TO20 Steering Suddenly Locked Up

I was running a plow through the garden late yesterday with my 1951 TO20 when the steering suddenly became very tight. It's not completely frozen in place, as I can still get it to move just a little but it's so tight that I'm sure forcing it will break something. I stopped trying when I heard a faint crunching sound coming from the upper area of the steering housing.

My plan is to lift the front tires off the ground this afternoon and see how that affects things. If that helps, wouldn't that indicate a problem with the spindles? If the problem is in the steering housing, say a failed bearing or some such, it seems taking weight off the front wheels wouldn't really help matters. There doesn't seem to be much inside the steering housing that could bind things up, unless one of the #6 bearings shown below has seized up.

Any thoughts on this before the wrenching sets in?

You are on the right track for diagnosing the problem.

When trying to turn the steering wheel, is it tight with no slack?

If so, the problem is in the steering gear.

If the wheel will turn several degrees then slowly bind to a stop, it is probably in one of the spindles.

Either way, whatever it is needs immediate attention before something breaks!

Had one do that two years ago. The pinion on item 13 was shot. It had not damaged the quadrant gears items 22. Installed new bushings 23 and 24, seals and item 13. Just like new now. Good luck. Running 000 oil in box now.

I meant 000 grease.

Thanks for the replies. It's definitely something in the upper sector that's binding up. My neighbor came over yesterday and made short work of the garden plot with his JD 850 and 3 pt. tiller while I worked on the Ferguson, so I'm momentarily out of the woods on that job.

The tractor's front end seems to be in pretty good shape after getting the wheels off the ground and checking it out. One front wheel bearing could use some attention, but it's not what I'd call bad. After backing off the adjustment screws on the lower housing, the steering arms have a bit of play and can be wiggled easily, so I think that clears most of the steering system as being free.

The steering wheel remains seized with the front wheels hanging, so I started to work at unbolting the top section last night. Slow going through all the corrosion and paint, but that's to be expected on a near seventy year old tractor. We've got a steering wheel puller here somewhere but can't find it, so one of those will have to be sought out today. I can't help but suspect the seals at the top of the bearing stack may be at fault, especially on a tractor that frequently sits outside. It wouldn't take much of a gap to let moisture travel down the steering shaft and right into the upper bearing, which may be what's causing my troubles. We'll know shortly...

I would start soaking the steering wheel with rust penetrant.

It may be impossible to get off without splitting the hub with a die grinder. If the wheel is bad anyway, better than ruining the shaft.

It took a lot of work and penetrating oil, but the old steering wheel finally gave up its grip on the steering shaft. I used a split bearing puller under the wheel and bolted that to one of those Y-shaped harmonic balancer pullers. Once I got the wheel off, my problem was immediately obvious...






Dirt daubers had found an access point into the seal cup and lined it completely with their little mud cocoons. I guess my aggressive steering around the garden had dislodged one, which in turn dislodged others and packed the upper bearing tight with ground up dirt. I was able to pull all of the upper bearing stack as it sat without disassembling the steering unit and get it all cleaned out and repacked with grease. The tractor steers better than ever! The steering unit will need rebuilding in the near future, but I need to get back underway with all these other tasks and projects for right now.

Any tricks for disassembling this part of the throttle linkage when I do get around to pulling the steering unit?





All I've got to do is break loose the screw (that's probably been sitting there corroding since '51) in the end of the rod to release the stud, right? There appears to be a small brass pin at the six o'clock position and inline with the screw slot. Any idea what that's about?

It could be a cotter pin or just a piece of wire. It is to keep the screw from turning. You will probably find that the "ball" part is squared off some so it may not take much pull to have it pop out of the "socket" part. I had to do a lot of fiddling with mine to keep it together.

Well, you got out easy on the steering issue!

You can adjust the gear lash with the set screw and jamb nut on each side of the gear case. With the front jacked off the ground, turn the screw in until you feel the gears binding as you turn the wheel, than back off until free. Be sure to check full turn to turn, no binding.

Also pumping the gear case completely full with 00 grade grease is a common practice. It is thick enough to not run out less than perfect seals, and thin enough not to channel away from the gears.

Forgot...

The throttle rod clevis, the pin is a cotter pin that runs through the slot in the screw. Dig to the bottom of the rust in the slot and you'll see it.

That is how you set the preload on the ball/socket. Some have a spring inside to hold the slack out of the clevis.

If you find something worn, rusted beyond, or breaks before coming apart, you can buy the ends and balls at McMaster Carr.

Thanks for even more good info, guys!

I don't have a schedule yet for tearing down the steering assembly but don't plan to wait around very long. Maybe mid-summer when things around here calm down a bit. Spring is probably our busiest season, although fall runs a close second. It's been cold and pouring rain here all day and I'm stuck in the house slowly going stir crazy...

NGLI 00 rated grease, the same as John Deere Corn Head grease. I mixed mine in a zip lock bag, 50/50 with 90W. Cut off corner of bag and squeezed it in. Also drill and tap grease fitting into upper bearing cover with new seals to give it a shot of grease occasionally.

Also drill and tap grease fitting into upper bearing cover with new seals to give it a shot of grease occasionally.

Click to expand...

Hey Bruce, are you referring to part #8 as the upper bearing cover? I can see a grease fitting being useful up there to keep the #6 bearings lubed without having to disassemble the top end to get to them.

I'm going to pass on the grease packing method for the moment, since a rebuild is on tap in the next few months. There is enough play in my steering arms that a squirt of heavy oil will wick into the bushings and keep things moving. I'm fitting the new steering wheel this morning, which turned out to be more of a kit than a finished part. The tapered bore is so undersize that the top of the wheel stopped just about even with the end of the steering shaft. Of course the keyway is too shallow, as well. The new wheel also has a hot runner pocket molded into the underside that doesn't at all couple with the spring-loaded seal cup. If I assemble it as is, the dirt daubers can once again walk right in begin nesting. I did find that a #325 O-ring is just about a perfect fit on top of the seal cup and will figure into helping seal up this odd pocket on the underside of the new steering wheel.