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hi everyone, i have inherited a mtd 700 series mower. the steering wheel does nearly a full turn before engaging the wheels. any body got any ideas what is causing this, also the R deck hanger bracket has broken off. got industrial welder guy to weld it back on, $120 way cheaper than a new deck. I can't weld.

Wear in the steering bearing on the end of the steering shaft which you have not been oiling

Sounds like the steering pinion gear and the sector gear needs replaced

how do you think i could fix it

Hammermechanicman said:

Sounds like the steering pinion gear and the sector gear needs replaced

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so you don't think it's in the wheel axels

berkztr said:

how do you think i could fix it

so you don't think it's in the wheel axels

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Can be some wear there too. But it is usually the steering shaft end bearing and the sector gear mounting bolt. They changed from a carriage bolt to a regular hex screw with full threads and the threads are getting crushed allowing excess movement in the sector gear. I have the steering shaft bearing so worn that the gearing jumps teeth destroying the steering shaft.

In the diagram below the parts that wear and cause sloppy steering in numerical order order
1) hole wears oval , teeth wear short , pin gets thin
2) bolt gets groove
10 ) end gets loose
14) teeth wear short
15) bush floggs out
17 ) hole at rear end wears oval
19) comes loose
24 ( x2 ) holes go oval
34) bushes wear & split
35) wears grooves

Any & all of these or any combination will cause sloppy steering .

bertsmobile1 said:

In the diagram below the parts that wear and cause sloppy steering in numerical order order
1) hole wears oval , teeth wear short , pin gets thin
2) bolt gets groove
10 ) end gets loose
14) teeth wear short
15) bush floggs out
17 ) hole at rear end wears oval
19) comes loose
24 ( x2 ) holes go oval
34) bushes wear & split
35) wears grooves

Any & all of these or any combination will cause sloppy steering .
View attachment 60036

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Thanks Bert, really helpful. I can manage nuts and bolts ok, struggle with the bigger picture. Have just managed to reinstall my fixed mower deck, and start the mower yeaa!. Am just waiting for items to arrive to fix up to number 15. Will look at other areas you have mentioned. Thanks again

Just note you will need a High-Torque Number 4 Phillips (cross point) Bit, 5/16" Hex driver to remove the screw. A Number 3 Phillips will not work. The bit I use can be used with an impact as the screw has Loctite on it holding it place.

The owners manual tells you to oil 15 every time you use the mower
It is the one spot that I do not use the usually lithium spray grease but instead use motorcycle O ring chain spray
Like Star I use the impact bits in a ratchet to undo those screws
Very awkward to get onto with the engine in place .

Just got to hold your tongue over your eye tooth just right but on the ones I do the operator tower mounted tank fuel tank gets removed and the deck dropped.

StarTech said:

Just note you will need a High-Torque Number 4 Phillips (cross point) Bit, 5/16" Hex driver to remove the screw. A Number 3 Phillips will not work. The bit I use can be used with an impact as the screw has Loctite on it holding it place.

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Yes, will pay attention. Watching utube, one guy was going to replace the screw with a same size bolt. Can't see any reason that won't work. mmmh! if they both have loctite they should stay in place.

Think that they a round head because the drive belt hits the head of the screw and a hex head would have some sharp edges. I have in the past use a hex head myself until I got the right screws. If you look at the area you will where the belt has polished the metal.

Screw size is 5/16-18 x .75

Of course I am cheapskate as I am using an after market that cost $0.26 (I sale them for $0.52 ea) vs the 710-1309 screw which retails for $3.15. Plus I buy them 25 at a time.

StarTech said:

Think that they a round head because the drive belt hits the head of the screw and a hex head would have some sharp edges. I have in the past use a hex head myself until I got the right screws. If you look at the area you will where the belt has polished the metal.

Screw size is 5/16-18 x .75

Of course I am cheapskate as I am using an after market that cost $0.26 (I sale them for $0.52 ea) vs the 710-1309 screw which retails for $3.15. Plus I buy them 25 at a time.

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yeah that makes sense, have managed to get 2 screws that came with the other items i ordered. will use them then

Hi again Star, just got the new screw from Amazon, it has red stuff on the thread does that mean it already has Loctite (red) on it or do i still put 242 Loctite Blue on as well or....?? have also found a #4 Phillips head bit on Amazon which i can put in my impact drill, nobody seems to stock that bit around here. Also will i need to remove the mower deck to get to the screw.

I don't know but in every other steering i have worked on, it is really easier if one person turns the steering wheel back and forth while the other looks to see where the slop is. It can be more than one place.

berkztr said:

Hi again Star, just got the new screw from Amazon, it has red stuff on the thread View attachment 60178 does that mean it already has Loctite (red) on it or do i still put 242 Loctite Blue on as well or....?? have also found a #4 Phillips head bit on Amazon which i can put in my impact drill, nobody seems to stock that bit around here. Also will i need to remove the mower deck to get to the screw.

