B6000 front end disassembly

[284 International]

I recently picked up a B6000 with a loader, box blade and spike harrow. (I documented the saga in the Yanmar forum , where I normally hang out.) Long story short, it had some wobble in the front end that I didn't catch before I bought it. The top of the knuckle moves in and out about an inch. When pulled out:

And when pushed in:

I didn't want to break anything (any worse) and want it to be serviceable and safe to use or sell. So, I pulled it apart this afternoon, and thought folks may want to see what it looked like.

It's pretty simple, well built and very strong for its size. Here is the outer assembly.

The knob up top with the grease zerk is the kingpin. Pull those 4 bolts off, and the steering arm comes up, bringing the kingpin with it. A dozen or so small bolts hold a dust guard around the knuckle. With those pulled, the dust guard slides back onto the axle and gives you a little more room to work.

The bottom kingpin is held in place by a clip. Two bolts hold the clip in, then the kingpin drops out. The hub then slides out, taking the axleshaft with it:

This is what the tractor end looks like now:

The little round divot at the bottom of the knuckle is a bushing, pressed in from the bottom. I needed to get mine out, and, while I have a reasonable equipped shop, I don't have the right puller to do this. Since I'm dumber than I am rich, I improvised one:

A 7/8 socket on top of the bushing, and whatever giant one I grabbed first to go over the bottom of the bushing on bottom, sandwhiched by a large C-clamp ALMOST worked. By hitting the socket with a hammer and long punch the bushing came out smoothly and easily.

Here are the lower kingpin, and bushing. There is also a bearing that sits on top of the bushing, but I forgot to get a picture of that.

On the right edge of the kingpin, you can see the groove worn into it. It's about .006 or so edged out, and a corresponding but lesser amount on the bushing. When amplified at the top of the knuckle, though, the effect is much greater, as seen in the pictures above.

The new assistant supervisor kept an eye on things. Now I have to find a new kingpin, bearing, and bushing for this thing, and slap it all back together.

 

[SixHoeBob]

My Jack Russel gives me that same look. She is thinking "Will it ever run again"?
Nothing like a vote of confidence from the dog....

 

[284 International]

That's pretty much what both the senior and assistant supervisor were thinking! Dexter is almost 10 weeks old. It's hard to take myself too seriously with a puppy around!

 

[MMH]

Nice write-up & pics. Did you have a manual? If not, you must be a pretty skilled tractor mechanic.

 

[sandman2234]

While you might get lucky finding the pin and bushings. I would find a machine shop and just have new ones made, along with an extra for the other side. I wonder if my friend would be interested in borrowing your old pin and bushing so he could make a couple sets for his tractor.
David from jax

 

[284 International]

Thanks for the compliment, MMH, but I'm not a skilled mechanic of any sort, nor did I have a manual. I'm just a guy who takes stuff apart, and sometimes puts it back together...

Sandman, I just looked and the parts are available, but the kingpin alone is $49.18. The bearing is $11.24 and the bushing is $29.56. Ugh. They're available, but pricy. I'm going to see if I can find someone to turn them for me, and a locally available bearing. Depending on what I can find locally, if your buddy wants them I'll just send them to him, maybe with some money, if he'll make me a set too. Let me know what he says.

I'm sorry some of the pictures are sideways. I edited them beforehand, plus in photobucket, and they're still crooked. I don't know what else to do. Sorry.

 

[284 International]

I was incorrect. While the lower kingpin is worn, and it gives play in the knuckle, the worst problem was actually up top. Look at the top king pin, before I took the hub off:

It was bugging me all day, and then it came to me in the shower. The play in the lower kingpin was allowing the top to wiggle. The kingpin would sometimes float up and be loose, and sometimes float down, and hold. Look at it once it's properly set:

I'll fabricate some type of retainer to keep the kingpin secured down, then get it all lubed.

I still will need a bearing at some point, but this little guy is ready for a basic service and fluids change, then to be put through the paces and see what I need to do in order for it to be fully operational!

 

[sandman2234]

While you might get lucky finding the pin and bushings. I would find a machine shop and just have new ones made, along with an extra for the other side. I wonder if my friend would be interested in borrowing your old pin and bushing so he could make a couple sets for his tractor.
David from jax

 

[284 International]

Sandman, I know I'll need to do it eventually, so I'm going to talk to somebody with a machine shop and see what they can do.

 

[284 International]

I did an oil change on this, and took some pictures of it for those who want it. I'll post those in a little bit.

Since I'm waiting on some front parts still, I decided to make a little progress in a different way.

A trip to the hardware store yielded a half quart of "Safety Orange" paint, and another half quart of "Bright Dark Blue." A small container of satin black and I was ready with materials.

I spent some time taking off the hood and other components. Then I cleaned them up with my wire brush on an angle grinder, power washed it, blew it dry, then wiped it all down with xylene on paper towels.

For a quick and dirty job done in a couple hours, I think it cleaned it up quite a bit. It's too traffic cone colored, but after a few days, or an hour or so of work, the dust will subdue the color a bit. It looks different, for sure.

I think I'll paint the wheel weights black.

The hood isn't finished, and it's just set on there. The dashboard has had nothing done to it whatsoever, and will be time consuming. However, it's a good excuse to fix the rat's nest of wiring.

I need to clean up some overspray on the tires, and do something different on the foot rests. I tried some spray can undercoating, but it doesn't seem to cure. It's still soft and goopy hours after I applied it. Herculiner or similar material is really expensive though. Does anybody have any ideas?

I need to get the box scraper all fixed up too.

I had forgotten how time consuming body work and paint are. Between having a real job, and stuff to do like buying groceries, it's tough to find enough time to get stuff done on my tractors!


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