Ferguson TO30 Extra Long Front Axle Bushing

[OldFart187]

My front axle bushing had been replaced with a DIY repair bushing 2-5/8 long, likely intended to help with the extra force from the front end loader. The housing was removed from the tractor. The (dry) bushing had rusted to the hollow pin and had to be driven out with a sledge hammer, not a pretty sight. A grease fitting setup will be part of the rebuild but the stock replacement bushings are a maximum of 1-3/4" long, maybe not ideal for high front end loader forces. One owner used two stock flanged bushings end to end but I'd prefer a single bushing.

Since the load is on the bottom of the bushing/pin contact area, that's where the grease needs to go. A hole will be drilled through the top of the axle to the center with a grease fitting on top. If a single bushing is used, a 1/16 deep groove, 1/4 wide machined in the OD of the bushing will allow the grease to get to the bottom where two drilled holes near the bottom of the bushing lets it get pushed up and in. The bushings will be secured in the axle either by a press fit or with loctite. If two bushings are used, a small axial gap between them gets the grease uniformly around the bushing/pin gap.

Are bushings longer than 1-3/4 available? I'd prefer not to make a custom one. It doesn't need to be flanged.

 

[DanielW]

I would measure them and look somewhere like Atlas Bronze - they'll have about every size of bushing you could imagine and easy to order/spec online. Often they need to be reamed to size, but for something as simple as a front axle spindle some work with some emery cloth would be fine for that.

You can also consider material changes too: If you can go to C932 (Aluminium-Bronze) it's a popular bushing material that has waaaay more P*V capacity than your typical 660 bronze. Not that it really matters too much: I suspect no matter what you put in there, as long as you grease it regularly they'll still outlive you.

 

[OldFart187]

I’ve been considering bronze, Oilite or otherwise. I’d like to avoid buying a reamer and reaming or boring if possible and would rather install with a slight clearance for loctite. That way the ID and internal clearance is preserved. Lathe work for the OD is possible and free. I’ve seen ground steel bushings with lube grooves that might work. My preference is for a premade bushing that will already fit the housing and pin.

 

[DanielW]

I’ve been considering bronze, Oilite or otherwise. I’d like to avoid buying a reamer and reaming or boring if possible and would rather install with a slight clearance for loctite. That way the ID and internal clearance is preserved. Lathe work for the OD is possible and free. I’ve seen ground steel bushings with lube grooves that might work. My preference is for a premade bushing that will already fit the housing and pin.

I suspect a standard bushing for the size of the Fergie's axle bore will be a light interference fit - no retaining compound required. It's the I.D. of the bushings that might have to be reamed to size - often when you buy stock sizes of bronze bushings they come with a few thou intererence fit on the I.D. to be reamed to size. But for something like a spindle bushing, you don't need a fancy reamer or anything. Press bushings in, test spindle fit. If the spindles are tight, then wrap a piece of emery around a rod in a drill until the wrapped diameter of emery is such that it can be just lightly worked into the bushing's bore. Home out with that emery (and some light oil on the emery). You can usually home a bushing pretty accurately within a few thou that way - which is more than accurate enough for a front spindle bushing. You want at least 4 or 5 thou clearance to the spindle anyway, because any less than that and you can hydrolock with grease. And even if you went crazy and opened it up 20-30 thou oversize, it'd probably still be fine, and have no appreciable slop/play.

 

[OldFart187]

Ferguson bushing bores are likely made oversize by the amount of the desired press fit so that no finish boring or reaming is needed. That's what I'm looking for. A stock fit bushing only a little longer.

 

[Gary Reif]

I would measure them and look somewhere like Atlas Bronze - they'll have about every size of bushing you could imagine and easy to order/spec online. Often they need to be reamed to size, but for something as simple as a front axle spindle some work with some emery cloth would be fine for that.

You can also consider material changes too: If you can go to C932 (Aluminium-Bronze) it's a popular bushing material that has waaaay more P*V capacity than your typical 660 bronze. Not that it really matters too much: I suspect no matter what you put in there, as long as you grease it regularly they'll still outlive you.

C932 and 660 bronze are the same thing. And very good material for this application.

 

[DanielW]

C932 and 660 bronze are the same thing. And very good material for this application.

Yup, apologies: I got mixed up in my earlier reply. I meant C954, which is Al-Br. We use a lot of it at work for making high PV bushings.

 

[Ray,IN]

I’ve been considering bronze, Oilite or otherwise. I’d like to avoid buying a reamer and reaming or boring if possible and would rather install with a slight clearance for loctite. That way the ID and internal clearance is preserved. Lathe work for the OD is possible and free. I’ve seen ground steel bushings with lube grooves that might work. My preference is for a premade bushing that will already fit the housing and pin.

IMO the bushing with oil/grease grooves will work best if you plan to also drill N tap for a grease zerk. Otherwise the added pressure from the FEL will squeeze most of the grease to the top of the axle pin quickly.

 

[OldFart187]

Right on. The zerk fitting sends the grease down the drilling, around a 1/4"wide, 1/16" deep groove in the sleeve to 2 radial holes, each 20 degrees from the bottom. This will put the grease into the bottom quadrant where the load is. Regular greasing will keep things slippery, inhibit rust and keep the dirt out.