New to Cubs
 

I have had quite a number of lawn and garden tractors....just got my first Cub....a 129 with a Danco FEL...these are really a well made tractor....as you would expect the steering is sloppy from the weight of the FEL...I ordered the Ross bearing upgrade and when I jacked it up to install it ( too many hydraulic hoses go in from the side one would work on to do install it from above)...and I found a lot of slop in the left wheel spindle..which seems more like a large bolt passing through the cast axle, with a knuckle at teh top of it.....anyone know of a source to replace or rebuild that?...I am afraid that when I pull out that "bolt" I may find the cast iron may have worn away and need a bushing or bearings inside...the ball joints seem pretty good, but this point has a lot of play...Thank you for any help

First welcome to the club. A lot of us here would love to have one of those.

Welcome to OCC !:beerchug: You could have the axle hole over bored and a steel sleeve made slightly oversized for a press fit and replace the pin if it's worn , or bored and fitted with an oversize pin, ( machine shop work $$) if you can't do yourself ,also if not already done upgrade front axle to one with the 1 inch spindles to carry the weight of the loader better . Also be careful with a load in the bucket as it will lift way more than it can safely handle,don't have the load up in the air very high and try to turn very sharp, bad things will happen ,like upsetting ! how do I know ? :bigthink: They work great but have there limitations !!

When one overloads things, expect abnormal wear.
Not what you wanted to hear, but can't dispute facts.
Never been a fan of FEL's on light weight equipment.
That said,
You can go to a super front end, even add power steering.
Or replace the worn axle, & knuckle with good used from our sponsors or epay.:bigthink:
------But you are still overloading the basic design.

Welcome to OCC! Real nice FEL and tractor ya got there:beerchug:

Thank you for the nice welcome ...I just got this and intend to work it lightly ...some mulch, a little dirt, some snow moving...I found the looseness is in the top and bottom holes of the steering knuckle...the bolt, which acts as a spindle rides nice and snugly in its place through the axle...I will look around for another knuckle ...or possibly just weld some grade 8 washers ...there is room and the existing bolt is long enough that I could double them up for extra strength

Welcome to OCC Thats a great outfit you got! It should work well for your intentions.

:Welcome2:

Before you go cutting and welding on things. Take it apart and see what is going on. My first 1811 had slop in the front also. I found the bolt turning in the bushing, just needed tightening. The bushing should turn in the housing where the grease is. see #8 and #9

Welcome to OCC! Congrats on your 129 and loader.

By the way, tall skinny tires pumped up to max spec'd pressure will go a long ways towards lowering turning resistance of any tractor.