(800) 853-2651
SHOP NOW

Reaming spindle bushings - how much clearance?

D

Drew.Styduhar

Member
Hello,

I bought brand new spindles and bushings since everything was shot on my 1977 Massey 20C front axle. The spindles mic out at 1.495 and the manual says to ream the bushings to 1.499-1.501"

Is there really that much clearance between the bushings? upwards of .004-.006"? I know grease needs some space but I swear I have have seen multiple videos where guys say there shouldn't be any horizontal movement when checking spindles. Seen other videos where guys struggle with reaming both bushings inline and the spindle is tight and they say it will "wear in"

Thoughts?
 
Seems like a pretty normal tolerance to me. L .004" is the thickness of a sheet of paper.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
dont seam right to me with that much clearance. you do not want any side movement. i would say .002 would be max. an engine rod brg. has
.0015 clearance.
 
just enough the spindle will slide thru should be o.k. i bought a set for a 255 years ago and could get only 3 brass and one plastic at the time, i really didn't want to use the plastic but did anyway due to
problems i had encountered using plastic for truck king pin bushings . i put it in the top of the housing and of coarse the shaft fit the brass one with out reaming but wouldn't go thru the plastic, after
several attempts to correct the fit i hit the shaft a couple times with a sledge hammer and it went thru, of coarse it was tight but by that time i didn't care as it was power steering anyway. funny thing is
that solved a tire wobble problem at high speed that has never returned after 30 years of use even with a loader on it most of the time now.
 
It's also not an engine. As long as the spindle goes through, it'll be fine. I wouldn't worry about a .004-.005 clearance, but what do I know. I'm just a machinist.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
Hi guys,

Figured I would follow up on this. I know we are just talking about a tractor axle here, but this grease clearance subject piqued my interest.

Only a few thou clearance does not allow the regular thick everyday wheel bearing grease to be adequately pumped into the joint. I saw that with my own eyes. The regular wheel bearing grease easily took up the .005" slack and then some. The published clearance is fine and makes sense. The spec could even be .010 with very little movement. I won't get into detail but we ran some experiments and it was interesting to see how the grease struggled to lubricate a joint with inadequate clearance.

So anyway, to summarize my findings...

1. The published clearance makes sense.

2. Most people who post videos and "instructables" on how to finish ream/size their bushings dont use guides so the likely end up crooked anyway.

3. Installing a spindle that is slightly too tight, allowing it "wear in" or forcing the spindle through the bushing with a hammer is not the correct approach imo.

Thanks,

Drew

This post was edited by Drew.Styduhar on 12/14/2022 at 03:00 pm.
 
(quoted from post at 21:38:04 12/14/22) In trucks with king pins they are greased. There is no
.004 clearance.
Click to expand...

Greased or greaseable? I'm not talking about grease grooves or slots either to help with lubrication. We made a .002 clearance (.001" between shaft and bushing all around) jig and the heavy grease would not pump correctly through it correctly. That what I experienced.

Typical piston wristpin clearance is .001. Never felt a truck kingpin anywhere near that tight.
 
(quoted from post at 00:38:04 12/15/22) In trucks with king pins they are greased. There is no
.004 clearance.
Click to expand...

Mine did too, but they had grease channels. One truck that I had, I put plastic bushings in it, they hammered out with in a year.

This post was edited by J.Wondergem on 12/15/2022 at 07:30 am.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Tractor Parts Tractor Manuals

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Copyright © 1997-2024 Yesterday's Tractor Co.

All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.

Yesterday's Tractors - Antique Tractor Headquarters
Website Accessibility Policy

Back
Top