Tie rod

[gsummers 236]

 Was mowing up leaves today with my 312H and a tie rod end popped off, found a place online has them for $25. with the adjustable end. Is that a good price or does anyone else know of a better deal?

Thanks

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,414]

In a pinch you can remove the entire thing off the tractor, re-install the ball into the hole and with a punch peen the edges of the hole. 

I've did this as a temp fix on one of my tractors and kinda forgot about it.......been 3 years now and it's never popped back out. I also put a dab of grease into the hole before I re-install the ball.

  Mike.....

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

I made my own with the ends from 

Wheelhorseman 1000 here in vendor section. Or he sells some already made. Very good quality. 

[gsummers 236]

Thanks Bob, I just ordered 2 complete tie rods from Wheelhorseman 1000, look much better quality than the other ones I found.

[cleat 6,384]

And now you can set toe-in.

 

I could never understand why Wheel Horse made non-adjustable tie rods.

 

Some people laugh at me when I say that I do a wheel alignment on a lawn tractor but it helps with front tire wear and if set up correctly, the wheel will almost self center on it's own after making a turn.

 

 

[gsummers 236]

Cleat, what is the proper way of aligning the front tires on a 312H? How much toe in or out? Biggest problem changing these and setting them is going to be all the DOG S#&T all over the front tires, with all the leaves, can`t see it until you have already run over it, LOL

Edited October 30, 2016 by gsummers
added some text

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

51 minutes ago, cleat said:

And now you can set toe-in.

 

I could never understand why Wheel Horse made non-adjustable tie rods.

 

Some people laugh at me when I say that I do a wheel alignment on a lawn tractor but it helps with front tire wear and if set up correctly, the wheel will almost self center on it's own after making a turn.

 

 

How do you set toe in or out ?? What do you use to measure? I tried a tape measure from tire to tire but gave up.

[Digger 66 3,488]

I wound up making mine too .

I've set alignment by putting a long straight edge along the outside of the rear tire ( at center & parallel with the ground ) so it extends just past the front tire .

Then adjust so the space between the leading edge of the front tire & the straight edge is around 1/8" on each side .

1/8 + 1/8 = 1/4" & that's my magic number . 

 

[squonk 41,392]

All toe in really does is allow for all the built in slop in a front to not wear out the tires after many miles of driving on hard surfaces like concrete or pavement. As your going forward every thing flexes a small amount and the toe in will  allow the tires to push out and align straight in the direction you're going and not scuff the tire. The built in non-adjustable caster angle of the front axle /spindle is what allows the wheels to return to center.

In other words, unless your driving your tractor on hard surfaces a lot, it won't make much difference. Set toe in to 1/16- 1/8" and you will be good

 

[Digger 66 3,488]

17 minutes ago, squonk said:

All toe in really does is allow for all the built in slop in a front to not wear out the tires after many miles of driving on hard surfaces like concrete or pavement.

 

 

I have to respectfully disagree with the bold print .

Toe in also helps keep your tractor from "hunting" & "darting" while mowing in a straight line .

Give it a try with a little toe out . It's nearly impossible to maintain a line .

[cleat 6,384]

Within a couple of years the cub cadet at work had bald front tires.

 

I replaced the tires then set toe-in. It was way out, I don't remember which way.

 

Tractor drives nice and straight now as well. With the power steering you could not tell if it had a pull or not.

 

Attached is the setup manual for a 520 showing toe-in. Yours should be similar.

 

Setup manual.pdf

 

If you do it right, your steering wheel should be straight when driving straight as well.

[squonk 41,392]

Digger, I would respectfully agree with you except: we are talking about a garden tractor that might go 6 MPH at the most (Unless it's a mod! ). Yes toe in way out of wack one way or the other will do that as the tire wants to go straight. If the 2 tires are trying to go opposite directions they will fight each other. but like I was saying the measurement isn't as "Critical" like on a car or anything moving at a decent speed. We are mowing lawns, tilling gardens and plowing snow here. Get it to the measurement close to what I posted and you'll be fine. Just use a tape measure. that's it. If there's a Honda V-twin bike engine on there and you doing 60 on a flat track get more precise.

9 minutes ago, cleat said:

Within a couple of years the cub cadet at work had bald front tires.

 

I replaced the tires then set toe-in. It was way out, I don't remember which way.

 

Tractor drives nice and straight now as well. With the power steering you could not tell if it had a pull or not.

 

Attached is the setup manual for a 520 showing toe-in. Yours should be similar.

 

Setup manual.pdf

 

If you do it right, your steering wheel should be straight when driving straight as well.

Yes if it's way out (You can tell by eye) tires will wear out. How much pavement use they had before would have been interesting to know. We had a Worthington tractor at a golf course I worked at. Tie rods were shot. But it was fine for pulling a gang mower and on grass the tires didn't wear at all. But that tractor would do over 40 MPH and one of the guys took it out on the road one day while the boss was gone. Once he got over 20 he could hardly keep it in a straight line.  As Digger posted.   To wear the tire something has to abrade the tire. Takes a long time on grass

Edited October 30, 2016 by squonk

[cleat 6,384]

That Cub Cadet has never seen anything but pavement and concrete.

 

We use it to blow snow in the winter and move wagons in the summer.

 

It is currently out for service as the charge coil is reading open and the hydro is leaking badly.

 

[Retired Wrencher 5,515]

14 hours ago, Sparky said:

In a pinch you can remove the entire thing off the tractor, re-install the ball into the hole and with a punch peen the edges of the hole. 

I've did this as a temp fix on one of my tractors and kinda forgot about it.......been 3 years now and it's never popped back out. I also put a dab of grease into the hole before I re-install the ball.

  Mike.....

Mike remember when I bought that rat Commando at Zags  same thing happen I put a zip tire on it still there 21/2 years ago. Cheap fix.

[JoeM 7,874]

I use a dry wall square to set the toe. works pretty good.

[squonk 41,392]

Back in the olden days, a large square was what was used a lot of times, 

[cleat 6,384]

I have aligned many cars using string tied to jackstands stretched tight between front and back wheels.

 

I actually had to redo two right after paying an alignment shop to supposedly set the proper alignment.

 

Once on my old Ford Windstar and once on my XR4Ti.

 

Cars handled great using the string with no abnormal tire wear.

[Ed Kennell 38,694]

One more option.   McMaster Carr tie rod ends...~ $5 each.

 

[Wishin4a416 2,191]

Cleat is right about the toe in. I had one very hard to steer and broke a tie rod. After installing a new one[adjustable], I set it to a 1/4" toe in and it steers like power steering now with the tires at proper inflation. I got mine off of my local dealer at the time. I have a new spare set in  the garage I got at the big show.

[cleat 6,384]

I did a similar setup on my straight axle 520 using small ball end joints like Ed.

 

I like how his have grease fittings.

 

[roadapples 6,983]

A little off topic, but I`ve used eight foot florescent light bulbs for a straight edge to align the rear wheel on a motorcycle..  Don`t want any toe in or out there....

[benji756 341]

Heres a picture of the s I made for my 520H

520h_steering.zip

The first 2 pictures are the bearing I used to replace the bushing on the steering shaft and the 3rd picture shows 1 end of the coupler I made for the steering shaft

[Digger 66 3,488]

On 10/30/2016 at 4:43 PM, Ed Kennell said:

   McMaster Carr tie rod ends...~ $5 each.

 

 

 

Wish I would have known about those with zerks before I made mine