I have a early 410 john deere with steering issues. I have play between the steering arms and the spindle hard to drive straight down the road. question is does one wear out faster, the spindle or the steering arm do they need to be replaced together as a set is this common . thanks for any help
Are you talking about the arm that should be bolted tight to the "spindle" that turns inside the axle tube? or the kingpin/spindle being loose inside the housing that it turns in. There should be bushings/bearings that could be replaced if the kingpin is loose.
yes I'm talking about the arm bolted to the spindle that turns inside the axle tube. With the machine sitting still and someone in the cab and one person at the arm if you move the steering back and forth you can see play in the assembly. I'm wondering if this is common and is one made to wear out first so as not to ruin the other or is it just wear and you have to replace both to make a tight factory fit again. Thanks again
I worked on a problem like this years ago on an old 310C forklift, steer knuckles/arms were so loose on the spindle that you looked like you were drunk driving down the road. If it's anything like that old 310, the spindle is a splined shaft on the end, not tapered, straight splines. The steering arm and knuckle fit on the splined shaft and bolt/washer holds it on the shaft. But being straight spline shaft, they tend to wear. Customer didn't have a fat wallet and asked if I could come up with a fix. I cleaned everything good, don't recall the product I used, but it was some kind of steel repair compound, maybe Devcon, seems I recall the compound was expensive (compared to stuff like JB Weld) and it had metal filings in it. I slathered that stuff on the shaft splines and inside the splines of the arm/knuckle, shoved it together and locked down the bolt/washer. Then I let it sit for about a week just to make sure the compound had ample time to cure. They're still using that old 310C.
#4 and #24 are definitely not supposed to wiggle. If they are moving against each other, then they're both worn enough that one new part won't hold tight and it will wiggle loose quickly. Another option is to weld some tiny beads on the bottom half of the contact surface and force the arm back on there. If you don't break the arm getting it back together then it might hold for a while.
i'll have to try something like that after market parts are around $1500 for both sides. you wouldnt think a splined shaft like that would wear out like it has, but then again i wouldnt last holding all that weight and trying to turn left or right at a stand still. thanks for the help.
I can highly recommend the Devcon product. I used it to repair the splined drive shaft on the rototiller I use behind my tractor
STEERING ARM RECLAIM KIT AT76136 KIT 1 (CONTAINS PLASTIC STEEL AND HARDENER) Here you go, the genuine article.
where would you purchase this at ? dealer or a web site? thanks
I just happened to see it when looking at the catalog online, jdparts.com. Could call your local dealer. If you log in it might give you a price, but I'd bet it's no longer available and if it is, it's the same thing as the other products. Deere isn't in the epoxy business, they just bought it and supply it to their dealers.
thanks I'll look into it