GC2310TLB FRONT BALL JOINT & TIE ROD

[newmexico]

I don't know what these parts are called but I will try to describe what the problem is. Went out today and ended up hitting a tree stump on the front right hand side. OK so there is a hydraulic shaft then there is a rubber boot which covers a ball inside a cup and then this goes to the tie rods which have a bolt and then this gets bolted to where the tires are bolted on. The hydraulic steering cylinder under the front end is supported and held in place with these two metal brackets. One was all bent so I heated it up and flattened it all up. It is good now. When I first looked at it the whole hydraulic cylinder was out of the two support brackets. Then I went on to see what other damage there was and found the following. The threaded piece that comes out of both ends on the hydraulic cylinder is bent however only on the right side. No problem I thought. I took the rubber boot that covers it up and thought I would just unscrew it from the cylinder. How do I do this. If I use a pipe wrench to hold the hydraulic shaft while I turn the unit I will damage the shaft. Also the part that is covered with the rubber boot has sort of a ball inside a cup this cup is somehow attached to the cylinder, how do I get this off. I need to remove it because the threaded part that the tie rods bolt on is bent. I have tried everything to no avail. Really frustrating. The cup that holds the ball seems to have two flat crimped areas to allow a box wrench to grab onto but how do you turn the hydraulic shat out of there??

Thanks guys for any advice sorry about the messed up post.

Paul

 

[irvingj]

Paul, it sounds like you're talking about the tie rod end, which has a jam nut on the outside (toward the wheel), then there's that piece with the ball joint and rubber boot that screws into the end of the hydraulic ram. Others have had to make repairs on this stuff, but I've been lucky so far, so have no experience with it.

Here are some pics that may help you to describe what's "broken." I might add that it appears that ball joint may be a "sealed" unit, in which case you may have to cut away the rubber boot on that ball joint to be able to grab hold of it and unscrew it from the end of the hydraulic cylinder --while holding that with a wrench on those flat spots. (And then plan to replace it.) I could be wrong here, however.

Also included below area couple of shots from the service manual covering that business. Hope this helps; you might also do a search on this forum, as I recall seeing some threads on repairs to the steering on these GCs. I know several folks have had those clamps that hold the hydraulic cylinder in place slip or get damaged.


Here are the part names from the service manual, from the pic that shows the outer section (fig. 34):
1. Rod end
2. Boot spring
3. Boot
4. Knuckle
5. Clamp
6. Washer

Walt

 

[massey driver]

If you look at the other end of the cylinder shaft you'll see that it has a spot where you can put a wrench on to hold it from spinning.This is only on one side of the cylinders shaft.I believe that you have to pull the boot back in order to see the flat spots[were you put your wrench] Larry

 

[Don87]

If you look at 'irvingj"s first diagram(the one with 6 parts numbered.

Part 1 is the 'outer tie rod end'. Remove the cotter pin and nut from the underside, the hit the cast iron part that it goes thru with a big hammer several times. That should free it up so it pops out. But loosen the jam nut that is just to the left of number 2 first to make life easier. When you remove the rod end from the shaft, count the turns, and reinstall with the same amount of turns, as this is the 'toe-in' for the wheels.

Slide rubber boot 3 down the shaft and you will see the spots for your wrenches(that is the 'inner tie rod'). As Larry said.

 

[newmexico]

Thank you, Thank you, you guys are the greatest bunch of people. To go as far as post a diagram.....Wow!! What can I say.
Now let me try to describe this a bit better.
Part # 4 The knuckle...There are two pinched ends that are flat meant to place a box wrench. OK Now the problem is that this part is dome shaped. The two places that the part is flat, if I put a open end wrench the wrench itself is to wide. It just does not grab. It is almost as if you would need a really narrow box wrench. The problem is when you get into such a large size wrench the width of the actual open side of wrench is about 3/4 of an inch wide...this is too wide. The only other way to grad it is maybe using a pipe wrench on that side and another one on the other side. I would have to remove the rubber boot on the other side too. Let me ask you guys another question. If I removed the complete hydraulic cylinder what would happen to the hydraulic fluid if the tractor is not running. Would I have to bleed the whole system after re-install, or just maybe add some extra fuild at the end.

