MF 20 Front Wheel Alignment

[James Richters]

My Front Wheels on my MF20 tractor seem to be quite a bit out of alignment. If I straighten the right wheel, then the left wheel is pointing very noticably to the left. If I straighten the left wheel, then the right wheel is pointint to the right. If I have a full load in the front loader, I cannot move at all... no matter what I do. I have to drop it, and then I can move. I also noticed while flattening out my driveway, that the tractor moves more freely with the loader pushed down until the front wheels are off the gound completly, than it does when it's supposed to be rolling on the wheels.

My property is all sugar sand, here in Florida, so this alignment problem makes it very hard to drive, the front wheels are always plowing. I've replaced the 3 rib tired that came on the tractor with the widest heaviest truck tires I could find, and that really helped a LOT because it was just impossible before.

I'm wondering first of all.... how do I adjust the alignment?? I don't see any good way to adjust it. The arm that turns the wheel appears to be keyed to the shaft, so there can't be any adjustment there. and the only place I see that could allow for adjustment is if I pop out one of the ball joints and thread it in some more, then re-install it... but doing it this way will make it difficult to make any kind of small adjustment, and also difficult to see where the tire will end up when the ball joint is re-installed. Is there a better way? can anyone offer any advice on the procedure for aligning the wheels.

I'm also wondering what the best way to align the tires is if it will be used primarily in soft sandy soil. Should I try to get them perfectly straight?

I'm also wondering how to measure the aligneent. Since the engine is in the way of simply measuring from tire to tire. They are so far out that it is easily visible, but if I wanted to make a more precise alignment, how is it normally done?

I apreciate any help anyone has about this.

James

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have an old MF industrial front loader, and had an alignment problem with one front wheel a while back. My problem was worn wheel bearings from years of front loader use. I noticed in your message that you only mentioned checking and adjusting alignment, but not if you checked for bearing and steering component wear. Do the wheels wobble significantly with no load at highway speeds on a hard packed road surface? Maybe you have already checked for component wear, but that would be the first step to getting the problem solved.

 

[James Richters]

Thanks for the advice. It was recently that I changed the front tires, and I did not notice excessive play in the bearings, but I was not specifically looking either. I did notice that some of the ball joints seem to have a little play in them, but it's not enough to account for the error in alignment. It seems that the rear two ball joints are noticable worn, and the two up in front by the wheels are tight. I'm thinking that perhaps the front two were changed before I got the tractor, and whoever changed then didn't take care to keep the wheels aligned.

I'll have a closer look at things like bearings and other things that could wear.

 

[Masseynut(Australia)]

Not familiar with the MF 20, but toe-in on most models should be 1/4" to 3/8" toe-in. Also, while checking the wheel bearings, check the spindle, or king-pin thrust bearings, to see if they have collapsed. These bearings, if in a sad condition, definitely make your steering heavy.

Evan.