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N875ED

520H Turning Radius

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N875ED

Is the tractor supposed to turn with an equal radius to both the left and right? I noted my unit turns a much smaller radius to the left than to the right, which may be as-designed since edging is done on the left side (due to the right hand discharge) which would make a tighter left turn desirable.

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ebinmaine

I can't speak for a 520 but I have a B/C series that certainly does do that.

 

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littleredrider

Both mine turn equal. Prolly the arm where the tie rod ends bolt got moved or tweaked....

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SPINJIM

I suspect that when the upper steering shaft was inserted into the fan gear on the lower steering shaft, the wheels weren't aligned straight.  So you're running out of fan gear teeth when you turn to the left.  If you can pull the upper steering shaft up enough to realign the gears, that should fix it.  

   Jim

Edited by SPINJIM
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Lee1977
37 minutes ago, SPINJIM said:

I suspect that when the upper steering shaft was inserted into the fan gear on the lower steering shaft, the wheels weren't aligned straight.  So you're running out of fan gear teeth when you turn to the left.  If you can pull the upper steering shaft up enough to realign the gears, that should fix it.  

   Jim

You have to loosen the set screw in the collar on the upper steering shaft to adjust the fan gear.  Check with the fan gear straight up and centered if the triangle up front is straight down as over the years we have found some welded off center. There were times that Quality Control was not what it should have been after Mr. Pond sold the company.

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SPINJIM
On 5/23/2020 at 4:58 AM, N875ED said:

equal radius to both the left and right?

 

I was thinking more about your problem with the steering while I was working on my steering.   If you have trouble loosening the collar at the top of the steering shaft, it might be easier to move the lower steering shaft.   You would just have to pull the cotter pin at the back end of the lower (horizontal) steering shaft, and slide it forward enough to disengage the fan gear.  Then, with the wheels straight, center the gears and slide the lower shaft back into position.   While you have that cotter pin out, you might want to take some play out of the steering linkage by adding a shim washer at the back of the shaft to keep the gears better engaged.  You have to crawl under the tractor to do all of that, but sometimes those collars on the under (vertical) shaft are a bear to loosen.  Good luck.

   Jim

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Tgalo

My 520 does that as well. The lower shaft where the tie rods connect is welded off center from the fan gear. Looks factory to me... I figured mine was built on a Friday afternoon...

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dalez

Can't see how the steering wheel would affect the radius of the turns. The gear is 360 degrees against the fan gear so it does not really matter except where the steering wheel spokes are when centered. I could be wrong.

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lynnmor
27 minutes ago, dalez said:

Can't see how the steering wheel would affect the radius of the turns. The gear is 360 degrees against the fan gear so it does not really matter except where the steering wheel spokes are when centered. I could be wrong.

If the tie rods were adjusted to unequal lengths to center the steering wheel, that may be the issue.

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wrightorchid

I have the same issue.  This gives me a few ideas to check.  I know the steering wheel is not centered and it turns more to the right, than the left.  Also, if hard right turn, the left wheel digs in, like they are not staying parallel to each other, the left is turning more than the right.

 

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Duff
On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 7:12 PM, wrightorchid said:

I have the same issue.  This gives me a few ideas to check.  I know the steering wheel is not centered and it turns more to the right, than the left.  Also, if hard right turn, the left wheel digs in, like they are not staying parallel to each other, the left is turning more than the right.

 

Late getting into this conversation, but your description tells me you should realign the front end. Once you have the steering wheel issue settled (centered), I've found that you should, with both front wheels pointing straight ahead, set a 1/4" toe-in, that is, the distance between the front tires measured at the front should be 1/4" less than the distance between the tires measured at the rear. I've adjusted to this on all four of my 300-series machines and my 520H and they all turn very smoothly.

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