Removing Front Wheel Weights ? ?

[MarblemountLane]

The guy who sold me my Massey Ferguson 204 handed me a set of two piece weights for the inside of the front wheels, but the one piece outer weights were still in place. As is common on old tractors with 16 inch fronts, this one was shod with old worn out 7:50-16 pickup tires. They are giving up the ghost, so I ordered new tubes and new three rib 7.50-16 tractor tires.

The front axle is on jack stands (the Davis-MF 102 loader is a great jack), and I had no problem getting the lug nuts off with my 1/2 impact wrench. But those weights are stuck. They appear to have been held in place with four bolts, which have already been removed (probably when the inner weights were removed). Unless there are additional secret fasteners I cannot see, I think the weights are just stuck (and maybe rusted) in the wheels.

I would guess these weights are the same for any of the Work Bulls and the MF35 - and probably numerous other models with 16 inch wheels. Does anyone have experience with these? Right now, it looks like penetrant, then lots of hammering & cussing with drifts and a big hammer. I flopped the wheels down, then sprayed the weight-wheel interface with 50/50 acetone and ATF (one of the best penetrants going, and easy to mix for my reusable aerosol cans - Harbor Freight sold these a few years ago). That is enough for tonight, but I hope to hit it in the morning.

Thanks.

 

[MarblemountLane]

Got them! Wow! Lots of hammering and cussing. Even heated one rim a bit - but after I used five of my cold chisels for wedges between wheel and weight, all around the bolt circle. Air hammer helped drive the chisel wedges that I could not hit with a hammer. Finally drove a wrecking bar or two into the gaps at the sides. Those wheels are a lot easier to handle without the 100 lb. cast iron weights. Yes, I weighed them. The inner side weights that were already off come in 36 or 37 lb. halves.

I do not think I will put the weights back on. The only advantage I see to nearly 350 lbs. of weight up front would be when driving with the backhoe on the tractor. When that day finally comes, I can easily pick up a scoop of gravel. And the weight has NOT helped while my power steering needs fixing. I look forward to replacing seals where the gear/valve box pukes fluid just below the steering wheel.

Learning is fun, but I am tired. .

 

[MarblemountLane]

Losing the weights and going to proper 3-rib tires aired to 50 psi, definitely did reduce steering effort.

I still need to fix that power steering, but I did get a little work done.