QuestionThanks for the answer below.
BTW the model # is 13AU694H088
I took a look at it last night and it is pretty clear what the problems are. There is a aluminum rod coming out of the right side of the mower
that is connected to what is probably the fan gear you refered to on one side and an arm on the right wheel on the other. The rod connects on both ends with a ball and joint. The ball has popped out of the joint on the arm attached to the wheel.
The other problem is that the steering wheel drive shaft pinion gear is badly worn. It slips/grinds against the fan gear.
1) How do I get that shaft pinion gear out to replace it? Do I have to disassemble a bunch of stuff to get to it?
2) Regarding the steering rod I refered to above... is there a way to repair that ball and joint or do you purchase the entire rod intact including the ball and joint connections already made?
3) Can we talk on the phone?... my dime
Thanks again
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Followup To
Question -
thanks for looking at my question.
My 5 year old MTD lawn tractor (20 hp) has a steering problem. It has gotten worse until last night it is unusable.
It turned ok to the right but the wheel would get stuck and not turn to the left. I would jostle the wheel a little then it would go ahead and let me turn the wheel left. Last when I would turn the steering wheel 360 and it would only turn the tractor a small amount... finally it would not turn at all.
I have not looked at it very closely (got dark)...
but tommmorw after work I was going to try to determine what the problem was and if I could handle the repair.
Question:
1) from this description can you tell what part has gone bad?
2) what should I look for when diagnosing the problem?
Thanks very much for your time.
Answer -
Start by looking straight down the steering shaft to the fan gear. Clean all the parts throughly, turn the wheels straight by hand and see if the fan gear appears to be centered on the steering wheel drive shaft pinion gear.
Some tractors use straight cut gears and others use tapered gears to make the steering tighter. If you have tapered gears I would check for play between the gears.
Some tractors also have and adjustment on the fan gear. It may look like like two bolts or just one, but usually under the bolt is a cam type adjustment to adjustment to adjust for clearance.
Finally, one of the tie rods may be bent or wheel bearings bad. I would check all the rods and bearings for wear. The key to finding wore parts is cleaniness. The cleaner the part, the easier it is to see if the plastic or metal is wore.
Let me know what you find.
Eric
AnswerI'm currently in the process of moving, so the phone is out. As for the pinion gear, my manual are still in storage, but you can bet there will be plenty of stuff (parts) in tight spots to remove.
Normally, there is a C clip or a roll pin on the bottom and top of the steering shaft. Hopefully you have a C clip or even a bolt, the roll pins are difficult to remove.
I would just replace the ball joint. You can try to install the old ball joint, but I doubt it will hold.
Overall the job is not that difficult, you just have to remove a lot of parts to gain access to the steering gears.
Let me know what happens. I'm currently at a friends using his Internet, I'll have mine this Monday.
Eric
