Repair Pony Steering

[handygeek]

Here's what I found when I disassembled things.

Looks more like damp shredded weeds than dust/sand in there.

I'm not seeing a lot of wobble in the deck hole after all.

I'm wondering if the sector gear assembly moved a little and it needs to be adjusted.

WDYT?

Thanks ...

 

[Jack17]

The parts you need to rebuild it are quite cheap. From what I can see in your pics you need the 5/8" steering shaft for sure. The gear at the end of it (middle of the teeth) is worn out. Make a habit of lubricating these parts with bearing grease and just brush it on. Try keep it clean of dirt. Dirt attracts and retains water corroding metal parts. Don't use that lithium grease. Use petroleum based grease.


BTW, and I don't wanna sound like you Mother but...for a one y/o Pony it looks pretty beat up!

 

[handygeek]

It was run real hard on our 5 acres, mostly driven by our 6'4" 280lb son, across uneven terrain with lots of weeds.

It's been outdoors, despite plans to the contrary, and he never cleaned any part of it.

I'm surprised it runs at all but intend to provide better maintenance from here-on and have cleared 1/2 of the garage to do mower and vehicle maintenance in a climate-controlled environment.

The percentage of the 5ac being mowed has been reduced considerably - which saves both time and stress on the mower.

Where is the best source (cost and quality) for the parts I need, please?

 

[shiftsuper175607]

It was run real hard on our 5 acres, mostly driven by our 6'4" 280lb son, across uneven terrain with lots of weeds.

It's been outdoors, despite plans to the contrary, and he never cleaned any part of it.

I'm surprised it runs at all but intend to provide better maintenance from here-on and have cleared 1/2 of the garage to do mower and vehicle maintenance in a climate-controlled environment.

The percentage of the 5ac being mowed has been reduced considerably - which saves both time and stress on the mower.

Where is the best source (cost and quality) for the parts I need, please?

IMO it looks like a new hex headed bushing and washer would take care of the wobble. The center of it has all the wear...again IMO... How is the deck worn, in your opinion?
never mind, I see you changed your mind about the deck.
As far as parts...mechanic mark says...use only OEM
There is also ereplacementparts.com and repairclinic.com, and ebay...
specific parts probably the first 3 I mentioned.

 

[handygeek]

TroyBilt Parts

Steering Shaft #738-0919A $33.07
Flange is #941-04124 $2.90
Subtotal
$35.97
Shipping
$2.99
Tax
$0.00
Order Total
$38.96

JacksSmallEngines

Steering Shaft 7380919A $28.56
Hex Flange Bearing 94104124 $2.48

Estimated Shipping(Lower 48 states): $8.95
Estimated Total: $39.99

Not a big difference

 

[Jack17]

http://http://www.troybiltpartsonline.com/


BTW, I don't think that you Pony is unable to handle 5 acres. The real difference between commercial quality and your mower is that with commercial you'd only need to spent two hours a season to maintain it properly. In your case could take eight..or more hours. Just don't be running it at its full forward speed while mowing. Change oil and lube more often then recommended. Learn the sounds it makes and don't ignore if something "squeaks". Address it right-away properly and she'll run for a long time.

 

[possum]

Hole in the floor has a wobble huh? Looks like the folks on here did know what they were speaking of and MTD does know how to keep customers from wobbling out the floor with those cheap parts and a worthless design. Amazing what a little lube does. Five acres over rough terrain with no lube for one year setting outside with a large person running it. I think rather than a poor design it was a quite a unit.

 

[handygeek]

As noted it is no longer mowing all 5 acres & I will will be doing the mowing and maintenance myself now.

My perspective was informed by several YouTube clips which stated a wobble problem caused by soft metal & poor design.

My neighbor has a different model which suffers the chronic failure of a pulley due to cheap Chinese bearings - now on # 3
in about a year he plans to retrofit a US part with properly manufactured (tempered) bearings.

Tearing it down doesn't indicate that floor-metal weakness was the primary source of the problem - in this case - but it's
odd that a critical joint is so poorly protected.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

In reality I see you being fortunate the sector gear didn't need replacing. Usually the most teeth used with left turns wear to a point as the pinion gear fails.

With the new pinion gear and the sector gear pivot bolt removed and greased along with the sliding parts and the king pins on the axle you'll swear someone added power steering.

 

[Jack17]

These things sell for a 1k at the store...what do you expect? Sure is gonna need tweaking, sure is gonna need more maintenance. Everything else aside, picture going over a rough terrain, holes, rocks, tree roots...front end taking all the beating. I always thought about putting a shock absorber on a draw-bar of a rider. You know, like the ones they put on pick up trucks or SUVs. Essentially, one end of the absorber bolts onto the frame and the other side u-bolts to the draw-bar. It should work and help protect steering components...don't it?