BX steering--something to watch out for

[frogpond]

Just a caution for all you BX owners: The other day, I started backing my BX25D out of the shed, and all of a sudden there was no steering. I looked down and saw that the left front wheel was pointig sideways. The vertical kingpin that connects the tie rod to the wheel had come out of its hole. The castle nut that holds it in place had disappeared. The remnant of the hairpin that holds the nut in place remained in the hole in the pin, and had to be punched out. I think it had broken off some time ago, and I was just lucky that it all came apart in the shed, and not while out working somewhere on the property. I couldn't find the nut.
I didn't want to take apart the other side to take the nut to a hardware store on the chance of finding a duplicate, and the dealer said no specs were available to them. They sold me one (about $5), and I should be able to put it back together today. I think I'll replace the pin with a more substantial cotter.
It would take only a moment for you to check on this, and you could prevent a serious accident.
I would like to recommend the dealer, Jennings Equipment in Puyallup WA, to anyone in the area. They were out of stock on this small item, but got it from another dealer in two days, and even texted me when it came in. I'm sure it was not a moneymaker. And this is typical of their operation.

 

[frogpond]

Something to add to that: it appears that the nut was missing for some time, as the threads on the pin were buggered up with wear from slipping around in the hole on the wheel assembly. The upper part of the pin is tapered, so it's a press fit into the hole. (Just bang it down, so you can keep it from rotating while you put the nut on). The thread had to be cleaned up with a die. It turned out to be a 3/8--20. And the proper tool to tighten up the nut was an impact driver.

 

[Tinhack]

It turned out to be a 3/8--20.

On a Kubota? Are your sure it wasn't a 10mm? Perhaps a 10x1.0mm thread.

 

[frogpond]

On a Kubota? Are your sure it wasn't a 10mm? Perhaps a 10x1.0mm thread.

Well, I checked the nut with a thread gauge, and then that's the die that fit, and then the nut went on and held. I think the tractors are a mix of metric and SAE.

 

[Tinhack]

Well, I checked the nut with a thread gauge, and then that's the die that fit, and then the nut went on and held. I think the tractors are a mix of metric and SAE.

Ok. But 3/8-20 is not a common size for SAE. Sounds like a British standard (BA). Or as we that do machining like to call "child with no father" thread. You won't find that at your local hardware store.

 

[frogpond]

Ok. But 3/8-20 is not a common size for SAE. Sounds like a British standard (BA). Or as we that do machining like to call "child with no father" thread. You won't find that at your local hardware store.

Tinhack, you're right! I finally had a chance to check on the die that I used; it's a 3/8-24. I just remembered it wrong when I wrote my original post. Thanks for the correction!