Tilt Steering Lever Missing Something

[CBox]

Hi guys,

Sorry I have been away for a while, but I haven't got to use my tractor much this winter , there just hasn't been much snow to push. Finally, last week we got our first significant snow of the winter. (very unusual for northern Indiana) At least it was enough to get the tractor out and push.

Well, when I went out in the garage to start the tractor, I noticed the tilt steering lever would not catch and hold the column in place. I remember reading on TBN that this sometimes locks up and needs some lubricant, so I got out the WD-40. After a good soaking the lever would catch again but things still did not seem right. I pulled the lower cover to get a better look and it appears that I am missing something. There must be some sort of pin or bolt that goes through the latching lever and connects it to the steering column. It appears that it is half there (the left half????) As I actuate the lever, it is very loose. In order to get the lever to latch the steering column in place, I must twist the lever and align the holes. The question is: Can anyone tell me what I am missing. Is there a pin that is supposed to go clear thru? Perhaps mine is broken in two? Or, is there a bolt that screws into each side? It appears that there may be a hex-head going into the left side.

Unfortunately, this brings up another problem. I can’t get a good look at the left side of the mechanism because I can not remove the cover on that side. The two bolts attaching the cover (molded plastic shroud) through the firewall must be stripped. I can turn the bolt, but it never loosens up. The threads that are imbedded in the plastic must be turning. Is there any way to get these out without breaking everything?

I’ve tried to attach a couple of pictures of the best view I can get of the tilt steering mechanism, hopefully they are viewable. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
CBox

 

[CBox]

Sorry, I guess I should have mentioned that my tractor is a 2002 model DX33. I must be loosing it.

CBox

 

[schmism]

ppppssssttttt put that info in your sig

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV down there

 

[Raddad]

WD 40 is not a very good lubricant. The WD stands for water displcement.

 

[dirtyharry45]

Does the wheel just move up and down like mine did? When to a dealer and he said i'm afraid it's gonna take a new gas fill strut. When asked how much he said $160 sumthin.
I really didn't think they knew much about how it even worked so home I came to search this forum.
Well I did and found the answers and fixed it myself. I will struggle with my 2 finger typing and help you. first you need to take the cowling halves off below the steering. I think there are two bolts out front after you have the hood open and in the area of the back of the dash. One of them is easy to get the other is kinda tricky. Then the other bolt or bolts (i forget if its 1 or 2 ) are visible from sitting in the seat.
After you get the cowlings off you will see a strut with a couple of pins with snap rings. Take the pins out and remove the strut. Notice the center of the strut shaft and how the t handle touches it. What happens is the handle when you move it pushes down on a rod in the shaft opening the internal valve allowing the strut to adjust the wheel position.
What happens is the rod in the shaft of the strut becomes frozen from moisture and rusts. I was able to use a vise holding the strut by the metal where the bottom pin goes thru and use a vicegrip to lock on the small pin and work it free. Penetrating oil will help and it might have a benefit to leave it soak a while but I never. If you get it free work it up and down a bunch of times while spraying with more penetrating oil. Thats how I fixed mine . Be careful as there is a little nylon washer around the tiny shaft of the pin supposed to keep the moisture out. I lost mine but I dont think it did much.
I hope I explained it but realize i am no writer for popular mechanics LOL.
GOOD LUCK!
dirtyharry

 

[dirtyharry45]

Yeah i'm sorry i didn't read your whole post! The allen screws go into the strut block only far enuf to hold it in position. It does not go clear thru. There are one on each side. U should be able to buy the one your missing. I don't know if the r metric or standard though.
I dont have any suggestions on the stripped outer cowl bolts though. That would suck. Maybe try and weld a long 1/4 bolt to the head so you can turn and pull at the same time with a vicegrip or sumthin. If you have a welder??
Good Luck!
Dirtyharry

 

[dqdave1]

Grind off bolt heads to remove cowl; you can also use a left handed drill bit to drill bolt out ( made to drill in reverse) Once you remove cowl; use a plastic epoxy 2 part weld glue to repair stripped nut grommet on firewall.

 

[jinman]

Wow! Dqdave1 and I are in complete agreement. I think you'll have to remove the bolt head too. Once you get the old captive nut out, you will have to figure out a way to put another one in place or just do without it. There are worse things than having just one bolt on the cowling. I have found several instances (two actuallly) on my tractor where bolts were crossthreaded during factory assmebly and just forced until the captive bolt broke the plastic. It's not a real confidence builder.

 

[dqdave1]

Jinman; My unit had a few "forced" bolts from assembly; all were on the firwall area. I epoxied the embedded nuts in the plastic and chased the threads to loosen them up and the bolts go in easily and can be removed easily. Better than no bolt at all. I use the left handed drill bits quite a bit. They seem to work better than easy outs. They give you the torque needed to remove the bolt. I am afraid in thethis situation, the bolt may want to spin, then grinding is the best way. At this time and with this forum help; the tilt cylinder syndrome is manageable but I do not have telescopic ability as that bolt is totally frozen and would mean more work and expense than I want to do. Sometimes I wonder why CNH does not make it mandatory for their engineers to read the CNH forum topics posted here. They could learn the "slight" modifications needed to make an outstanding machine with same cost increases ( ie: boot on tilt cylinder, hydro cooler mods, and even the corrosion with battery problems that are plagueing ALL companies) why not be the first to correct. ENough about this; I hope poster will get cowl off and repair his tilt cylinder without the $160.00 cost to replace it at dealer.

 

[CBox]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the input. I'll give it a shot the first chance I get. It's a little too cold to work on anything today. Like most of the northern part of the Nation, it is bitterly cold. My thermo. say 9 and the wind is howling at 25+++ mph. The tractor is in the garage, but in can hear the wind wipping through the garage doors from inside the house........I think I'll wait a few.

Thanks again,
CBox