Difference in lo-boy steering

[Daniel H.]

I'm getting ready to start restoring the front end now that the motor is done. My lo-boy is a 1955, with the same tie-rod set up as a regular. I noticed on some of the later ones the tie rods appear to cross each other at the center. Why was this changed and is it worth changing on mine? Is the only different part the center arm? Also, anyone know what the adjustable tie-rods cost? I'm sure they are high, but mine are bent and welded and I don't think they can be salvaged.

[George Willer]

Daniel,

Your steering arm is correct for a '55. They were changed to the offset type during '57 to correct the steering Ackerman effect because of the shortened wheelbase. The change made them toe out farther in a hard turn so that neither wheel had to skid. It isn't a very important change... don't worry about it unless you spend a lot of time maneuvering on pavement.

There is a third arm that I think was only used on highway mowers that wasn't offset either, but made the steering quicker, I think. I'm sure Jim knows.

[Jim Becker]

The tie rods for the cross-over arm were slightly longer than the originals, which were in turn slightly longer than on a Farmall. I don't know if the highway mower steering arms made the steering any quicker, but they used real ball joint ends on the tie rods. I know of 8 different tie rods used on Cubs (not including the numbered Lo-Boys).