Bent steering/suspension parts? & questions?

[EricWww]

15+ years ago when I was mowing with my 1450 (was my parents at the time, just acquired it)- I drove it into a brick wall in a turn and knocked something out of alignment (can't remember if it was a left or right turn) but I think I hit the left front wheel. At that point the tractor would turn to the left but not turn too far to the right. The front tires seemed to be pigeon toed as well. After that incident my parents forbade me to mow the yard (yay!) and the tractor sat ever since. You may have seen the other thread where I got it running again.

So last night - I spent most of the evening trying to fix this. Nothing seemed "obviously" bent- but we know how deceptive that could be. My theory is the impact from the wall pushed the left tire back somewhat which would cause the steering rod from the steering box to "lengthen" in relation to the geometry- thus causing the tractor to turn left sharply but not right.

I am familiar with suspension geometry, set up and theory- on both sports cars (Corvettes mainly) and sport bikes. However- being that this tractor is not a sports car, no sports bike nor does it even have a sprung suspension.

If this were my car or bike - I'd replace what I thought was bent and then have it aligned by a good quality aligner. I have done the string method before but on a sports car with wide tires and a fully independent and adjustable suspension, that usually isn't accurate enough, as that car is even sensitive to caster slightly off.

So- first, to mostly correct the L and R imbalance- I adjusted the rod between the left knuckle and the steering box to it's minimum length and it was much better. The left and right is now about even- though I may pull the steering wheel to adjust it on it's splines as it's a little "off".

I then set the toe in using the marking the center of the tire at axle level in front with string - measuring length, then rotating those points to the back and measuring again and adding 1/8" to set the toe in. The tractor drives much straighter now.

My first question is- although something is probably still bent- likely the front left knuckle, maybe the axle)- should I even bother? This is a tractor and it drives straight now. I won't use it enough to gain any funny tire wear. Hopefully I adjusted it enough that it's somewhat "in spec" now, even though the components are at the edge of their adjust-ability range.

Second question is- how much play is considered normal on the steering wheel? I can jiggle the wheel left and right about 1/8 of a turn before it starts to move. There's obviously some slop- as I'm sure the tie rod ends are a little worn as it the steering box. I just have no frame of reference- on tractors being used to sports cars where 1/4" of steering wheel input makes a difference.

Now I'm reading about steering modifications to tighten up the steering and suspension including upgraded heim joints, fabricating a bushing for the axle pivot point and higher gear ratio steering boxes with a thrust bearing :lol: so just like in the car world- I thought about doing this but I need to draw the line somewhere for my actual intended use. :lol:

[Yosemite Sam]

You may or may not have bent/damaged something in your crash. Many of us here agree that the steering on these old tractors was "set up" to turn tighter to the left from the factory. This was done to make mowing close to obstacles easier with less jockeying around (keep in mind that weed whackers were few and far in-between in 1978.

You may want to remove the tire and check to see if the spindle is bent or not.

As far as the play in the steering goes, a little play in the steering gear won't really hurt anything (but it won't get any better on its own either) replace tie rod ends as you see fit, spend as little or as much on tie rod ends as you want, you know how you will be using this machine and how you want it to handle.

Be sure to raise the front end of the tractor and check the front axle pivot pin (this is fairly important to the longevity of your machine). The axle pivot pin should be pinned through the front bushing on the axle saddle. you want the axle to pivot on the pin, you do not want the pin to pivot in the bushings. Often times the grease zirk in the front axle is overlooked, the pin rusts itself to the axle and the small pin will break causing the axle pivot pin to pivot in the bushings. Did I say "axle", "pivot" and "pin" enough times to confuse you? Look up the front axle in one of the parts lookup sites and you will see how it works.

Do keep in mind that 8 mph is about what you can expect out of this thing, so set your steering up accordingly.

Just my opinion, but narrow front tires on these machines makes steering much easier, easier steering causes less stress and wear on the steering components. If you already have 3/4" spindles, no changes other than wheels, bearings and tires are needed to accomplish this. If you have 1" spindles wide tri rib tires help as well.

[EricWww]

Thanks for the detailed reply. Fascinating to note about the weed whacker and the left turns - I think my dad had one of the original Weed Eaters- maybe there's a forum for that like these Cub Cadets

I'll definitely pull the tire and check pivot pin plus the spindle for size and bending. I'm not near the tractor tonight but will report back as soon as I get to it. This suspension is very simple compared to my car's double wishbone with the transmission in the rear

[J-Mech]

You are posting a lot of questions..... which I guess is good, but man I get tired of reading before I get through it...

Here's a couple really simple things to keep in mind:
1.) It's a garden tractor, not a Corvette.
2.) It's a garden tractor, not a Corvette.

I'm going to address all your threads here, because I'm too lazy to post in them all:

A little play in the steering is OK. It doesn't even quite make it to 10MPH. Tires aren't going to wear our fast, and if they hold air, I'd leave them alone. Points are easy to replace and seldom wear out. Don't replace them unless they are truly bad.

Please stop comparing your Cub to your Corvette. They don't have anything in common except maybe the both have 4 wheels and a motor.

[olds45512]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

Please stop comparing your Cub to your Corvette. They don't have anything in common except maybe the both have 4 wheels and a motor.

what if his corvette is yellow?

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by olds45512

what if his corvette is yellow?

Actually that'd be pretty funny... and cool!

[ol'George]

My Ih tractors are red, The Deer's are green
The trucks are white & red the other utes are red/silver
The Classics are yellow and black
----The Vette is red of course
Does it matter?
Naw, He who dies with the most toys still dies dammit

[finsruskw]

And corvettes are/were boats in the Great Brittan's Navy

[EricWww]

Just wanted to update this thread, yes 8 months later. As I had the engine out, rebuilt the steering, did the axle squeeze I finally took off the spindles. All this time I just lived with the fact the steering wheel would top out about 1.25 turns left and .8 turns to the right lock to lock, even with the drag link length set to minimum. After replacing all 4 tie rod ends, checking the rods for straightness by rolling them - something was still off.

Visually looking at the spindles, nothing looked apparently bent- as I didn't see any cracked paint or anything obvious. Upon further inspection- I placed the spindles on my granite kitchen counter (fairly flat and level) and compared the two. Here, you can clearly see the spindle is bent - the one with the drag link connector.

From this perspective you can see the spindle bent "backwards" compared to the other which would equate to me crashing the left tire into the brick wall. The "ear" that connects to the drag link may also be bent, though I have nothing to reference it to. Thus, I'll try to use a vice and long pipe to force the spindle back into shape. Failing that, replace the spindle.

[Randy Littrell]

I don't believe I would replace it. Its way good enough for a small tractor. Some of those parts would some times warp when welded and been that much off from day one.

If you start with your steering wheel and box in the center, just work your way out with adjustments till its squared up.

If you want to try and bend it, put it back together first. Much easier that way.




Randy