160D Steering Column Ball Bearings

[Gfin7763]

I have Mitsubishi 160D tractor that keeps smashing the ball bearings in the steering column. I've had the sterring column fixed before and have brought a new one a while back.
What I'm after is the American number for the ball bearing and cup assembly so I can see if I can get some replacements at a much reduced price, as opposed to going thru the east coast dealer.
Any help would be appreciated, as the property is getting out of hand again!!!
The number on the cup is "NSK VBT17Z-2" and Mitsubishi's part number is "1174 2201130". There is no number on the ball bearing itself.
Thanks,
Gary
gfin7763@aol.com

 

[lens12]

It sounds like it isn't put together with the correct tolerances.

 

[Gfin7763]

Thanks. I've purchased a torque wench and am now in the process of re building it according to the manual. And in the mean time I've found a local dealer that had the ball bearings for half the price that I paid for them before. Plus, the dealer gave me the name of a company that actually has rebuilt them before after getting the ball bearing from them. So keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks,
Gary

 

[Kernopelli]

It is tempting to try to replace those bearings without disassembling the steering box and removing the sector arm, etc.
With just the top of the steering box off, you can almost put the steering shaft in and engage the gears on the sector without removing it....almost. If this is how they were installed, at first it appears that everything is lined up correctly with the shaft sitting properly in the bottom bearing/race and all is good. However, when you torque everything down, that's when the bottom bearings get crushed between the shaft end and bearing race. Then after just a little use, you discover all is not well.
Don't ask how I know...it's one of those "I knew better but just had to try" -things.

 

[allenr]

Most times a bearing supplier can work out the bearing required if you can tell them the OD, ID and width of the bearing and I think that applies with taper roller bearings too.

Takes a bit of practice working out whether it's Imperial (ie fractions of an inch) or Metric, but on an Asian tractor it's probably metric and would be whole mm's and no fractions.