I have looked at the parts listings and although different spindles are used for standard or tractors with power steering, the hubs and bearings are listed as the same in both cases. ???????
Hi
Thanks for the reply.
Fingers crossed everything is will be sorted out this morning.
Posting the results in case anybody runs across the same problem I did.
The spindle dimensions on my tractor are length from bearing support to top of spindle 9.5669 inches........Dia of spindle 13/8 inch.
The new spindle I got via Sparex (its an international(world wide) company) is exactly these dimensions BUT the axle diameter for the outer wheel bearing is a lot bigger.
The same company supplies a wheel bearing and seal kit (the original wide seal is no longer available). The outer bearing from this kit has a different taper angle etc but it fits the new axle perfectly. BUT (don't you hate that word) while the actual outer shell of this bearing look to be exactly the same as the original one it is LARGER by 10 thousands of an inch. Now I could have tried forcing / shrinking by freezing it to fit but took the other option and had the hub machined to make it fit normally.
So hopefully in about an hour I will be fitting everything back together again and the job will be finished.
Hope this helps anyone who runs into the same problems and saves the all the time I wasted trying to source parts etc.
My tractor is an Australian built "UK" tractor which I believe is different from the USA one in regards to the front axle.
The cost of this spindle in the UK is about 55 pounds in Australia $125 and been quoted from USA sources $250 so it pays to shop around
I also found that I could buy the wheel bearing and seal kit for less than the cost of the seal from any bearing supply company