Replacing steering shaft bushing

[Springvale37]

The steering shaft bushing is gone on my 1937 A. The shaft is just sitting on the support and looks to have worn a bit from not having the bushing. I understand there are replacement bushings available here on this site.

Is there a step by step outline of how to remove the steering shaft from the pedestal?

I’m totally new to this.

Thank you!

 

[matthies]

Remove the steering wheel and the front bearing cap then unscrew the shaft from the tractor.

 

[PJH]

The steering shaft bushing is gone on my 1937 A. The shaft is just sitting on the support and looks to have worn a bit from not having the bushing. I understand there are replacement bushings available here on this site.

Is there a step by step outline of how to remove the steering shaft from the pedestal?

I’m totally new to this.

Thank you!

I haven't worked on one that old. The newer ones are surely somewhat similar. Remove the steering wheel. Remove the end cap from the front of the steering gearbox. Slide the steering shaft forward until it has cleared the support. Remove anything left of the old bushing. Drive in the new bushing. Slide the shaft and worm gear back into the steering gearbox. Reinstall the gearbox end cap and steering wheel. You may find shims/gaskets under the end cap, and they should be protected and reused. The new bushing will probably be a split bushing and will need something, perhaps a socket, to drive it in squarely. The process is simple and will become evident as you get into it.

You mentioned wear on the steering shaft. That could be repaired by a machine shop or even built up with weld and carefully smoothed out with a flap disk on an angle grinder. It's a fun project and you will be proud of fixing it. Good luck!

 

[PJH]

Remove the steering wheel and the front bearing cap then unscrew the shaft from the tractor.

Sorry Matt - we were typing at the same time.

 

[ChrisInPA]

No need to remove the steering shaft unless welding up the worn spot. The bushing slides on from the steering wheel end.

Remove steering wheel and keyway from the shaft.

Unbolt steering bearing from steering support.

At this point everything should be obvious how it goes together.

If removing the shaft to build up the worn area, in addition to the above, remove the cover on the steering box as well as the 4 bolts on the quill behind the box and slide the shaft out the back. There is a bearing on the front of the worm that most likely will fall off in the steering box. Keep track of the gaskets/shims on the quill with the 4 bolts.

My '38 A had a slightly worn area spot on the steering shaft, but it wasn't enough to bother welding up and turning.

 

[Springvale37]

No need to remove the steering shaft unless welding up the worn spot. The bushing slides on from the steering wheel end.

Remove steering wheel and keyway from the shaft.

Unbolt steering bearing from steering support.

At this point everything should be obvious how it goes together.

If removing the shaft to build up the worn area, in addition to the above, remove the cover on the steering box as well as the 4 bolts on the quill behind the box and slide the shaft out the back. There is a bearing on the front of the worm that most likely will fall off in the steering box. Keep track of the gaskets/shims on the quill with the 4 bolts.

My '38 A had a slightly worn area spot on the steering shaft, but it wasn't enough to bother welding up and turning.

Great news! I was hoping that was the case. Not that I don’t want to learn as much as I can, but taking apart the front near the pedestal would’ve bummed me out a little bit seeing as it has really fresh paint. I appreciate your detailed response.

I didn’t measure how worn down it is but it seems to be very minimal. I really appreciate you going into detail about how to remove the shaft if needed, it’s exactly what I was looking for.

 

[jd2cyl]

The steering shaft bushing is gone on my 1937 A. The shaft is just sitting on the support and looks to have worn a bit from not having the bushing. I understand there are replacement bushings available here on this site.

Is there a step by step outline of how to remove the steering shaft from the pedestal?

I’m totally new to this.

Thank you!

I've never worked on an A but I have a 1953 and a 1956 "60". The 1953 uses a bushing in the steering pedestal and the 1956 doesn't. Checked in the parts manual to verify after I couldn't get the steering shaft back in the 1956 pedestal.

 

[ChrisInPA]

The steering shaft support is different for the unstyled tractors than the styled and newer machines in that it can be unbolted from the support on the transmission cover. Technically, the support on the unstyled tractors is referred to as a "bearing" by Deere in the parts book. Early unstyled A's used a wood bushing instead of the bronze bushing of the later machines. Good luck.

 

[matthies]

Great news! I was hoping that was the case. Not that I don’t want to learn as much as I can, but taking apart the front near the pedestal would’ve bummed me out a little bit seeing as it has really fresh paint. I appreciate your detailed response.

I didn’t measure how worn down it is but it seems to be very minimal. I really appreciate you going into detail about how to remove the shaft if needed, it’s exactly what I was looking for.

Don't be surprised if you have to take all the paint off from the steering wheel to the support to get the installed bushing back on. See how the bushing fits before you install it if you can.