Broken Steering Arm Thing - What's this called?

[Cottonmather0]

Was driving around at the farm today and went through some soft mud and my right wheel started sliding around and losing traction. Looked down and I realized that it had come loose from the steering arms. I was able to put the round knuckle - not sure what it's really called - back into the hole and drive it back to the barn but it kept slipping out and I had to keep knocking it back into place with a hammer. Without that knuckle in the hole the tractor wouldn't steer at all on the right side.

Once I got to back to the barn and looked more closely and compared it to the left side, it appears that knuckle is supposed to be a little bit longer and have a hole for a pin to go through and lock it in place. Seems to me that the bottom broke off somehow. The grease boot was also torn and had mostly fallen off as well.

Here is the other side top and bottom for comparison:

So my question is, what is this part called and is it easy to replace? Just looking at the arm, the knuckle/shaft at the end appears to screw on and off, but I tried to unscrew it and it wouldn't budge so I quit for fear of making it worse. Do I just need a little more elbow grease?

Any help appreciated. I think if I can get this thing off it should be an easy fix from the parts department. Can anyone confirm that?

Is it possible this part is under warranty? The tractor is three months old and has about 45 hours on it.

Thanks.

 

[85Hokie]

tie rod....you will need to replace. Will need to pay attention to the amount of threads showing when replacing also - to keep the steering aligned.
What tractor?

 

[mdhughes]

I think you have a L4701 based on other post, the part number is TC432-13714 and based on the search I did, they are around $140.

 

[Sparky73]

Any help appreciated. I think if I can get this thing off it should be an easy fix from the parts department. Can anyone confirm that?

Is it possible this part is under warranty? The tractor is three months old and has about 45 hours on it.

Thanks.

From the wear marks on that jam nut, I'd say your tightening vs loosening it. May want to try cranking it in the other direction and it will come off much easier.

 

[Russell King]

tie rod....you will need to replace. Will need to pay attention to the amount of threads showing when replacing also - to keep the steering aligned.
What tractor?

He means the amount of threads on the horizontal side...
Before you remove it take a bit of time and measure from the joint of the nut and the rod it screws onto to the far side so your new one can be screwed on to get the same distance.

The nut that is missing may not have been tightened enough. You generally have a time getting that tapered shaft out of the hole but you don’t have to worry about that. See if you can get a torque value for that nut.


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[Cottonmather0]

Thank you for the replies. Seems like it's something I can fix myself if I can get the broken end off.

I can't find a picture of the part, so I'm still confused about the removal. Two more questions (for now):

1) Is there just a single nut or does the entire end piece turn around the threads? What exactly am I trying to loosen, the nut or the rod itself? In the picture, is the nut in the middle separate from the rod to the right?

2) Are the threads LH or RH? The picture appears to be normal
"lefty-loosey" (RH) threads, which is I thought what I was doing this afternoon.

The inner piece (closer to the ball joint) has two flat sides, so I figure a pair of vise grips and a wrench should be enough to get them to turn. (All I had today was a pair of pliers and an adjustable wrench and that wasn't working).

 

[SRG]

One side will be left hand threads, the other side will be right hand threads. So like another guy said, turn that jam nut the other direction, right losey, lefty tighty. I don't know what side i'm looking at, so whichever doesn't work, try the opposite direction.
The nut threads onto the tie rod end (the part with the exposed threads), then the tie rod end threads into the tie rod. Then the nut gets turned tightly (jammed) up against the tie rod, to prevent the tie rod from turning by itself.

Don't measure the exposed threads. Measure the overall length from tie rod end to tie rod end (outside to outside), and when you thread the new tie rod end into the tie rod, thread it in until you get that number again. Measure before you take it apart.

Edit; Oops i guess i didn't look at the pics good enough to remember the tie rod end is female, and the tie rod is male. Still applies tho.

 

[D2Cat]

The end of the tie rod is missing, where the cotter pin was. The upper horizontal part of the tie rod needs to be held with a (pipe) wrench and the nut on the end backed off. Then the tie rod will unscrew off the threaded stem.

You need to keep the space from the back of the nut to the end of the thread the same distance when you install the new piece. You don't need to put a wrench on the threaded rod, only back off the nut on those threads.

With that little time on a new tractor, why don't you let the dealer fix it. It should be covered with insurance, I'd think.

 

[Cottonmather0]

The end of the tie rod is missing, where the cotter pin was. The upper horizontal part of the tie rod needs to be held with a (pipe) wrench and the nut on the end backed off. Then the tie rod will unscrew off the threaded stem.

You need to keep the space from the back of the nut to the end of the thread the same distance when you install the new piece. You don't need to put a wrench on the threaded rod, only back off the nut on those threads.

With that little time on a new tractor, why don't you let the dealer fix it. It should be covered with insurance, I'd think.

AHHH! I see it now. Will try that tomorrow afternoon after church when I go back to the farm.

I hear what you're saying about letting the dealer fix it, but it doesn't seem too complicated a repair and I'd rather not deal with the hassle of getting it back to him and being down for multiple days if all it costs me is the cost of the part and an hour or two putting it back together.

 

[200mph]

Make certain to purchase the nut and cotter pin when buying the tie-rod. They do not come with the tie-rod... At least that was my experience.

 

[torch]

1) Is there just a single nut or does the entire end piece turn around the threads? What exactly am I trying to loosen, the nut or the rod itself? In the picture, is the nut in the middle separate from the rod to the right?

As others have said, that is a jam or lock nut. It is separate. That tie rod has a standard right hand thread, so you just have to back off the jam nut 1/4 turn or so and then unthread the tie rod end off of the rod. IE: looking at it from the broken end, rotate the nut clockwise then the tie rod end counter-clockwise.

 

[Pau7220]

Cotton,
Before you disassemble this..... measure from the edge of the inner the rod boot (your last pic) to the center of the grease fitting. Reassembling with the same measurement will assure you the most accurate position as originally assembled, as the grease fitting is centered in the ballstud cap.

More than likely this was not properly torqued during assembly, and was rocking in the knuckle. Check for wear in the taper of the knuckle when you get the new tie rod end in your hands. It looks a little shined up in there.

If it is a pita getting the tractor to them, any good dealer should exchange those parts over the counter under warranty without issue.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Here is what it looks like apart.

 

[L35]

Valve stem on the inside? Mine are outside with the same little guard.

 

[Cottonmather0]

Tried and tried this morning to get the jam nut loose but it wouldn***8217;t budge. Then I thought I had it and instead the end piece started screwing off instead. I guess that***8217;s what I ultimately wanted, but now the jam nut is still stuck on there.

Do I need to keep trying to get it off or is it ok to ignore for now and can I just just install the new part and go about my business?

 

[D2Cat]

See the diagram North Idaho Wolfman posted, and notice the flat spot on the rod. That is where you want to fit a wrench to hold thr rod from turning. Then the nut will come lose. You need to back the nut a bit or else when you thread on the new end it may not be facing down when the nut is tight against it. And the nut needs to be tight against the tie rod end to keep it in place.