Poor man's power steering

[CLStout]

Had anyone here tried this? I thought I would, but after installing new steering spindle bushings, and installing the bearings and thrust washers, there wasn't enough room to reinstall the e-clips and washers on the steering spindles. I was kinda looking forward to how it would feel. Did I do something wrong?

Thanks

 

[clubairth]

Was there suppose to be a picture?
Can't figure out what your saying??
.
.
.

 

[CLStout]

Well, I don't have any pictures, but I will try to explain it. There's actually a kit, but I purchased the bearings and thrust washers for way less than the kit costs.

The bearings are 20mm ID and 35mm OD, as are the thrust washers. The idea is to put the bearings between the thrust washers and slide them down the steering spindle shaft where it rides in the axle. This takes a lot of the effort from the steering. I saw this on a video on YouTube. It worked pretty well, but apparently not for me. I could install the bearings and thrust washers, but then I didn't have enough room at the top of the spindle shaft to put both the washer and the e-clip. It didn't seem to be a good idea to use just the e-clip with no washer.

As I said, there's actually kits on eBay for just this. I don't understand why mine wouldn't work.

 

[4getgto]

Here's a picture to what's being talked about.


Only makes sense that you'd have to go with thinner ( shim) washers in place from original. Or you'd have to take some material off of the axle boss to accommodate the thickness of the bearing..

 

[CLStout]

I don't want to be grinding on it any more than I really need to. I know the kits are around $22.00. I bought the same set of bearings and thrust washers for just a little over $8.00. No big deal, I just thought it would be nice to be able to steer it better.

 

[bertsmobile1]

IMHO you are wasting your time
Unless the bearing is sealed it will accumulate a lot of dust then become impossible to turn
If I was to attempt this then I would be looking at a lipped sealed annular bearing .
Next problem are $ 8 bearings .
If you think you can get a quality bearing for $ 4 ( assuming there are 2 of them then you probably have deep & meaningful conversations with the fairies at the bottom of your garden . For that price I doubt they would take the punishment a rotating cake stand meters out .
There is a lot of weight & forces on that joint which is why JD used a bush in the first place.
All you need to do is to jack both wheels off the ground when you grease the king pin so the gap goes to the bottom and the grease can get between the sliding surfaces.
Lubricating the steering stem bush , fan gear pivot & steering pinion will be a lot more beneficial that the set up you are fitting

 

[4getgto]

IMHO you are wasting your time
Unless the bearing is sealed it will accumulate a lot of dust then become impossible to turn
If I was to attempt this then I would be looking at a lipped sealed annular bearing .
Next problem are $ 8 bearings .
If you think you can get a quality bearing for $ 4 ( assuming there are 2 of them then you probably have deep & meaningful conversations with the fairies at the bottom of your garden . For that price I doubt they would take the punishment a rotating cake stand meters out .
There is a lot of weight & forces on that joint which is why JD used a bush in the first place.
All you need to do is to jack both wheels off the ground when you grease the king pin so the gap goes to the bottom and the grease can get between the sliding surfaces.
Lubricating the steering stem bush , fan gear pivot & steering pinion will be a lot more beneficial that the set up you are fitting

And a lot people won't know what a " rotating cake stand meter" is... Sorry Bert that made me laugh...

 

[StarTech]

Well, I don't have any pictures, but I will try to explain it. There's actually a kit, but I purchased the bearings and thrust washers for way less than the kit costs.

The bearings are 20mm ID and 35mm OD, as are the thrust washers. The idea is to put the bearings between the thrust washers and slide them down the steering spindle shaft where it rides in the axle. This takes a lot of the effort from the steering. I saw this on a video on YouTube. It worked pretty well, but apparently not for me. I could install the bearings and thrust washers, but then I didn't have enough room at the top of the spindle shaft to put both the washer and the e-clip. It didn't seem to be a good idea to use just the e-clip with no washer.

As I said, there's actually kits on eBay for just this. I don't understand why mine wouldn't work.

One thing here that will cause problems using bearings is the thrust washer OD have be smaller as if the are the same OD as the bearings then you are binding the bearings.

As the supposedly kits I would need to see the links to those kits so I can research the bearings used. Plus not all bearings that look the same are the same.

For the cost of the bearings it depends on where you buy them. I get most of mine from a bearing distributor so I take a lot of the middle men.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I know a revolving cake stand has a specific name but I could not remember what it was then & still can not now.
It is a bit difficult trying to say an idea is really silly without being insulting so I hope I managed it .
There is a lot of load on the king pin and I seriously doubt that a pair of bearings that were less then $ 8 will be up to the job.
You pay a lot more than that for a skate board bearing or roller skate bearings .
People like to big note themselves with really cool modifications that they present on You Tube
What you don't see is it fail in under a year and take the entire assembly with it .
I have a one handed customer who needs to use a spinner on his wheel let alone all of the 90 year old women who manage to steer with no problems when I service their mowers.
What I do see almost daily is a dry frozen or ovalled out bottom bush on the steering shaft and that does make mowers hard to steer
NExt to that are fan gears that have just about cut the bush in half which alters the geometry so much the mower needs 3 hands to turn the wheel
Then there are all the ones with toe out or extreme tow in from slamming the wheel into gutters . walls etc .

 

[CLStout]

Steering Upgrade Kit Craftsman LTS1500 LTS2000 YT3000 YT4000 Lawn Tractors | eBay

This is a steering upgrade kit to reduce friction between the spindle and axle on Craftsman LTS1500 LTS2000 YT3000 YT4000 lawn tractors. The kit will include 2 bearings and 4 thrust washers, each side will use 1 bearing and 2 washers.

www.ebay.com

Not sure if this is how it's done, but that's a link to the parts on ebay. Check it out and let me know what you think, please.