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It already has the Loctite on it, no need for any additional Loctite. And yes removing the deck and raising does make things a lot easier to do.

And I not surprise that no one stocks the #4. Most places just stock fast moving items. I cant even find a #3 cross point around here. This why McMasters get a lot of hardware orders from me. Just got in some Grade 8 5/8-11 x 2.25 armor plated (Zinc-Aluminum coated) screws yesterday. No one locally even had a plain non grade 5/8-11 x 2.25 screw around here. It is also why Amazon get a lot of my tool orders as many places can't even order the tools I need.

Yeaah! #4 Phillips head driver, has arrived from amazon . waiting for a few more bits before i perform mechanical feats

The rack and pinion steering system wears at an accelerated rate because those weren't designed to be lubricated . OH , but they can be lubed and they have been on every mower i've owned with a steering wheel .

SeniorCitizen said:

The rack and pinion steering system wears at an accelerated rate because those weren't designed to be lubricated . OH , but they can be lubed and they have been on every mower i've owned with a steering wheel .

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Thanks old fella, Have some "Permatex Anti Seize Lub" all i could get here, seems to be graphite and aluminum based, good for upto 1600F. Perfomance of mechanical feats not started yet.

You use a dry lubricant
Most will use dry Lithium spray grease
You can also use dry chain wax from a push bike shop but that is more expensive
You do not want to put anything there that stays wet or sticky because that will collect dirt & dust which will becomes a grinding paste

bertsmobile1 said:

You use a dry lubricant
Most will use dry Lithium spray grease
You can also use dry chain wax from a push bike shop but that is more expensive
You do not want to put anything there that stays wet or sticky because that will collect dirt & dust which will becomes a grinding paste

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Hi again Bert, Have managed to get WD-40 anti friction PTFE lubricant spray, do you think that would be OK

berkztr said:

Thanks old fella, Have some "Permatex Anti Seize Lub" all i could get here, seems to be graphite and aluminum based, good for upto 1600F. Perfomance of mechanical feats not started yet.

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Mineral oil or any other lube from the pharmacy would be better than dry .

KY






Just saying.

SeniorCitizen said:

Mineral oil or any other lube from the pharmacy would be better than dry .

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Only if it is applied each & every time the mower is used as liquid lubricants will not stay on the rack to prevent metal to metal contact .
As for the WD40 product, I do not use any of them so I have no idea if it will work.
Silicon sprays are best kept for plastic & rubber lubing.
Because of all of the BS WD40 embedded in the minds of people about their " wonder product " that does everything I would never eve trust any WD product ever . All WD40 does is to displace water and even then it is not particularly good .
And some thine that is supposed to "clean & dry" electrical contacts can hardly be a lubricant for more than a few minutes till the carrier solvent flashes off

well , now i'm confused. the workshop manual says use, MTD P/N 737-0300A (Benelene), or anti-seize compound. the pic in the manaual appears to show wet grease and there is no mention of dry grease. Aaaarrrh!!

berkztr said:

well , now i'm confused. the workshop manual says use, MTD P/N 737-0300A (Benelene), or anti-seize compound. the pic in the manual appears to show wet grease and there is no mention of dry grease. Aaaarrrh!!

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I know they show applying grease to steering shaft and sector gear teeth but is just asking trouble. This especially the case because this area has a lot debris constantly thrown into the area on most the mowers I work on. All the grease is going to do more than anything else is to have debris sticking to the moving parts causing binding and wear from the sands. I compare this to valve grinding compound where grease is used to suspense the abrasives.

Now grease in the area of the stabilizer plate is fine. But as for the sector gear and steering shaft teeth I personally leave them without grease.

I don't grease sector gears and pinions either. I also don't use things like Never-seez as a lubricant.

Hi Ya'll, well eventually got to have a good look at the steering problem, the shaft, gears all bolts loose with at least 1/8"+ play, the hole in the link rod had become elongated causing the steering wheel slack. This nasty, horrible, cursed little red bolt i hate it. The #4 Phillips head did it's job it didn't thread the phillips head bolt but didn't loosen the cursed thing, either with the impact drill or the manual driver and lump hammer. am now committed to drilling the little red screw out of the shaft. all fun and curses so far. Cheers

Trying clamping a pair vise grips on the head of the screw and turn it out then. Of course the screw head will be destroyed.

Hi guys, have spent the last week working on the mower. Managed to drill out the phillips head bolt at the end of the steering shaft it took pretty well all day, drilling, sharpening drills, drilling, repeat. Managed to start getting things back together the rusty spacer, is worn and makes the whole steering gear loose, anybody know the mtd number. now awaiting a new steering link, the hole at the gear end had become elongated and the amount of travel by the gear post transferred to the steering wheel was what caused the nearly full turn sloppyness. Will install new blades and idler pulleys while i have the deck off. Cheers