Tie Rod End Taper Loose In Casting

[Tahoe BX23]

On the BX23 with 300ish hours, I just got done replacing a leaky axle pivot seal.

I also ordered up new tie rod ends, as one was loose and both had covers that were gone. Well, the side that needed the axle pivot seal definitely had an outer tie rod end gone bad. When I removed it from the casting there was no restraint other than the nut and freely came out of the casting. No persuasion was necessary.

Reassembly on the bad side suggests taper in the casting is not round and tight to the tie rod end. The good side is snug and the nut will fully seat.

Has anyone experienced this?
What did you do?
Any thoughts on using a tapered insert?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

On the BX23 with 300ish hours, I just got done replacing a leaky axle pivot seal.

I also ordered up new tie rod ends, as one was loose and both had covers that were gone. Well, the side that needed the axle pivot seal definitely had an outer tie rod end gone bad. When I removed it from the casting there was no restraint other than the nut and freely came out of the casting. No persuasion was necessary.

Reassembly on the bad side suggests taper in the casting is not round and tight to the tie rod end. The good side is snug and the nut will fully seat.

Has anyone experienced this?
What did you do?
Any thoughts on using a tapered insert?

Because this is a tractor and not an automobile, I'll give you a cheat to not buying a new housing to fix it.

Take a aluminum can and cut a short strip the width of the taper fit, and either one or two wraps of that strip, should get you large enough to fix the taper.

 

[200mph]

How old is this tractor? Could it still be under warranty?

It seems the most likely cause of the worn taper was due to incorrect assembly from the factory or possibly incorrect taper machining. Generally these parts will not wear unless there is insufficient clamp load on the nut. (I'm assuming it is machined correctly).

 

[kkk]

Yep...try the shim fix mentioned above.
You may have to stack a washer or 2 under the nut ..if the nut bottoms out on threads before the tie-rod is tight. I've done this a few times on various machines.

 

[DaveMueller]

If you want to fix it, there are a few companies that make the proper tapered insert. You drill an over sized straight hole, slide in the insert, and tack weld it if you're ambitious. They're used to flip tie rods over on old Jeeps.

 

[Tahoe BX23]

Because this is a tractor ..... Take a aluminum can and cut a short strip.

Going to give this a try, but first I have to remove the corn syrup from the can

 

[Tahoe BX23]

How old is this tractor? Could it still be under warranty?

It seems the most likely cause of the worn taper was due to incorrect assembly from the factory or possibly incorrect taper machining. Generally these parts will not wear unless there is insufficient clamp load on the nut. (I'm assuming it is machined correctly).

Tractor is ~15 years new. Yes, I completely agree there is a workmanship issue either in assembly or quality of machining. That said, even if it were 2 years old I doubt Kubota would ever admit to it. Particularly when you look at the materials used for the tie rod. So, I will fix it.

One complaint I must make on the new Kubota tie rod ends is that Kubota gets you for over $100 per side and cheap out on providing you with a new nut and carter pin. That is poor!

 

[200mph]

Tractor is ~15 years new. Yes, I completely agree there is a workmanship issue either in assembly or quality of machining. That said, even if it were 2 years old I doubt Kubota would ever admit to it. Particularly when you look at the materials used for the tie rod. So, I will fix it.

One complaint I must make on the new Kubota tie rod ends is that Kubota gets you for over $100 per side and cheap out on providing you with a new nut and carter pin. That is poor!

I'm well aware of the crap tie-rods Kubota uses and not excited about their acceptance of this (see link below). I think castle nut for mine was like $10. Bought a conventional nut and used a 3" cutoff wheel to make my own slots.

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/395187-tie-rods-poor-quality.html?highlight=tie+rod

 

[mikester]

Because this is a tractor and not an automobile, I'll give you a cheat to not buying a new housing to fix it.

Take a aluminum can and cut a short strip the width of the taper fit, and either one or two wraps of that strip, should get you large enough to fix the taper.

Aluminum + steel = galvanic corrosion

Dont use aluminum, use steel shim stock

 

[GeoHorn]

Aluminum + steel = galvanic corrosion

Dont use aluminum, use steel shim stock

Aluminum is directly adjacent to steel in the galvanic chart and is Anodic to steel.
This means that:
1-There is minimum galvanic corrosion between the two
2-Aluminum is anodic to steel, therefore will protect the steel
3-The large area of the anodic aluminum means virtually NO galvanic corrosion will occur.

https://galvanizeit.org/design-and-fabrication/design-considerations/dissimilar-metals-in-contact

NIW’s solution is a great one, IMO.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Tractor is ~15 years new. Yes, I completely agree there is a workmanship issue either in assembly or quality of machining. That said, even if it were 2 years old I doubt Kubota would ever admit to it. Particularly when you look at the materials used for the tie rod. So, I will fix it.

One complaint I must make on the new Kubota tie rod ends is that Kubota gets you for over $100 per side and cheap out on providing you with a new nut and carter pin. That is poor!

Lots of compatible ones on Flea-Bay for half the cost. Mine are 135 a toss at the dealer. Just replaced one. OEM ends come with no grease fitting either. After market ones come with grease fittings, new Castle nuts and cotter pins.

Normally I only buy OEM but some things are way over priced, tie rod ends are one.

 

[Lspark]

Because this is a tractor and not an automobile, I'll give you a cheat to not buying a new housing to fix it.

Take a aluminum can and cut a short strip the width of the taper fit, and either one or two wraps of that strip, should get you large enough to fix the taper.

curious. ive got this issue on a bx2230 with a tie rod end that I wiuld replace but I can’t get it off the cylinder. Its stuck big time. I was having the steering cylinder rebuilt and I took it to them wit the one tie rod still attached. Even in their machine shop they could not remove the tie rod end, so they rebuilt the cylinder with the tie rod attached. Now Ive got to figure out this “shim” business you are referring to.
if I cut Thin strip of alum from a can, how wide should it be (approximately and what keeps the shim in place in the joint. It seems that it would work itself out after a bit of use. Or maybe I don’t understand the shim concept and where it would be placed. Any more advice on this topic ??.