Cub 124 steering issue need help

ed in cny · #1 05-30-2016, 10:02 PM

Had the steering go on the 124 last summer late in the year. Took the unit apart and rebuit it. New bearings and worm gear stud. Everything new. I packed it well with grease and it worked real well. I put it back in in hopes to use it with the blower in the winter. Didn't need it then as the winter was mild and it wasn't used. So off with the blower and back on went the mower. Have been using the mower up till today and again having issue with slop in the steering. Then it went just like that. I know I have it now apart again and the stud for the worm gear is completely gone. The grease looks to have all the metal from the stud in it. What has gone wrong to have to rebuild this again so soon? I've not used it that much this spring to warrant it was over use that's for sure. It does ride in the truck when not in use at times. Could that lead to this issue? I know have to rebuild this all over again. This time though it came agart real easy. Guess I know what I was doing. Any of you have any ideas what is causing this and what to look for? Thanks.

ol'George · #2 05-30-2016, 10:12 PM

possibly the worm "stud" you used was not hardened properly????
I'm thinking they are case hardened and if you ground it or turned it in a lathe you took the case hardening off??
About the only thing I can think of.

olds45512 · #3 05-30-2016, 10:14 PM

sounds like you got a weak cam follower or you had it adjusted to tight which might have caused the premature failure.

ed in cny · #4 05-30-2016, 10:58 PM

The cam follower as you call it was from a reliable online source. I had it working fine I thought. It turened real smooth andeasy. I just can't believe it would have eaten not only the taper point but some of the un-threaded area as well. I got the replacement parts form here. And I think I bought the other last summer here as well. Any though on this supplier?

http://ccspecialties.org/steering_se...TINUE+SHOPPING

ol'George · #5 05-31-2016, 06:59 AM

The kind of wear you speak of, in that short amount of usage, seems to indicate as I mentioned in the previous post, that a finished part missed the heat treatment, it happens.
Nothing is foolproof, clean it up and file test it, the file should indicate it is soft.
if so, I suggest you clean things up and replace the soft worm/cam follower.
Post a close up picture of the follower on here, as that don't happen very often.

ed in cny · #6 05-31-2016, 09:27 AM

I'll see what I can do on the picture. The last one last fall was the same issue. It too was eaten up just like this one. Before I get to putting this new one in I will give it the file test to see if it's hard or not. Clearly do not want this to happen again. I have plans to mow with this 124 as it's a working tractor. I like it a lot. The only down fall it has is it's turning radius but that's something I can live with. I'll keep you posted on it guys. Thanks for the reply's.

olds45512 · #7 05-31-2016, 09:40 AM

Is the worm gear full of pits?

ed in cny · #8 05-31-2016, 10:15 AM

Not sure I'll have to get it on the bench and cleaned up before I can say. Something worth checking on. I sure would like to diagnose this time around. Fin the parts cheep enough but don't need to be replacing them this often.

john hall · #9 05-31-2016, 12:27 PM

x3 on a soft cam follower. I'm pretty certain those are case hardened. Some folks say you can clean one up in a lathe, it doesn't work too well, I've tried. Others attempt to dress it up on a bench grinder. not accurate at all. I have even heard of trying to make one out of a grade 8 bolt, still not a fan. All of these comments are based on 26 years of being a machinist. My option to repair one is to set the part up on a surface grinder and clean it up or just order a new one form Cadet. There may be aftermarket ones just as good, I have never looked into it. If you are making a trailer queen then I suppose anything would work, but for a worker I wouldn't try to reinvent the wheel,so to speak. Let us know if you find damage to the worm gear that is causing this or something else weird going on, never heard of a new cam follower going out so quickly. Also, I have no knowledge or your supplier so I am NOT trying to knock the quality of his products, just offering my observations.

ed in cny · #10 05-31-2016, 04:52 PM

Oh I'm not knocking them either. I ordered the parts yesterday evening. The parts are already in the mail to me. Ought to get them in a day or two. I'd say then have shipping down that's for sure.

If the first cam follower went similar to the second I wish I had it to test. I did run my finger on the worm gear and it was smooth to the touch. I didn't notice anything out of the norm on it. Last time I replaced the bearings races and cam follower. I have same coming just in case it needs it. I'm not cobing it with something else. The cam follower is new same as last time.

Not making a trailer queen, it's hasn't been redone but it sure was well taken care. It had a good life and looks good after all these years. I just hate to see them just sit in the barn and go untouched. I want to see it work.

I'll keep an eye on that worm gear too.

Funny thing the steering on the Oliver super 55 I have went last summer too. It is almost the same setup. Bearings top and bottom of a worm gear. However it has ball bearing that run in a sort of tube that it wraps around the worm gear. No cam follower on that one. Guess it was a lot like the 8N ford too. It must have been economic to make and is for sure easy to work on.