TEA20 front spindles

[Brodes]

I am in the process of replacing the bushings and thrust bearings for my front spindles since there was so much slack and seemed unsafe. As I have read in past postings and is a common issue, the spindles themselves show wear where they meet the bushings in the housings. I am all overwelding in those areas to fill it back in but my question is in finishing them off. Is the spindle post removable so that they can be placed in a lathe? Do I just grind them smooth?

Any help would be apreciated.

mark

 

[Don Hooks*]

I built up the worn areas with steel filled epoxy, used a straight edge to squeegee it flush and finished off with an 800 grit emery belt. Seems to be working just fine. With new bushings and clean grease it should last as long as I do. Years ago I saw a portable outside diameter grinder used on welded tubing in a chemical plant and it did a great job but looked really expensive. You might be able to use a ratcheting pipe threader and replace the dies with boring bars used in a milling machine and then finish off with an abrasive belt. I"m curious to hear what others have done and what tools are out there.

 

[Al Trip]

Mark, I just looked at my TEA20 spindles. It looks like they could be turned on a lathe with a 25" swing, a pretty big lathe but there are machine shops that have them. The spindle would need to be taken off the tractor. Sometimes spindles are cut off the rest of the part and welded back on after turning, but I am not sure how safe a practice this is, or if it even is practical on this part. I used to work in a machine shop that did all of the above. Later I learned that you need to be careful how much load bearing parts are heated, and how fast they cool, because they can be weakened to the point they are dangerous. At this point, you might want to check around for a used spindle that is still ok. The machine shop route could be expensive, and you might have difficulty finding one that can do the job.
Good luck, Al