PbFlinger 81 #1 Posted 7 hours ago This has bothered me since we’ve had this tractor. Steering wheel off center. Wife’s mower for in town yard, used about 1/2 hour a week. Working on it since muffler broke (see thread in engines if interested) and deck belt shredded. Had 3 big trees fall in recent storms, blew siding off of 2 houses, rodents chewed wiring off of dishwasher, and… this seemed paramount today. Oh well, I’ve never been great at life choices. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PbFlinger 81 #2 Posted 6 hours ago Upon driving it around the block for ops check after the muffler repair, in addition to the annoying wheel misalignment, I noticed a tendency for it to wander at highway speed. Seemed to oversteer a bit on initial turn in by the mailbox, and was wallowy as hell on the switchback between the swingset & the fire pit. Needs attention. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8ntruck 8,853 #3 Posted 6 hours ago Sounds like you need to check the tie rod ends for excessive play. Do the wheels turn at the same angles at left lock and right lock? The pinion on the steering fan gear might have skipped a tooth or two, causing the steering wheel to be off center. Also, check the bearings blocks on the steering shaft that runs front to back under the engine for damage and wear. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PbFlinger 81 #4 Posted 6 hours ago (edited) By the way this is a 312-8. Upon investigating how the thing is put together, seems somebody in the past got the steering wheel shaft to sector off a toof or two. I was able to rectify this by dropping the steering shaft bearing mount forward of the engine, and removing the mounting bolts from the sector below the steering wheel shaft. This gave me enough slop to skip the teef back into proper alignment. Edited 5 hours ago by PbFlinger 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kpinnc 18,199 #5 Posted 6 hours ago 2 minutes ago, PbFlinger said: off a toof or two. Sadly the steering on these machines is the most likely part to be ignored during any maintenance. What you are repairing is what most of us have had to do as well. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PbFlinger 81 #6 Posted 6 hours ago With the wheel spur gear & steering sector now properly oriented & all reassembled, time for a little front end alignment. Set up a string to reference rear end centerline. Bungeed on a couple of straightedges. Used a couple tape measures to square front tires, then aligned with string off rear end. In absence of detailed alignment specs, with all 4 wheels pointed straight ahead, I gave it one turn on each tie rod end for some hoof in. This equated to about 1/2” difference at the ends of the straightedges. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PbFlinger 81 #7 Posted 5 hours ago Subsequent ops ck pretty successful. I didn’t see any porch lights come on, so the new muffler must be good. Hands off with wheel centered on the straightaway, no more wandering. Initial turn in by the mailbox showed a little push, slalom between swingset & fire pit showed a little oversteer. Dropped 1 psi on right front, 2 psi on both rear. Next lap much better, should be perfect with full tank & tires hot. 😁 Kidding, drives great now. Wife will probably never notice the difference. 🙄 Now I just have 3 big trees to cut up, a bunch of soffit & siding to fix, and a dishwasher pull & rewire. Back to reality 🐴 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 46,541 #8 Posted 1 hour ago How's the bump steer? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
