Stx 38 steering problem

MattRichWarren

Forum Newbie
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Threads
2
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Hey folks.

My steering wheel doesn't work anymore. When I turn the wheel, it turns about ten degrees, then I have to click it past a stop in the motion, then the same thing and the same thing over again. All the time I'm moving the wheel, it's not turning anything on the machine.

Could someone give me a place to start looking in order to repair it. I'm pretty handy once I can get a diagnosis and know what I'm looking for.

I have a video of me turning the wheel and what it does if you want to shoot me an email: mattrichwarren at gmail.com.

Thanks for the help!
 

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Threads
64
Messages
24,647
This is a big job so allocate a full weekend for it and lay the parts out in order because there a re a lot of washers that are all different thicknesses.
The steering wheel turns a shaft and welded onto the end of this shaft is a gear.
The shaft turns in 2 plastic bushes that wear oval providing enough slack for the pinion gear on the end of the steering shaft to skip over the teeth on the fan gear.
The shaft the the fan gear is on also has 2 plastic bushes that wear ,
So it is off with the steering wheel then one at a time pull all of the bits out.
I like to stand the mower vertical when doing this as the steering shaft comes out from the bottom so you need a good 2' to 3' of clean space under the mower to remove it.
The same story with the fan gear & its shaft.
have a good look at the teeth .
If they are worn down the replace both gears and the plastic bushes.
The steering gear is conical and at an angle to the fan gear which is horizontal so you shim the steering gear to get proper mesh with little back lash & no binding.
Go to the JD web site look up your mower and print out the page with the steering on it.
If you sand it up, drain the fuel & remove the battery.
 
D

Deleted member 97405

Guest
The STX series had the steering built into the lower dash section below the fuel tank.
If yours is green, it is the original style.
The black lower sections were beefed up and usually last longer.
Most likely that section broke and now your steering is all wacky.
I have replaced alot of these over the years.
Order a new lower dash section or find a good used one.
If buying a used one, make sure you buy a black one!
To do the job, it's pretty straight forward swapping parts over to the new section.
Here are the pics of the parts diagram assuming you have a yellow mower deck.
If you have a black mower deck, let me know and I will attach those as well.

**The key to making the steering last longer on this series(or any series) is to regularly grease the front axle spindles and keep your front tire air pressure at about 14psi. But sometimes, parts just break no matter what you do. I have 2 of these machines personally and have never broken the steering...yet, but have replaced many here at the dealership over the years. :)

Will

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