steering and deck

[berkztr]

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

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

 

[SeniorCitizen]

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.

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

 

[Hammermechanicman]

KY






Just saying.

 

[bertsmobile1]

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

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

 

[berkztr]

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!!

 

[StarTech]

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!!

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.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

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

 

[berkztr]

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

 

[StarTech]

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.

 

[berkztr]

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