 Garrett, I presume it is a narrow ft. tractor, if it is a wide there are other things to consider.....Probably the best place to start is by tightening the adjusting screw (in the gear cover "blue arrow") down tight (get it pretty tight to lock the steering up until you can't turn the steering wheel) a that time grab the front wheels & try to turn them back & forth, then place a jack under the tractor frame towards the front (NOT the oil pan) & start jacking the front up to take the weight of the ft wheels, don't lift the ft all the way off the ground, just take the weight off the ft so you can wiggle the ft wheels easier. What you are feeling there is the play in the upper steering shaft/coupling/spindle/lower spindle bearing (marked with red arrows) The coupling tends to wear on the 40-420 T. If the play is excessive in those parts you will have a hard time getting the steering tight with adjustments. After checking the play there (& with the ft still partially jacked up)loosen the adjusting screw (in the cover) until you can just turn the steering wheel without binding, then have someone hold the steering wheel or tie it so it won't move, then wiggle the ft wheels again, that will show the total play in the steering system, the amount of play difference between those two tests is probably caused by worn pins on the upper steering shaft (purple arrows), worn bushings (green arrow) or the need to remove shims (yellow arrow) to remove end play in worm shaft. You will probably find the gear box with no oil in it because modern gear oil will not stay in those old gear boxes, corn head grease works good in there but lately I have been using "Slick-50" grease as I have found that makes them steer easier. If you choose to do any of the above please post your findings.
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