Steering failure on L4200

Steve Wyatt · Jul 17, 2009

My L4200 with 2,000 hours quit turning today and I discovered the large vertical pin that is the pivot point for the steering pitman had fallen out. The pin has some severe wear on the bottom end and the hole in the tractor frame that it fits through shows wear as well. The parts book shows several bushings and spacers in this assembly. Has anyone else experienced this failure? It looks like a poor design as there is no apparent way to grease this assembly and the pin appears to be a non precision fit that would allow enough excess movement that it would inevitably fail.

This does not look like any easy fix, are there any tips to tackle this?

Thanks in advance.

Steve Wyatt
Colorado

KennyV · Jul 17, 2009

Steve...
Really sorry to hear this... I've got half your hours and will look to see if I can find what you are referring to on my L4200... can you post any pictures? KennyV

Steve Wyatt · Jul 17, 2009

Here are some pictures of the shaft that fell out showing the wear on the lower end. The plate held by the two bolts shown in the picture had worn enough that it did not engage the keyway in the shaft and the shaft just dropped out.

As you can see, there was no grease on any of these surfaces. The Kubota dealer I talked with today said the replacement shaft is drilled for a grease fitting so this must have been a wear area that Kubota recognized and designed a new part to deal with that.

Kenny, if your tractor has the same set up, you may want to remove the plate and drop the shaft out and grease it. Keep an eye on the plate to be sure it firmly engages the keyway.

I ordered a new shaft and plate today. I am hopeful that most of the wear was on the shaft and not the tractor frame and that the new shaft will fit snug enough. Maybe this winter I will tear it down and repalce all the bushings and the pintman, but I need to get it going now so will just replace the shaft and plate at this time.

Thanks,

Steve Wyatt

KennyV · Jul 18, 2009

WOW Steve.... that pin is sure a mess... Thanks for the alert, I will pull that pin and look at cross drilling it to get some lube in there... post back with the fit of the new pin...
I drive a mile on a busy street to get diesel. It could be vary unhandy to have that pin fall out when in traffic...KennyV.

Steve Wyatt · Jul 18, 2009

Kenny,

I greased the pin up really well and put it back so I could keep mowing until the new one gets here this week. It was a little difficult getting everything back in place and lined up so it would slip all the way in. I found that it was necessary to raise the front end with the loader to get weight off the front wheels so I could move the pitman and line up the washers to get the pin to fit. I think if you just take off the keeper plate and drop the pin without moving anything, it should be easy to get back in place.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Steve Wyatt

mcd176 · Jul 19, 2009

Steve,

Thanks for posting this, I too will be checking my L4200, My rig has 2500 hours on it and I am concerned after viewing the mess you had with your ppin, what was the cost of the new pin with grease fitting?

-Mike

KennyV · Jul 19, 2009

Steve...
Took a look at mine, all OK. but I'm going to remove it and put a grease channel in it when I get the chance...
While you are in that area you might want to check the preload for the front axle rocking force. That is set using the bolt with the jam nut shown in your first picture. The specs for this adjustment is in this post... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil-fuel-lubricants/126137-front-axle-support-greasing.html
KennyV.

Steve Wyatt · Jul 19, 2009

Mike,

The cost of the new pin was bout $57.00 plus freight. The small plate that holds it in place was around $3.00. I have decided not to tear down the whole assembly, but to install the new pin and see how things seem. There may be a little more play than when new, but I am hoping it will be O.K.

I measured the unworn end of the pin and it was 40mm and the diameter of the bore in the frame measeured about 42mm. It probably should be a little tighter than this, but I don't know.

Good luck with your L4200 project. I have only had this tractor a little over a month. My 1998 L4310 with 1450 hours was stolen this spring, and I found this L4200 with cab to replace it. It has been used fairly hard by the Boulder, CO parks department. I have all their service records since new, so I have a pretty good idea of it's history. It runs really well but has some small issues I am still sorting out. The AC is not working, there was hole rubbed in one of the lines to the receiver/drier so it needs replaced and then charged. I have just taken the doors off the cab for now as it is like a greenhouse in there, unbearably hot.

Thanks,

Steve

npaden · Jul 19, 2009

I had the hydraulic arm on my L4200 go bad and had to replace it. It was a pretty big undertaking for me at the time, but really wasn't that bad.

According to my diagram and my limited memory there is a grease jerk on the bottom of that pin though?

I have quite a bit of slop in my steering at just over 1,000 hours.

Steve Wyatt · Jul 19, 2009

Yes, the diagram shows a grease zerk, although there was none my 1995 L4200. I think Kenny has a good idea about cross drilling or getting a channel cut in the pin so you can get some grease up in there.

Did you have to pull the radiator and hood to get in to replace the hydraulic cylinder?

Thanks,

Steve Wyatt

1995 L4200DT GST C L680 FEL