Thank you once again,

Paul

 

[irvingj]

Larry, you're right! I hadn't noticed that, but I can see it now in the diagram-- the flats on the hydraulic shaft are ONLY on the LEFT side. Not sure why they did that, other than maybe to save a few $$ by machining the flats on only one end...?

Paul, I'm not sure about the steering shaft on these tractors, but I do know (and I've done it myself) that mechanics have sometimes ground down an open-end wrench to make the jaws thinner, so they'll fit into a tight spot --and to avoid paying big bucks for the "special tool." Maybe that needs to be done here? I've also had some success with a pair of needle-nose vise-grips in situations like this.

As far as the fluid, I don't know. It is at a pretty low spot in the overall system, but maybe it would just bleed down from the steering control and then stop.

Keep us posted-- chances are we'll all be doing this sooner or later! WBB

 

[newmexico]

Hey Guys,

Well it was a long night. I was really tired and had to get up very early this morning, so I went the easy route for now. I don't know what you call them but I had bought a long time ago a small oxegen tank and mapps gas and heated the threaded rod part until it was red hot, took a pipe and bent it back. Seems to be almost perfectly straight. I did try almost everything to get that part off before heating it. It is on there really tight, seized on there pretty good. I wioll order a new piece for both sides and in the spring when it warms up will try to take the whole cylinder out put it on the bench and work on it. Till then this fix will have to work. I just hope that I did not weaken the threaded part too much with the heat. Again, Thank you all for the help, when I do take the whole piece out in spring I will take pictures and post everything. By the way guys I did notice that the joint under the rubber boot was really dry, so I put lots of grease in there. I also took the boot off the other side and greased it too. Another friend of mine also said that the part was really dry. Maybe you guys should check yours, looks like there was never any grease applied there from the factory. Crazy but true.

Best Regards

Paul

 

[exohomestead]

Digital pages of parts diagrams are also available here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...g/354655-free-access-serial-number-check.html

See attached pdf I got from the website. ...oops. can't attach a file. I'll attach a screenshot of the picture, but just as a demo. You'd like it a lot better if you get your own original pdf.



I notice also that the part numbers in the parts diagram I'm posting are different than the ones previously posted. IrvinJ shows the knuckle as "4". The pdf I just downloaded shows the knuckle as "1". Not sure why. The Agco downloads also gives a map to MF part numbers to order.

4265171M91 Rod End up to S/N S1500
6253678M91 Rod End from S/N S1500
Would that be serial number JSA1500? Hmm...

I see the end of the hydraulic piston has a flat to grab. Does the outer shell of the knuckle also have a flat to grab?

~EH

 

[wrangler6831]

Those numbers have all been superseded by 6253678M91 it come as a whole assembly now. Tie rod and Ball joint together. Try Jacks Small engine, you can put in the part numbers and it tells you what you need to use.

Rich

 

[exohomestead]

Explanation of changing out the tie rod ends here: Massey Ferguson GC2310 TLB Repair

The stainless steel rod flat on the left side needs a 19 mm wrench. I used a $9 kit of wrenches from Harbor Freight and filed down the width until it fit on the skinny flats.

The ball joint connectors need a 28 mm wrench. I couldn't find those for an economical price, so I purchased a $6 10" crescent wrench from Harbor Freight and ground down its jaws until it was narrow enough to fit on the connector.

One trick - Screw in the right connector a little bit tighter. Then you can later service old ones with normal tools. If you don't care to damage rubber on old ones, use pipe wrenches on the two connectors and spin in opposite directions. You want the left one to be a little bit looser so it comes off first. Then use a normal (fat) 19 mm wrench on the stainless rod flats and a pipe wrench on the right side to remove the right side connector.