LOOSE STEERING ON FARMALL H

[brian kov]

. i am slowly getting things done on the H , today i pulled the steering rod out from in the rad. so that i may remove the rad and get the front of the motor all cleaned up . the steering is real sloppy ,i probably has 20 some degrees of free play , this is too much yes . can i be corrrected easily or is it a real job . also i looked beneath to see if it had a rad pet cock , some one jambed a piece of wood in there . i can not believe it hasnt leaked since i owned it , about 3 yrs now . i thought i had seen the last of the cobbleling when i removed the street bike muffler from the broken and welded manifold with tie wire holding it together

[WKPoor]

Brian, If the steering play can't be adjusted out with the nut then the gears are worn. If you are lucky you'll have the full round steering gear with an anused side. If not Ebay regularly has worm and gear sets for sale. Heck I think I've got a set if you think you may need them. Jack the front up and check bushing wear in the upper bolster. There is an upper and lower bushing there and that is where the road vibration comes from. If the lower bolster is loose in all directions ( it surely will be ) then those bushings need replaced. Still available at CNH.

[TJ]

Brian ,
WK's got you taken care of one other thing to look at is the U-joint on the steering rod itself. Might find some play there also.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Check where the splines where the gear goes on the shaft. EJ was badly worn there. just needed a new gear.

[brian kov]

how do i check the wear once i have it jacked up . should i just try to shake the front wheels around kinda like wheel bearings on a vehicle .i got the tree limb out of the rad drain hole ,i had to ream it out i didnt want my drill full of antifreeze . is there supposed ot be a petcock in there or just a plug . the universal in the steering columb is actually in good condition . so the play is in the bolster some where for sure .

[WKPoor]

Jack it up on the rails. The lower bolster will most likely be hanging loose in all directions. Might even be some up and down play. The rad uses a 1/4 NPT approx. 4" pipe and plug.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

you will need to let it down ans put weight on the wheels to find the play, especially if it is the splines.

[brian kov]

its sittin on the wheels right now . .i have the steering shaft out completely .when it was in yesterday i turned it back and fourth,so that play is most likely in the gears not to say the bolster ids tight ,its probably real loose too. i dont know what the heck they used this poor h for but it is deffinately worn , the brake and clutch have thje lil diamonds worn off and the hitchis badly worn and oblonged . i dont know wheather it was here it whole life or not , i wish it could talk.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Many of them worked long and hard. my old H has had engine overhauled 4 times in it's life, and the drawbar has been built up at least twice where the arm slides on it, and the hole in end of swinging drawbar has been built up at least 3 times.

[KETCHAM]

I need to do mine front end wobble Got a new gear and a frien showed me how to do it.He has a Super H.Can't wait to do mine!!!!Kevin

[WKPoor]

Some time ago and a story for another day, I had a chance to buy an H and the drawbar hole was perfectly round. That said everything to me about the tractors past.

[brian kov]

I TOOK THE COVER OFF OF THE steering and found a 1 1/2 " pan head wood screw to hold the castle nut ,it was barely hanging in there by the tip of the screw , .it seems that the is some play between the half moon gear and the vertical splined shaft , it is about an 1/8" measured at the edge of the half moon gear . should i build the gear splines up to tighten the gap i am just about to fire the saw up and cut some cribbing out of the extra barn timbers , then i can jack it up and check the bottom end of the steering bolster . hope fully that is decent then i can go onto cleaning the front of the engine since i was able to just get the rad off . i broke the rad bolts , are they studs that go into the rad ,if they are can i drill them out and put new studs in when it goes back together

[WKPoor]

Yes they are studs if I remember right. The rad sits on rubber washers on the bolster and the studs go through with nuts on the bottom.

[brian kov]

what do ya think about htat amount of play in the gear and shaft .

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Brian, most likely the play is in the gear, the shaft is much harder and the gear will wear faster. Normally when you see wear at that particular point it has had a loader on it for an extended period. give JP Tractor a call (at bottom of screen) they will sell you a good gear reasonably. That is where I got the one for EJ. It reduced the steering wheel play form almost half a round to about half an inch