L130 - Front end rebuild questions

[thatguy]

I have my dads L130 (2002 - 2005 years) - it has a terrible front end alignment issue (huge toe out - which explains the hard steering) so its getting 1) bearings in the front wheels replacing the bushings, , 2) new adjustable tie rods and 3) a few other misc steering parts..

1) The front wheels have grease fittings - But since im going to the bearings, do you still need to grease the wheel? the bearings are sealed.

2) I got the adjustable tie rods installed but still need to align the front end. Any tips/suggestions on how to easily do that? How much toe in should i have?


thanks

brian

 

[beenthere]

For an L130, zero to less than 1/4" toe in should be more than adequate.

If there are grease zirks, then a couple pumps of grease will not hurt a thing.

Some pics of your fix would be great.

 

[thatguy]

For an L130, zero to less than 1/4" toe in should be more than adequate.

If there are grease zirks, then a couple pumps of grease will not hurt a thing.

Some pics of your fix would be great.

is that 1/4" each tire or in total? Honestly ill be curious how "tight" the steering will be when im done.. right now there is a LOT of slop/play,

The hardest part was getting the old front wheel bushing off.. I did go with JD OEM bearings - there were a lot cheaper bearings online, but a lot got horrible reviews.

One thing i found interesting.. the new tie rods have the adjustment NOT at the tire end, but where it attaches to the steering plate underneath the tractor..

After getting everything apart i found that the pinion gear was worn slightly - so if Amazon Prime comes through i should be able to put everything back together tomorrow afternoon.

 

[thatguy]

OK.. good news, its all back together.. I bought a new pinion gear off Amazon (no OEM) and it needed a little smoothing of the edges to get it started and then some taps with a hammer to get it on the shaft.. Once on the shaft I used the old gear to push it up in place (tip from an amazon reviewer)..

On the front end alignment I did the best that I could I has a piece of oak flooring 3" that I used to measure the front and back of the tire with to get it close enough.. While on the ground, i put one end of the board in front of the tire in the center (has a clear mfg line) and then marked the board where the center of the other tire hit.. Then I measured the rear of the tire and compared measurements.

It took a couple of times to find the best position/length for the tie rods The new OEM tie rods are 2 turns from the shortest length. I may try to find a wider board (so its closer to the center of the tire). I started out with the rods in the shortest position and the toe in was like 1", BUT boy it felt like you had power steering it was so smooth..

Note 1 - there is so much free play in the steering you wont be able to get it exact. you could measure multiple times and get different readings..

NOTE 2 - when the steering pinion is in the center position on the L130 (and I assume others) there is a hole in the frame that matches up so you can put a bolt through both to keep the steering from turning..

brian