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peanut pete 08-09-2012 20:16:58 120.151.85.67 Report to Moderator	My abused MF 135 swept axle has radius rod play at the rear end and play in the axle bolt hole, any ideas to remedy these? Leaking oil seal on steering box any tricks here? Possibly centre axle bush replacement, is this easy enough with basic farm tools? Also damaged fuel tank forward mounts where the cup head bolts should locate can i heat them with the oxy to bend them back into shape? much appreciated any help with this project ongoing. pete, kingaroy , Qld Australia. [Reply]   [No Email]
peanut pete 08-10-2012 20:29:27 120.151.85.67 Report to Moderator	Re: radius rod play in reply to peanut pete, 08-09-2012 20:16:58   David thanks for your advice. I have acquired said two jaw puller for drop arm removal. Will shim radius rod end sockets. The front radius arm holes are good but axle hole has elongated due to wear, replaced deformed bolt but still movement could i shim hole with say a half shim of forementioned copper sheet. Re fuel tank; it has been removed and because tank has been free to bounce, the locating section for the cup head bolts has been deformed and depressed. What i meant was, because i will drop the diesel fuel out and steam clean the inside of the tank anyway to remove obvious sediment; whilst it was full of water could I heat the mounts to reshape them or would this detemper them and make then more brittle and then crack. regards pete. [Reply]  [No Email]
DavidP, South Wales 08-11-2012 10:48:37 2.101.138.193 Report to Moderator	Re: radius rod play in reply to peanut pete, 08-10-2012 20:29:27   Hi Pete, Can't see any reason why the front of the axle can't be shimmed. It will be a fiddly job to do it though. An alternative might be to find a piece of thin wall tube that is almost a dead fit on the bolt and and patiently trim and file it until you are able to fit the bolt. Re the tank. My thought was one of safety but moreso that it should be possible to straighten the edges by bending them cold. Make sure that the nuts are free on the bolts and use two plain nuts to lock them if necessary. The bolt heads can be held down by using something like a piece of 1/2"x 1/8 strip with a slight bend in it. Cheers DavidP [Reply]  [No Email]
peanut pete 08-19-2012 00:27:59 120.151.85.67 Report to Moderator	Re: radius rod play in reply to DavidP, South Wales, 08-11-2012 10:48:37   David again thanx for your comments. Have removed steering arm with substantial hydraulic puller and replaced offending seal with a double lipped seal, seems to be perfect. Re fuel tank have decided to re-manufacture a locating plate for cup head bolts and mig weld it straight across damaged area, was there a rubber cushion between the tank and the front mount or is it metal to metal? Inspection of exhaust manifold shows cracks; for the price i will replace with new part, can only find two studs and two bolts securing manifold should it be secured with 4 studs? regards pete [Reply]  [No Email]
DavidP, South Wales 08-10-2012 03:53:07 2.97.130.115 Report to Moderator	Re: radius rod play in reply to peanut pete, 08-09-2012 20:16:58   Hello from 'Old' South Wales, A short term measure to reduce play in the ball-end of the radius rods is to cut a piece of this copper sheet and dress it to fit the ball and trim back until it is free to move. You have mentioned play at the front. If the bolt is still in place it may have broken and the broken part is still in the lower jaw of the rod. Not much you can do if you have major wear in the rod or axle beam other than to replace the items with new or good secondhand. Replacing the worn axle bus is important as the amount of wear will upset the axle geometry and usually increases tyre wear and makes the steering heavy. In severe wear you may find that the bush has worn through and started wearing the beam away. Fit ONE bush only. If necessary the new bush can be welded in using mild steel arc rods. You will undoubtedly have wear on the pin so replace that as well. The front fuel tank bolt slots are a pain. Do you have the tank off? I certainly would not use the oxy to straighten them. You will probably find that the edges are damaged, not just bent. Probably the easiest way would be to hacksaw a slot in something like a piece of 5/8" square bar and use it as a 'bending dog' to straighten the edges as best you can. The steering box seal is straightforward if you can remove the drop arm. A puller is by far the best. If no puller is available remove the nut and springwasher and replace the nut flush with the shaft. Have an assistant with a long bar apply pressure as close to the shaft as possible as if trying to prise the arm off. Using a substantial block of wood and similar hammer strike the end of the shaft firmly and squarely. This method is a bit trial and error so take care. Likewise you can hold a heavy weight against one side of the arm where the shaft goes through and strike the other. The resulting 'flexing' of the eye is usually enough to free it. Any effort involved in borrowing a puller would be well worth it. DavidP, South Wales [Reply]  [No Email]