(ptfarmer) You are really making a mountain out of a mole hill. If you have good mechanical skills, tools, and have common sense you can take it apart, and put it back together pretty easy.
greed. I took mine apart and put it back together by my self, on a dirt floor. It took me several hours to do this, safely. Then again, I'm an above average mechanic and rigger (amongst other things). Jack stands are put on 3/4 plywood for stability, not directly on the dirt. Axles are top heavy and need support from the top before the bolts come out. Safety first, and last, and always. A few people die every year when they drop a car on themselves, because they are working beyond the level of their skills, their equipment, and/or understanding of safe practices. A local electrical supply shop had a great John Wayne quote over the counter: "A man has to know his limitations." Not everyone with a screwdriver and a neon test light should do their own electrical work. Not everyone with a set of wrenches should do their own mechanical work. Not everyone with a mill and lathe should do this level of machining. Some don't know what they don't know, and can make things worse instead of better.
Also [b:9c724fe934]if[/b:9c724fe934] you have a good milling machine, lathe, etc [b:9c724fe934]like a tool and die maker would have[/b:9c724fe934]...
My point exactly. I'd venture to say only a half dozen folks here have anything similar, including you:
... like I do (which I am very good at, so I'm no amateur). The machine work, and or the parts will be the hard, and expensive part.
No expensive parts at all, especially compared to owning a $10k-50k or more (used) CNC mill. The MF housings are beefy enough to take years of abuse. The pins could be egged by 1/8" or more, and no problem: standard sized sleeves are relatively cheap. No rare NOS or pre-owned (and abused) MF replacement parts necessary. The proper fix is in asking here and finding out that stock bushings make for problems. The major expense is in hiring the machining to accommodate that fix. My caveat with the repair wasn't to or about you, but the OP:
(bosshog) I've never messed with anything like this before. Is it difficult to change the bushings? We have a shop with a dirt floor - Nothing fancy. Jacks, hand tools, blocks - Usual stuff. Just wondering if I should tackle this or see if Dad wants to call in a pro.
PT, You may not realize just how exceptional you are. You would be a good asset as a neighbor for most folks here trying to keep old iron working. Myself included
Have you priced bushing material lately?
Matter of fact, I have.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#bronze-bushings/=twwid4 Looks to be about $60 for 1/4" wall 954 (32,000 psi) or 863 (62,000 psi) bronze. Both are probably overkill, and the 21,000 psi 963 would work and be much easier to machine to exact size, though a few bucks more. Some of those choices are even available in a 3/16" wall stock - a good choice if the pivot holes don't have to be opened up much. I'd consider making both pivots the same size, and use same size bushing material front and back, so a 6" piece would be plenty long enough. It's been years since I had my 65 front done, and the guys that did it did the engineering on it as well, so not sure what they came up with for pin and bushing sizes - it was assembled when I picked it up (ok, when they loaded it with their overhead crane).
I just rebuilt the steering on a JD 420 slant dash - bored and bushed the dash, made a new steering stub shaft (w/ taper, woodruff key slot and thread), customized U-joints, rebuilt the steering box, etc. Took me a good part of 3 days in the machine shop, a good portion of which for setups. That fix was orders of magnitude more simple than machining the Massey front pivot housings, bushings and pins correctly. Then again, even though I fix CNC machines as part of my vocation, I'm merely competent at basic machining. Not that I couldn't have figured out how to do the Massey work, but I know my limitations (of working knowledge and time), so I left the Massey pivots to the experts with bigger and better tools that they use all day roughly 250 day/year, and have been doing so for decades. For them, the available tools and talent made it simple. Likewise for you. By the admission of the OP, not so much. The thing that will make or break this project, is the access to affordable machining. If they could get the parts to you, what would you charge to do it for them? This might give you some extra work, or give them a ballpark figure to check with their local machine shops. As is said: "knowledge is power", and "we'll leave the lights on for ya".
Well Worn
