TU155 stiff steering

[Chris_in_Oz]

Hi Guys,

The steering on my little Iseki just got stiff. I mean, the difference is like on my car with the motor off. The 155 does not have power steering and has never been light, but I am building some serious upper body strength man-handling it around the paddock!!

I've snapped a pic of the obvious bits - the rubber gaiters on the joints are stuffed, but the joints are free and smooth - I'm looking for new rubber-bits at the moment (Can any of you guys help?).

Cheers and Happy Christmas!

Chris.

 

[Surge]

It looks pretty basic.

I would get the front end slightly off the ground by safely using a hydraulic jack. Find the safe and correct place to put the pressure point for the lift. This will allow you to freely move the steering and wheels to determine resistance. Spray the heck out of the rubber bushings or grommets as well as all joint points with silicone penetrating spray ie: WD-40 or other. It may the steering column binding rather than the lower links...

Just a suggestion !

 

[Kays Supply]

In the Yanmars, the box is the usual problem. Like said earlier, jack it up and see if it isn't the box. It should be full of grease, Water usually causes it to rust up and get stiff. It would be in your best interest to catch it before it locks up. Get ready for an expensive repair if that happens.

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

Cheers, guys!

Is this something that I can tackle myself? I know that sockets come in different sizes and I know which end of a screwdriver and hammer to hold...

Seriously - I have a reasonable toolkit but no "special tools". I am more familiar ripping bikes apart rather than cars and this is my first :
a) Tractor
b) Diesel
c) 4WD

Am I likely to come across anything that needs a special jig or 6 hands to put back together?

I will jack it up and take a look-see where the stiffness is coming from.

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

Oh - nearly forgot...

If it ISN'T full of grease and resembles a swamp or something, is it likely that a bearing/seal has worn, or a cover gasket?? Can I just clean it out, repack it with grease, replace the cover gasket (I'm assuming it has one - I haven't seen it) and keep using it?

We have lots and LOTS of dry weather out here (we had a cool Christmas day / Boxing day this year @ 32 degrees C (89.6 degrees F), as opposed to last year when it hit 43 degrees C (109.4 deg F) on Boxing day...). Lowest temp I can remember hitting where I live is about 1 degree C (33.8 degrees F) overnight in winter.

We get a bit of rain in the winter, but the little Iseki hasn't seen anything that resembles a rice paddy since it left Asia...

Would this heat suggest a particular grease to pack it with?

Cheers, guys!

 

[Surge]

Without seeing the parts, cannot specifically say but most bearings that have removable covers, whether they screw, bolt or pop-in, can generally be repacked. If the gaskets are rubber and in good shape, clean with silicone spray and reuse. If cracked or broken replace. Most bearing gaskets come with with either a composite paper or cork seal which usually means the surface needs to be scrapped and clean for a new seal. You can usually buy self making gasket kits at an automotive supply store, usually thin cork. Layout the part as a template, score or mark and then cut to shape. None of the parts you are talking about would require a high temp grease so a standard Moly or all purpose grease should work fine.... You of course can spend more and get synthetic like Mobil 1 grease... I use that in my Iseki since it can be below zero Farenheit. here in Nebraska like it was a week ago. Most standard grease has flash points above 180 - 200 degrees. Farenheit.

 

[Kays Supply]

These boxes aren't like what has been described. They get the water in Japan. They have a traveling ball bearing arrangement that follows a worm gear to move the arm. A look inside will tell you if it is full of rusty goo. A flush with kerosene and a refill with good 90wt is about all a novice should try. They make a Rubix cube look simple.

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

Sounds like a job over the Christmas break!
What would a novice like me do without guys like you to call on!
One day I hope that someone asks a question I can answer. I guess time will give me the experience that might be useful to others...
Cheers again and have a great New Year!

 

[lens12]

The TU55 does not have a ball/nut assembly. It has a couple u-joints, a couple bearings, & a couple bevel gears in a housing. There doesn't appear to be any grease zerks. I would suspect one the bearings is dry or the gears are packed with dirt/grease. Spray every bearing to shaft point with a spray lubricant & work back & forth. Has it been in a sand or dust storm?.

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

Hi Leonard,

Thanks for the insight!

I Live in Western Australia, so I live in a dust storm all summer! It went down to 30 degrees Centegrade overnight (86 degrees F) and was up to 43 degrees Centegrade today (109.4 degrees F). Dust \ sand is normal. Can't be good...

Please tell me that there is a way to protect my little blue Tractor!!!

 

[lens12]

It looks like we have extremes here. We had -28 degrees Fahrenheit this morning.
About all you can do is put grease around all the bearing to shaft points & hope it keeps the dirt out.

 

[ctl]

I have iseki TS1910G needs work.With 681 working hrs.Its been down for a few years.Any suggestions where i should get it worked on at?

 

[lens12]

Where are you located & what is wrong with it?

 

[ctl]

I put that information on a different thread.Iseki owners TS1910.thanks!

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

Hi all,
The temp dropped to 32 degrees C today, so I thought I'd give this a go.
I thought it best to disconnect a few things and try the steering, just to confirm that the steering box was the culprit. I dropped off the track rods from the steering arm to the front hubs and the steering was as light as a feather!

(BTW - does anyone know if there is a generic "boot" or "gaiter" for the track-rod ends - the rubber gaitors on all of mine are trashed, but the joints are good).

Re-connected, dropped the tractor off the ramps, jacked it up in the middle, took them back off and it turns out to be the right-hand hub is reluctant to turn. Left side is great and the right is so tight that I need to put a bar on the arm to be able to move it.

SO - Thanks for all of your comments regarding the steering box, but what do I do about a stiff hub? It rotates fine, just won't turn.

 

[Kays Supply]

If you look at your picture at the other post ,you will see 4 bolts on the top of the hub. Take those out. That piece will come off . The hub can then drop out the bottom. Yours probably won't since it is stuck. That is a start.

Mine has a grease zerk in the hole that is plugged on the top of yours.

 

[Chris_in_Oz]

HOOOOORRRRAAAAYYYYYY!!!!

Thanks heaps, guys!

I pulled the 4 bolts out and tried to get the top off. Prised with levers. Bashed with hammers. Couldn't get it to come off.
Then I remembered that someone said they had a grease zerk where I had a bolt. I pulled the bolt out and saw that there was a void below it. Figured this was the hub.

Chop-sawed a bit of steel rod and dropped it in the hole. Put the bolt back in and tightened the bolt to push the top off!! No hammering required!

The top of the hub has a machined collar that acts as the inner part of the bearing (See first pic). In the top cover was a sintered bearing (See second pic). I cleaned it all up and packed it with Nulon Xtreme PTFE grease and reassembled. I didn't put the centre bolts back in - I bought some zerks with a 1/8BSP thread and put them in instead.

Now I can grease the steering without pulling it all apart. While I was at it, I replaced the rubber boots on the track-rod ends.

Now it all works and it looks great - look at the third pic (AFTER) and compare it to the forth pic (BEFORE). Looks better, works better.

So - Thanks again to you all. I am quite reluctant to pull bolts out without knowing I can get them back in... With you guys telling me that it'll be ok gives me the courage to do this!

CHEERS!