Case/Ingersoll 446 Steering

[NYCD]

I have to replace the a bushing on my 446, but I can't get the steering wheel off... I have the 2-1/4" Roll Pin out, but the wheel won't budge... Any help on how to remove the steering wheel sure would be appreciated.

Thanx,
Clay

 

[El Toro]

Are you using a puller? Put a strain on it then smack the puller bolt with a hammer. You may need some heat too. Hal

 

[Tom Arnold]

I'm sure that Hal's advice was given with the best of intentions but I don't think that he's familiar with this line of tractors.

The problem you are having is common and it is not easily solved unfortunately. Some of the wheels have a removable center cap but some don't. If your's does, the great. Go get a quart of common ATF (auto transmission fluid) and a bottle of nail polish remover from the drug store.

Nail polish remover is actually acetone and is easier to find than looking for acetone as a labelled product. Mix the up a few ounces of ATF and acetone on a 50/50 basis and pour it over the steering shaft now that you've removed the center cap. This combo is one of the best penetrating oils known to man. You may have to do this several times over several days but it often will break the rust loose.

Try to twist the steering wheel one way and then the other at each end of the steering cycle. DO NOT USE too much pressure. That's an aluminum hub in the center that is locked into the plastic wheel by the plastic itself. You can literally tear the hub out of the wheel, thus making the wheel a piece of junk.

It is very difficult to use any kind of puller on these wheels due to the way the wheel is designed. The hub is recessed into the wheel on the back side so most pullers end up putting their pressure on the plastic wheel and not on the actual hub which is the part that is stuck.

Some owners have chosen to use a Sawz-All to cut the steering shaft in half at around the midway point. They then remove both halves of the shaft, find some suitable tubing to make a sleeve and cross-drill the sleeve/shaft assembly so that spring-type drive pins can be driven in after the shaft halves are re-installed.

If your center cap does remove and you can fashion some shims to allow a puller to bear directly on the bottom of the hub, then that will work. Heat is out of the question. You will destroy the bond between the hub and the wheel. New wheels are available but you are looking at $110.00 or so plus shipping from an Ingersoll dealer.

Some owners have opted to buy an oilite bronze bushing with a flange to replace the nylon bushing. Any decent bearing supply house should be able to fix you up with one of those. If you do get the wheel off, then coat it liberally with anti-seize compound during re-assembly.

 

[NYCD]

Thanx for the reply Tom A and El Toro... I pulled the wheel off, but the aluminum hub stayed on... It"s like a 1-1/8 hex so I put the impact to it and still doesn"t budge... I really don"t believe it would be Safe to put heat to it, cause of gas in the carb and under the seat gas tank... Also, there is a Plastic sleeve around the shaft between the Dash and the Hub... I drilled a hole in the top of the Hub and filled it with PB Blaster... May have to do what Tom said and cut the shaft... Any other thoughts come to mind I can try on this 446... I bought this 446 New back in 1990, it"s always garaged, Never sat out in the weather... Thanx!

 

[Tom Arnold]

If you pulled the steering wheel away from the aluminum hub, then the wheel is junk at this point and so is the hub. Take an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel in it and slice through the hub until you almost reach the steering shaft. Drive a thin cold chisel into the slit you made with the cut-off wheel and split the hub open.

You can order a new wheel from your Ingersoll dealer. They're around $110.00 plus shipping.

 

[NYCD]

Tom: It looks like that is the way I'll have to get the hub off... That beats buying a shaft, too @ $50 (?) and steering wheel @ $100... Thanx, Tom... Clay

Oh, would the shaft from a 224 fit my 446? It has the threaded shaft with Hex nut on it... If so, a friend has one I can get.

 

[Tom Arnold]

The shafts are the same length and diameter. The earlier shafts were splined. Then came the shafts with the Woodruff key and the nut that held the steering wheel on. This design was superceded by the wheel being cross-drilled and held on by a spring pin. It is possible to install a cross-drilled steering wheel onto a shaft with the Woodruff key. The trick is accurately drilling the hole.