epoxy for worn hole in casting?

I'm restoring my 1963 IH 806 (basically a wheatland).

On the central pivot pin for the steering: one end goes into a massive casting that forms the front
of the tractor, hence I can't machine it. This hole is somewhat worn as is the pin.

I'm thinking I could clean up the pin in the lathe. Then, clean the hole in the casting really well
and insert metal reinforced JBWeld, or Moglice, or some sort of epoxy, and reassemble (with a light
oil coating on the pin. I'm thinking the epoxy would take up some slop.

I'm dealing with the slop on the other end of this pin by boring and inserting a bushing. I don't
have that option on the hole that is in the huge casting.

Is there a reasonable possibility that the epoxy would hold up under the rather large stresses?
 
This is a working tractor, but not very heavy use. I'm taking care of several other worn out spots in the steering, and this part is not too bad, but I'd like to get it as good as I can.

I just wonder if others have had experience doing this, and what material to use.
 
If you are going to use an epoxy I would use PC-7 epoxy. Personally I don't believe epoxy is a good idea. I would be more inclined to drill out the cast and insert a bushing and either buy or make a new pin.
 

Those are definitely machinable , I did one for a local farmer

3 or 4 years ago. Put it on a horizontal boring mill or a large

horizontal mill. Bore it oversize and make bronze bushings or

make repair bushings and put standard bushings in the hole. I

didn't take any pictures of doing it or I would post them.


george
 
I don't think you guys are following me. Yes, I plan to machine the bolster casting which comes off. I will bore it out to a 1-1/16" hole and turn the pin down to 7/8" and use a bushing.
However, the casting that is part of the tractor would be an enormous effort to remove, and in fact I am currently holding up the tractor by that casting. So, in this case, machining it is out of the question. Conceivably I could drill it out from underneath but turning a 1 - 1/16" bit in a hand held drill sounds like a recipe for a broken arm to me.
 
I had a similar issue with my JD 4450 MFWD.......new bushing had space above it in the main casting, so I formed a piece of 3/16 or quarter inch steel into a "saddle", and placed it above the bushing. Hand ground it to fill the available space. One end butted up against the tractor, the other held firm by the large diameter washer on the pin. I don"t trust epoxy in an impact situation like on a front axle.
 
Despite the hype, NO.

If the pin wore away the cast iron over time there's NO way some "pucky" is gonna last over time/use/abuse. (SORRY Paul Harvey.)
 
(quoted from post at 20:48:53 07/15/15) I had a similar issue with my JD 4450 MFWD.......new bushing had space above it in the main casting, so I formed a piece of 3/16 or quarter inch steel into a "saddle", and placed it above the bushing. Hand ground it to fill the available space. One end butted up against the tractor, the other held firm by the large diameter washer on the pin. I don"t trust epoxy in an impact situation like on a front axle.

I did one like that but i line bored the holes over size with a home made boring bar supported on both sides of the hole and driven by a 1/2' drill.
I machined a couple steel bushing to fit both bore hole and new pin and pressed them in
 
Hi
i'm not sure JB weld will hold but search Belzona. It's a very high grade industrial epoxy. Have heard of a few guys using it to rebuild worn parts or bearing holes in castings . i don't think it's cheap but if it works like the you tube video's show, it's real good.
Regards Robert
 
Find/rent a magnetic base drill, and an adjustable boring head. The set up may be a pain, and it will take some time, and you may need to fabricate a jig, but then you could bore it on the tractor. just sweep the existing bore with an indicator, mounted in the drill spindle, and average it out, for location.

Or, hire a clever, bored machinist; he should have/can get the needed tools, and do the work for a fee.

Best of luck! Sounds like a good challenge!
 
that epoxy will last about as long as a snowball in hell...

use metal... If you are going for emergency repair to take up some slack what about boring and driving a sleeve in.. or welding or brazing up till close then honing or filing, or just calling it better than it was hogged out.
 
I cannot put the tractor on my milling machine :)
I am not willing to take the huge front casting off just for this.
I am not comfortable in trying to bore it out for a sleeve using a handheld 1/2" drill- a big bit like that would tend to grab.
I am going to turn a new pin. I'll turn that diameter as large as I can and have it still fit in.
 
'I cannot put the tractor on my milling machine :)
I am not willing to take the huge front casting off just for this."

Why not just say "I am unwilling to fix it correctly"?

That being said, why not find a good used casting at a boneyard, and save all the aggravation of a temporary repair?
 
They have a machineable two part epoxy that will work. I use to get from a local foundry and I don't recall the name. It was quite expensive.
I used it one time to fill a hole so I could drill and tap a mount for a loader. It came in yellow and black tubes.
 
Was it a Devcon brand? I have used some of the different putties, for different repair applications as well. Usually in hog out bearing housings, but I have never used it to repair it wobbled out hole.

Another thought, a guy could stick a piece of brass in there, that is the size of the hole you want to end up with, and then use a cast-iron rod and fill it in that way. Everybody has their opinion on the best rod to use. Whatever works the best for whoever is using it, is what I always say.
 

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