How hard is it to change out front spindle bearings?

My front spindles have quite a bit of play in them when jacked up off the ground. So I will be ordering the rebuild kit that this site offers. I’ve never rebuilt spindles before and am looking for some sage advice... thanks! Asa side note, I’m still having issues with the front tires digging into the grass or stone when I turn sharply to the left or the right. Could spindle wear be a culprit of this? I’ve adjusted the toe in as the books suggests.
Thanks..
 
(quoted from post at 15:20:38 01/08/19) My front spindles have quite a bit of play in them when jacked up off the ground. So I will be ordering the rebuild kit that this site offers. I’ve never rebuilt spindles before and am looking for some sage advice... thanks! Asa side note, I’m still having issues with the front tires digging into the grass or stone when I turn sharply to the left or the right. Could spindle wear be a culprit of this? I’ve adjusted the toe in as the books suggests.
Thanks..

I am no expert but have been there. There is a bushing on the top and bottom of each king pin. I would venture a guess that the bushing is long gone and there is wear in the shaft. At least that is what I found in the 2 tractors I have dove into. Mine were too far gone to salvage, Had to replace each spindle along with the bushings. You can find them on this site and various other places. What you will have to do is ream the bushings as they have to be sized to fit after they have been pressed in. I have a local guy who did the line reaming for me as I don't have the tool to do that. There is a bearing that carries the weight on the bottom where the shaft pivots for steering. Service manual does a pretty good job of explaining the process.
 
I would guess all you have to do is tighten bearing to take slack out.
Take the dust cap off- cotter key out and tighten nut until your wheel
is tight(not real tight where you can't turn wheel) then loosen off one
notch. You may also want to pack bearings and then tighten bearings.
 
Replacing the spindle bushings is not an easy job.

The old ones have to be split (Sawzall) and peeled out. The new ones carefully pressed in and reamed to fit the new spindles. Yes, the spindles will be worn where the bushings ride, no easy fix, they have to be replaced.

Unless you have access to the needed equipment, best take the axles, bushings, and new spindles to a shop that can do the work. That would be a shop equipped to do heavy truck suspension work.

One of the more serious problems you may encounter is if the bushings have worn all the way through and the spindles have cut into the axle housings. That's a common problem when there has been a loader on the tractor. About all that can be done is find good used housings, or try to put in sleeves to support the bushings. Installing new bushings in a wallowed out housing will not hold up.

Something you want to consider before ordering parts, how will the tractor be used? If it's working days are over, you can get by with less than perfect front suspension. If it will be used regularly, you don't want to run it until the bushings cut all the way through. As for the worn bushings causing steering problems, well they can cause some loss of turning radius, shimmy, but one thing for sure, no chance of a high speed crash! LOL No need to hold the steering to the same standards of an on the road vehicle, a little wobble won't be too concerning. As for the wheels digging in, there should be some blocks that limit the turn radius of the spindles. Be sure they are there, can't remember exactly how they are set up, but you can see them and how they work. Something you might practice is using the independent brakes to assist steering. Also be sure the steering arms are tight to the spindles and the keys are in and fit well. If run loose, the keys and key ways will be wallowed, letting the arms turn on the spindles. Doesn't take much to make a big difference.

While you're working on the front suspension, might take a look at the center pivot bushing. Same thing, don't let it go so far the bushing cuts through and damages the housing.
 
thanks Steve, That’s a lot to take in! I’ve copied all the information you’ve given me and will study it.
 
I like Steve's point about asking how (and how much) this tractor will be used. And I would add: how bad are the spindles now?

I have a TO30 that is used regularly (some mowing, garden plowing, bit of snow removal, etc) but all told not really that many hours per year.

I'll briefly describe what I did. Certainly not done "right" but made the spindles better than they were and good enough for my purposes.

I pried out the old bushings. A chisel gently on the top (or bottom) gently caught the edge and buckled it enough to get a good vise grip on them. Peeled/yanked/ripped them out.

Put in new ones.

Put in new bearings at the bottom (mine were totally shot, fell out in various pieces of broken metal).

My spindles were worn. Wasn't going to spend the cash to replace them. I reinstalled as they were.

I had to "ream" the lower bushing enough that the spindle would slide through.

A bit of dowel, slot cut in end, coarse good sandpaper slid into slot. Chuck into drill. Slide in and let it sand the bushing away until just barely can get the spindle through it. Now try to clean up any and all grit from the sand paper. (And do some finer grades.) In my case I had little to do on the top bushing, but repeat as necessary up there.

Because the spindle is worn where it meets the bushing, making the bushing open enough to install the spindle will mean there is more slop than ideal. But in my case a lot less than there had been.

So did I do it right? Not at all. Is it better than it was? Yes. Good enough for what I do with it? Yes. Was it cheap? Yes. Did it take time. Yes.

Your situation might be different.
 
That actually sounds quite a bit like my situation... I’m not using the tractor everyday, low hours per year and I’ll probably fix it the exact same way you did! Thanks for your post!
 
"I'm still having issues with the front tires digging into the grass or stone..."

that's a feature of 3-rib tires - replace them with a 'rib implement' tire or similar and you'll find the tractor friendlier to turf and gravel -

mvphoto29630.jpg
 
Exactly!
I had the same problem 15 years ago and went with the implement tire. They suit my purposes MUCH better than 3-rib. Much less damage to yard when mowing.
 
wish I would have known that BEFORE I put brand new three rib tires on it... how much are the tires u pictured?
Thanks... now I’ll be spending more money on it.. lol
 
6.00-16 is what I use on TO-30, TO-35, and the Ferguson trailer (wagon) - new tires and tubes from the local dealer ran me $144 each (R&R the tires and dispose of the old) - and I bought 3 pairs last year... I might have been able to save a couple of bucks by shopping and fussing, but my tire place takes good care of me and I like to help them stay in business so I have someone to deal with loaded rear wheels when the need arises - I also had the tire place demount the old tires and I took the rims to the local sandblast place for derusting, then I primed and painted the wheels - both the 30 and 35 had previously had held CaCl2 and I had to repair the 35 wheels a bit -

I think 6.50-16 are available and I'd imagine they would work too -

David
 

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