Should I, or shouldn't I? Removal of a pin.

My '44 h had a tree fall on it years ago. It bent the steering wheel, and the previous owner's head. Turns out, it also bent the steering post ever so slightly. So slightly that you really have to be looking at it to notice. But of course I notice. So, I want to straighten it.

One suggestion was to use a come-along. But another friend said that wouldn't be precise enough for the little bit I want to straighten it. He suggested we knock out the pin shown below, put a pipe over the top, and straighten it. But I haven't been able to find any sort of pin that looks like this one looks like.

What kind of pin is this? The part catalog doesn't show it, so I don't have a replacement number. Is removing it going to be more trouble than I expect?

Does anyone have a suggestion on a better, easier way to straighten it?

Man, I always forget to add the picture!

If you would not be happy with a little bent you will be less happy with the wrong pin/rivet. Use a ratchet strap and pull it a little with that. Much easier to control and watch that bending with a piece of pipe! Besides the pipe will mar up the post.

You didn't indicate where the post was tweaked
(only how it was tweaked) so it is not possible to
tell you exactly how to untweak it.

If the distortion is at the base flange, a come-a-
long will do. If the damage is somewhere in the
tube length, remove the column, and press or bang
it out with a hammer and block of wood. Might want
to cut a notch in the wood block to spread the
impacts. Don't mess with the rivet. Motorcycle
fork tube are spun in a lathe to check runout.
But you haven't a lathe so don't worry about it.
A straightedge will get you close enough.

You should straighten it. You might be surprised
how a slight misalignment can affect the amount of
effort required to turn the steering wheel. The
misalignment causes the steering shaft and bearing
to bind.

I believe it's at the base, as the column looks straight.

First the easy part. That is a rivet, IH part #104091, listed as a subcomponent of the bearing. Unfortunately they don't list dimensions for it.

As far as straightenening your post, I tend to favor Wardner's method of taking it off and beating it straight in a cradle of some sort.

My only reasons for that preference are two potential ACK!!!! scenarios. Any pulling will put a lot of torque on that post and you run the risk of breaking the weld between the bottom of the post and the flange that bolts it all down. If you do decide to pull it, keep your strap or comealong fairly low, don't pull it from the top.

That and there are, what, three or four holes through the post for mounting other stuff (electrical box, the arm for your hydraulic controls . . .) and, depending what direction you're pulling, every one of them is a spot that might bend before the spot you're trying to straighten. You can minimize that danger some by cutting a notch in the length of a piece of 2x4 adn using t as a cradle for the length of the post, and pull against the 2x4. Two ratchet straps might be more effective in that set up, one about a thrid of the way down from the top and the other about halfway between the upper strap and the bend. Do most of your pulling with the lower one to avoid the snapping off of the bottom (see ACK!!!! Scenario #1).

I know it's a different setup from my SuperC, but if that post is anything like mine, it's got some spring to it. Just the weight of me using the steering wheel to haul my carcass up on flexes it enough to actually give a slight input to the hydraulics. Point is you might have to pull it past straight to get it to spring back to where it should end up, which is more tension on that bottom joint, and what leads me to favor pounding it out. You're going to have to strip the hydro bracket and other stuff bolted to the post either way you go, and from there it's a short matter to pull your steering wheel, unbolt the flange and the bottom and slip the post, bearing, and all, off the upper end of the shaft to get it onto the bench.

That's my two cents.

Mike, you've had a lot of ACK!!! moments lately... You might want to live with the slightly bent post, at least until the statute of limitations on ACK!!! moments has passed.

You'd probably be time and money ahead to find a good straight post from a salvage yard. Those comments you are getting hint at the chance of catastrophic failure at some unpredictable point in the future.

Dont remove the pin. just hook onto the post with some straps and pull it straight. I removed my pin and had to replace it with a bolt and made it look like a rivet. Too much work. Henry

75% of the salvage H's I see still have the steering post on them. You are the king of salvage. Go get a good one, prep, prime and paint it and install. While you are at it paint the light bar, lights and switch box. At least you will have some components in parade condition.

Gordo

(quoted from post at 08:19:55 11/06/09) 75% of the salvage H's I see still have the steering post on them. You are the king of salvage. Go get a good one, prep, prime and paint it and install. While you are at it paint the light bar, lights and switch box. At least you will have some components in parade condition.

Gordo

Click to expand...

I agree. I would go out and find a nice, straight replacement. Shouldn't cost very much at all.

I agree with Gordo etal. The unbending might damage the ears of the base mount, ruining the usability of the post. (if it were mine, I would heat it with a small rosebut torch and bend it straight) but a purchase is much better. Jim

There is one major problem with replacing the post:

Three potential ACK!!! moments holding the post to the platform.

Those three bolts are not going to want to come out. If Mike replaces the post, he's liable to run into three twisted off bolts to remove, and another possible broken tap nightmare.

I have removed the post from three different tractors that I repainted. I removed them to get at the rust and crud that was hiding underneath, and believe me, there is a bunch of crud hiding underneath. I never had any problems at all with the bolts twisting off.

If those bolts are so rusty that they do twist off, then it is high time that they were replaced anyhow.

Thanks for all the comments guys. Here is my decision:

The "king" :roll: of salvage already had a lead on a different post. Whether it's absolutely straight or not, I'll have to determine. However, I'm going to list it lower on the replacement part priority list. Down there with replacing the axle brackets (which are being replaced because my current ones have welds).

I'll keep my current one for now, as it works, and I don't want to screw myself right before the big parade.

Again, thanks for the input! That really helped focusing me on the important stuff, and avoiding another "ACK"!