throwout bearing yoke and drive shaft

[pett3227b]

I took a look at my throwout bearing yoke and drive shaft. The yoke is bent on one side. The drive shaft is also bent toward the same direction about a half an inch. I could put the yoke in my vise and get it strait again because I could use the unbent side as a guide. I was wondering If I could just bend the drive shaft a little by hand to where it is perfectly centered in the throwout bearing? within a 16th. Or do I need to remove the shaft and take to a machine shop? I can tell there is enough leverage to do it by hand. My guess is that 8 years ago when I split the tractor is when it got bent. we did not support the front end correctly and when we split the tractor it listed to one side.

[tst]

replace the yoke, they are only about $30

[pett3227b]

I am wondering if I can put the shaft into neutral and turn it freely? I have removed the front half of the cub and there is nothing on the front of the drive shaft. I want to turn it so I can see if it is truly bent. Thank-you

[Don McCombs]

Turn it with the PTO, if installed.

[Dale Finch]

You might need to loosely support the front end of the shaft, though.

[Gary Dotson]

Yes, just put the trans. in neutral and spin it. You’ll be able to see the runout and even measure it. Keep in mind that they about always have some runout, I seldom see them with less than 1/4”. They’ll work fine with that amount.

[pett3227b]

Okay I have spun the shaft after putting it into neutral. It has quite a bit of wobble about half an inch. Could I take a peice of pipe and bend it back into shape? I feel pretty confident now that I can spin it easily that I can get the shaft within 1/4 inch of center. Thank-ya'll for the advice.

[Glen]

Hi,
Your older post says that the Cub is a 1947 or 1948, with the 1st style of throwout bearing holder.
They have said on here that those holders are hard to find.
TM Tractor has a new holder, but only the 2nd style holder, which is much different.
I posted pics of the 1st style holder from TM Tractor at your post on April 4th.
If your holder is good, I would straighten the side that is bent, and use it again.
The holes in it need to be round, not worn.
People on here have welded the holes, and made them round again.
If you don't weld, you could take the holder to a shop that does welding, and ask if they can repair the holes.

Below are the pics at TM Tractor.

http://www.tmtractor.com/tm-tractor/gcl/yoke1_001.htm

If the pin at the top of the holder is worn, TM Tractor has a new pin.

If the front tipped to the left when you split the Cub before, you probably didn't put wood wedges at the front axle pivot.

Before splitting a Cub, you need to put wood wedges in at the front axle pivot.
A Cub is heavier on the left side, and they can tip over when splitting them, or removing heavy parts of them from the rear, without wedging the front axle pivot.
Below is a pic of the wedges, you will need to make them.
Hammer them in tight, and be sure they aren't hitting at the small end.
They should be tight on the top and bottom sides.
They don't have to be cut at so much of an angle.
Check them some during the work to be sure they don't come loose.

[pett3227b]

I'll ask again would I be damaging things if I bent the drive shaft some with the rear portion of the shaft still connected to the rear of the tractor? I could do it by hand and spin it until it is as centered as I can get it.

[Gary Dotson]

Sure, give it a try, you really have nothing to lose. Don’t be surprised to find it a lot tougher than you expect, though.

[Jim Becker]

I'll ask again would I be damaging things if I bent the drive shaft some with the rear portion of the shaft still connected to the rear of the tractor? I could do it by hand and spin it until it is as centered as I can get it.

I did that to one, once. It is my most heavily used Cub, and has only been about 25 or 30 years.

[pett3227b]

I took another look at the drive shaft and I doubt that I can bend it back into alignment with it in place. I also measured how far off center it is. It is just over a quarter of an inch out of center. Is this an acceptable amount of wobble? or should I have it straightened? I am also looking for a yoke for clutch. I can't seem to find one that will work in a 47' cub. Any ideas?

[Bill V in Md]

Below is a link to an old post of mine, regarding a bowed drive shaft. I attempted to straighten it, but really lacked the necessary equipment. I wound up replacing with a new shaft. To be honest, I was really having no known problems with this amount of bow in the shaft. I rotated the shaft from the pto and measured a vertical, up and down movement on the pilot bearing end of 0.146". That is to say that the pilot bearing end of the shaft was making a circular motion that had a diameter of 0.292". Actually it was more of an egg or elliptical shape because the horizontal displacement was not as bad. I split the tractor to replace the throwout bearing, but I do not believe it was damaged by the bowed shaft. There are several good point brought up by the replies to my post. Good luck.
http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5024&p=29590&hilit=bowed#p29590

[Gary Dotson]

I think you’ll be okay with it. When the tractor is assembled, the pilot bushing keeps the shaft running on center so there will be no effect on the clutch or throw out bearing.