Front tire rod bent or misaligned?

   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned? #1  

jorswift

Bronze Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2018
Messages
61
Location
Upland, IN
Tractor
JD 4300, Ford Jubilee
Was looking at the tractor today and it looks as if the front tire is not straight. Are these tractors to have a slight pitch to level out when load is on? Please advise? It the “passenger” side .
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   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned? #3  
Follow ruffdog's lead...
 
   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned? #4  
Use a tape measure to measure both the back of the tires, and the front of the tires.
(measure at half of the height)
the tires should be slightly closer together in the front,, typically 1/8 to 1/4"

Remove a tie rod, and twist to adjust,, only one side needs done, unless there is a severe adjustment needed,,,

Check your owners/service manual to determine the amount of "toe-in" that is required.

If the front tires are "toed-out",, then the tractor will wander when attempting to drive straight.

Also, toe-out will cause tire wear if you drive a lot on paved roads,,

Oh, yea,, camera pics,, and "your eye" are a terrible way to determine toe-in,,
you are wrong 97% of the time,,,
 
   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned? #7  
Camber is not changed by adjusting the tie rod ends,,,
That's right. And chances are good that the lean we are seeing is will not cause a problem.

OOPS I BETTER EDIT!! I went back for another look and saw the OP did indeed also show a photo of the other - the "onside"* - front wheel and that it has a similar outward lean at the top. Yes that is a type of camber and is perfectly normal.
Depending on the design, camber can be adjustable - but it isn't easy and often involves internal shims.
It should be the same on both front wheels. What you are seeing seems fine to me.

MORE:
No, I don't know why some tractors/cars/trucks will have positive camber like that. It may have to do with steering in 4wd. I kind of doubt that it will change angle much or at all with a normal FEL load. But it might change the way it steers in soft ground with that FEL load.

If you want to go a little deeper into checking out the front axle, use the FEL to raise the front wheels off the ground, turn off the engine, take it out of 4wd, level the axle, and take a few pictures that way too. Then spin the front tires by hand to make sure that the rubber tires are true to the steel wheel and that both tire and wheel are running true to the main front axle & without wobble. Some small amount of play is normal.
rScotty

*BTW, the driver's side is sometimes called the "onside", because that is the side you mount your horse - or in this case your tractor.
Of course that makes the other side the "offside"...which is sort of odd since nobody gets off of a horse OR a tractor to that side.
 
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   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned?
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks for the replies. After posting I checked the tire pressure and it was a bit low. After I aired them up, the “canter” wasn’t as noticeable. I will play with it some more this week as time allows.. was just nervous as I lifted a heavy load the other day. Thanks
 
   / Front tire rod bent or misaligned? #9  
Years ago some people had turf scuffing when turning issues with the 4000 series tractors. I think Deere swapped out the front axle for turf going customers. I know my NH also had some camber built into the front axle geometry.
 
 
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