Speaking of tractor repairs...

[Ultradog MN]

Nutfarmer's home spun fixes are great and got me thinking of a few fixes I have made on my own tractor.
These Ford row crops are not rare but certainly were not high production machines.
Most of the steering parts are no longer dealer serviced.
The bearings in the upper steering column were flimsy little things and Ford provided no way to lubricate them. Add to that, water tended to get into them which was Not condusive to longevity.
Mine had rusted and disintegrated so badly that you couldn't even measure them for generic replacements.
I pressed the U joint apart so I could chuck the splined end and use a live center in the other and took a skim cut on the shaft to clean it up.
I bought some delrin and made some bushings to replace the original bearings then pressed them into the tube. Made the fit on the shaft fairly loose ~ .005
I greased the shaft well before installing it.
Between the upper and lower bushings there is about 5" of wear area.
The steering is Way smoother now than with
the crunchy bearings that were in it.
I hope the photos help tell the story.

 

[vocatexas]

That's thinking outside the box a bit. Good job!

Never saw a Ford of that vintage with that type of steering. Is that a 4000 or 5000?

We had a 5000 open and 7000 cab, both row croppers, when I was growing up. I cut many thousands of acres of hay with the 7.

 

[Ultradog MN]

That's thinking outside the box a bit. Good job!

Never saw a Ford of that vintage with that type of steering. Is that a 4000 or 5000?

We had a 5000 open and 7000 cab, both row croppers, when I was growing up. I cut many thousands of acres of hay with the 7.

Thanks.
It is a 1966 4000. Ford called it a 4200.
Same engine and chassis as an all purpose 4000.

 

[Martin W]

Nice fix. Great job. I really like those old Ford tractors . Some of the sharpest looking tractors made.
Cheers
Martin

 

[PHPaul]

Nice work!

I have worked on a couple of smaller tractors (A Satoh S650G and a Shibaura SD1500B) that had the same issue. REALLY tight steering due to corrosion and boogered up bearings/bushings in the steering column.

Wish I'd have thought of the delrin thing, would have made a much better fix than polishing the shaft and reaming out the bushings.

I have a John Deere 455 with sloppy bushings in the power steering cylinder that makes steering it a pain with the constant corrections. If I can get the cylinder off, I'll try pressing out the worn bushings and making some.

 

[Janderso]

Nice fix. Great job. I really like those old Ford tractors . Some of the sharpest looking tractors made.
Cheers
Martin

We had an old Ford tractor at the dealership we used for a forklift.
I don’t remember what the capacity was but it worked for most things.
I remember when the owner sold it in the late 90’s, he said he got more than what he paid for it.
It looked a lot like the 4200 but older.