Getting Slop Out of MTD Steering

Nah, it ain't no thang!

If you want to read some of the other folks replies, I will give you the link to a 2010 question. Some of it is more entertaining than myself. lol

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showt...r-of-steering-linkage-MTD-14-5-HP-42-quot-cut

Max

mhavanti said:

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

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Well there is really nothing you can do without hand made modifications and bespoke mower repairs is not what I do.
The lower bush on the steering rod can be replaced with a std metal bush if the shaft is not too chewed through.
Then you have to find something for the top where the shaft passes through the turret.
So now you have the shaft running true you need to look at the fan gear, a thoroughly bad idea.
Followed by getting the play out of the gears you then need to look at all of the linkages & tie rod ends so it is a very big job that no one would ever pay for.
I have trouble getting people to pat for a replacement bush till they no longer come into contact and the mower will only steer to the right.

mhavanti said:

Nah, it ain't no thang!

If you want to read some of the other folks replies, I will give you the link to a 2010 question. Some of it is more entertaining than myself. lol

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/showt...r-of-steering-linkage-MTD-14-5-HP-42-quot-cut

Max

Click to expand...

Yup. I had already seen that one, but it pertains pretty exclusively to the ball joint rod end failure.

Thanks!

I gotta go along with Bert "The Mobile One", I don't think the steering in these El Cheapo tractorcators is made to anything that would approximate what a machinist might consider "Specifications".. (Well, unless he was dealing with quarter-inches instead of thousands.)

Even if old components are replaced with new, being as they are made from the mildest of mild steel a few years of regular usage will result in sloppy steering all over again... Why waste the time and $$$???

Trev, You momentarily knocked me back with "Bespoke"!! But then it's more of a British term than an American... Again, you never cease to impress,,, (but then I'm just an impressible lad..)

Roger B

I know this thing is not a John Deere or Mahindra or Kubota or even a Gravely........
But, for my needs it works jut fine.
I'm sure that I will never achieve perfection in steering.
But........
There is a rather significant difference between the steering as it was when new,
and what it had degraded to over the years.
Replacing a few relatively inexpensive components will restore it to a great extent,
and a few lo-tech mods should even improve on that.
So, where's the harm??

Ronno6 said:

So, where's the harm??

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El-Ron-O,

There is 'no harm' my friend and if the project makes you happy, that's what working on these little beasties is all about.. (Assuming you aren't like Bert-Man and trying to eke-out a living repairing them for others.) My methods are just designed to be less expensive (that's what makes ME happy) and more time consuming, keeping me involved longer and less likely to be out on the streets bothering others...

No doubt you'll have that tractor steering as tight as a race car by the time you're done and you'll be able to spin the steering wheel from lock-to-lock with the touch of a finger...

Carry on...

Roger B

Roger B said:

El-Ron-O,

There is 'no harm' my friend and if the project makes you happy, that's what working on these little beasties is all about.. (Assuming you aren't like Bert-Man and trying to eke-out a living repairing them for others.) My methods are just designed to be less expensive (that's what makes ME happy) and more time consuming, keeping me involved longer and less likely to be out on the streets bothering others...

No doubt you'll have that tractor steering as tight as a race car by the time you're done and you'll be able to spin the steering wheel from lock-to-lock with the touch of a finger...

Carry on...

Roger B

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Thanks.Roger B. I embrace your philosophy!
Though I have done many a "courtesy" repair, mostly for lil ole Ladies in distress, I have never attempted to make a living at it, nor do I want to take the bread off the tables lf those who do....... I can never allow myself to charge what the job should cost.
I mostly work on racing bicycles. I ride some,too.

Here's the latest:
I installed the new fan gear and pinion. The fit had very little slop in the meshing of the two, but the fan gear still exhibited a tad of wobble side to side.
I took about .005 off the thickness of the pilot portion of the flanged pivot and guide bushings, drawing the fan gear pretty snugly against the support bracket. That virtually eliminated the play there.
Slathered on the grease and put her together.
New plastic bushings at the gear end of the tie rods, and,now there is as little play in the system as possible.
The most play I notice is a rocking of the cast iron cross bar. I may have to shim that up a bit, but I'll wait and see.
No biggie there as that does not affect the slop in the wheel steering....that is, the wheels will not flop around due to crossbar slop.

I am awaiting arrival of a couple new parts, then I'll get everything reassembled and see how she steers.

Crank in some toe out, center my steering wheel, and we'll hit the grass.

I do need to clean out the carb,tho. It always has been a hard-starter, even when hot.
I have not gone thru the carb since the ethanol days back in Florida.
Straight gasoline here in Southern Mississippi! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Ronno6 said:

Straight gasoline here in Southern Mississippi! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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Ron,,

Are you saying that all gas sold in MISS is ethanol free? What does it cost/gal?

Ethanol free gas is available here in FL, especially anywhere near the coast where boating is prevalent, but it costs around $.50/gal more than the cheapest 10% ethanol treated gasoline.

Roger

Roger B said:

Ron,,

Are you saying that all gas sold in MISS is ethanol free? What does it cost/gal?

Ethanol free gas is available here in FL, especially anywhere near the coast where boating is prevalent, but it costs around $.50/gal more than the cheapest 10% ethanol treated gasoline.

Roger

Click to expand...

Nope. However, non-ethanol gas is readily available.
There are 4 or more stations within a 10 mile radius that offer non ethanol gas.
Current price is about $2.30/gal, while the ethanol gas is $2.08 or so.
One of the perks of living in an oil-producing State!

The closest station that carried N/E gas back in Fla to where I lived was 22 miles, and the ethanol-free gas was typically $1.00/gl MORE that the ethanol gas.

I should have looked here before I posted, newbie mistake.

My new to me, 1990 White AWS has an issue with the steering gear "jumping" teeth.
I have looked at it, cleaned it, realigned it, but it still jumps, it is sloppy like is described above.

I will have to follow some of the posts and attempt to "tighten" things up.
My gear set up looks the same as in the first images in this thread.

Robin

Below is what I posted in the other thread:

I have just become the owner of a 1990 White 4WS Ride on.
It needed some work done on it as it appeared to have been unloved by its previous owner.
So far I have replaced tyres, recovered the seat and repainted the bonnet.
And oil change, new mandrill for the cutting deck, new bearing in the other mandrill, and have on hand new rear universals, the old ones have no needles in them.
I will replace them over winter.

I have an issue with the gears where they mesh underneath the steering box.
It keeps jumping teeth, the gears and sprockets do not appear to be worn, but maybe they are.

I am sure others will have had this issue.
Any pointers wellcome