itself
>>> are worn, or both.  So even if the oil seals were new there'll be a lot 
>>> of
>>> movement in there anytime I use the tractor.  Unless Geoff Gauger
>>> spontaneously decides to come over to Ohio and rebuild this M, I suspect
>>> that worn bearing is going to stay exactly as it is for a very long 
>>> time.
>>> :-)
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, it's good to see that the worm and sector aren't in too bad
>>> shape, and to get some grease in all the various fittings.  While I had 
>>> the
>>> grille off I took the opportunity to mostly straighten out some dents, 
>>> so it
>>> doesn't look too bad either.  Before winter I still want to flush and 
>>> refill
>>> the radiator, and drain and replace the transmission oil.  I'm not sure 
>>> if
>>> the PTO works so I may have to investigate that while I've got the
>>> transmission drained.  Probably be one of those Saturday-afternoon 
>>> projects
>>> that ends up taking about six times as long as I think it will.
>>>
>>> Dean Vinson
>>> Dayton, Ohio
>>> www.vinsonfarm.net
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Farmall mailing list
>>> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/farmall
>>>
>>>
>>
>> -- 
>> Mike Sloane
>> Allamuchy NJ
>> <mikesloane at verizon.net>
>> Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
>> Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
>>
>> He who fights with monsters might take care lest he
>> thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into
>> an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
>> -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)
>>
>>
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