I finally had the finalstraw last fall when I had to use a ratchet strap to hold the left cultivator gang in the tube.  This is quite dangerous in that if it falls out I’ll be replacing a 12.4-28 Firestone and that isn’t something my bank account wants to do.  The culprit was that the inner clamp bolt hold had stripped and a previous owner had destroyed the outer with a torch and a tap (unbeknown to me).  Therefore earlier this week I decided it was time to fix this nagging issue.  At the same time I needed to repair a leaking seal on the steering box that continually leaks and makes a mess.  This would also allow me to evaluate the vertical play in the sector gear shaft.

After removing the front end and disassembling the unit I was forced to bring the lower casting with me yesterday as I could not cut whatever was hiding in the outer hole with a high speed steel drill bit.  Having a full machine shop at your disposal is often invaluable.  A few minutes on the boring mill with a carbide endmill revealed beneath the molten metal, the remnants of a tap which had at some point been broken off in the hole.  After plunging through that it was a matter of drilling and tapping to the next appropriate size.  In this case 3/4 – 16 NF… I will no longer be babysitting that left cultivator gang.

With regard to the steering I discovered that the bearing is the culprit.  It is a simple ball bearing that after 56 years and plenty of water infiltration had deteriorated and results in a lot of movement between inner and outer race.  The new one will be here Saturday morning courtesy of my friends at the local IH dealership.

With any luck we’ll be hilling for taters next weekend…