Getting Slop Out of MTD Steering

Ron,

I tried to get the photos for you in a tight area without a wide angle lens handy. I also grabbed a photo of the door handles I put on each side on the rear fenders for cutting along the side of a slope. They are handy for many things.

You should be able to see the toe out.

Forgive not cleaning off the saw dust before I took the photos. I'm building upper cabinets in the Garaj Mahal and saw dust is everywhere!

Max

Ron,

Sorry, but the conversation on this subject (steering slop) - (in a machine that as far as I can tell has slop built into it) has become far too technical for yours truly. If I can't fix it by beating the crap out of it with a ballpein hammer, then it has surpassed my level of expertise.

I bow out..

Roger

Roger B said:

Ron,

Sorry, but the conversation on this subject (steering slop) - (in a machine that as far as I can tell has slop built into it) has become far too technical for yours truly. If I can't fix it by beating the crap out of it with a ballpein hammer, then it has surpassed my level of expertise.

I bow out..

Roger

Click to expand...

I know we've strayed off topic some...........
As for the built in slop, some yes, some no.
I have found that a less used rack gear has far less slop than my well worn item.
There is a bit of slop between pinion and rack gears, as well as in the toe rod linkages
which attach to the rack gear using plastic, somewhat semi-spherical bushings that wear out quickly.
I am going to attempt to reduce the clearance between gears by shimming the rack gear downward,
causing the teeth to mesh more completely.
As for the tie rods, either metal bushings (as you have done) or maybe Heim joints..dunno at this time.
Thanks for your participation, and chime in if anything comes to mind,,,

Anyway, stay tuned!

Roger,

Hang on there buddy! There are places we haven't even ventured that may allow for an 8 ounce ballpein, perhaps even a 12 ounce and if difficulty persists, I'm saying drag out the 2 pound superduty, XL, SuperTorque Ballpein.

You could elongate the gears by beating them from the base of the gear to the tips, then reform them with a file or a grinder. Sucksex of such a venture would have a probability of less than you'd desire, but, it could be done. So, there is still hope a ballpein comes into this before we have your slack redacted.

I will say that I DO like "Sucksex", (at least what I can remember of it at my present age) and heating and beating metal is always a good way to work out frustrations.. (Which probably comes from a lack of sucksex... ) Jus sayin'

Roger

Being sucksexful means you've not been redacted I can only presume if I'm not allowed to assume.

I have stayed out of this one because while being of amusment interest you are basically trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear.
The pivot point of the front steering beam is so sloppy, making the angular movements of the wheel axels is somewhat self defeating exercise.
These mowers are made to a price Joe Public is willing to pay = CHEAP.
If you want precise steering then buy a better mower, like any of the models with a cast iron front steering beam with a grease point & bearing and adjustable front & back bearing plates for the steering beam.
That knocks out all of the domestic mowers.
Next you need one with both a right & left drag link fitted with proper tie rod ends at both ends and a joining rod ,again with real tie rod ends.
The lower bush on the steering gear needs to be adjustable to get proper meshing of the fan gear & the steering pinion and the fan gear needs to be double the thickness that it currently is.
The axel pivots need to run in a proper bush in a steel sleeve welded into the steering beam ( if you continue to use the original MTD item ) to properly support it at both ends.
Tapered rollers would of course be better again but that will add nearly $ 200 to the purchase price.

Yup. I understand your premise.
But, it is my sow's ear, and the more silk purse-like I can make it, the better.
My mower does have a cast iron crossbeam w/grease zerks.
No play in the spindle,crossbeam area.

I have already found that a new fan gear has considerably less slop than the old one.
That will help quite a bit.
Dropping the fan gear down a few thousandths will tale the excess clearance out of the fan gear to pinion interface.
But, the pinion meets the teeth of the fan gear at an angle.
That can't be to great for longevity, though this mower is 13 years old.

Alleviating the wheel to spindle slop will also help.

Looks like the remaining culprits will be the steering linkages.
Weakest spot is the plastic bushings where the linkages connect to the fan gear.
What I need is a lathe and a rod of teflon, but I own neither.
I may not be able to achieve much there. Dunno.....

Anyway, sit back and be amused.
I hopefully will provide some good,cheap entertainment.
I'm retired and its winter time; what else do I have to do???
G'day..........

Trevor,

I've been waiting for you to jump in. Considering this is an age old question that has been asked in this forum since at least '10 and you hadn't waded in and given the official method of purchase and replace parts along with part numbers. I thought it appropriate to give these old Southern Rednecks a few work-arounds they can do at home with materials they can find laying around with little to no expense after they've purchased their new parts and it doesn't "cure" their original problem. Sloppy MTD steering.

As you said earlier, buy and replace will not remove the "slop" as it is a stamped unit overall. However, all things can be improved and it doesn't always require a machine shop to accomplish the desired outcome.

Sometimes these old mowers are more of an old family member than anything else.

Thanks for jumping in and hope you were entertained. Its always a pleasure hearing you give straight advice. Oh, you left Roger out though, he needs to swing his ball pein at something. lol

Sorry if I an dredging up a much beaten topic.
I had done a cursory search prior to my initial post and didn't see anything that appeared to be pertinent.
It's not like I'm asking for the best bicycle chain lube.........

Maybe I should have dug deeper??