[bried66]

Recently purchased 4211 to rehabilitate. It came with a front left wheel with too much camber as seen in photos, which I assume is due to a bent (or incorrect) wheel spindle. Both RH and LH spindles are painted black, so I assume at some point previous owner replaced them (?). I was thinking about buying a parts tractor anyway (if I could find one), but upon researching found that there were FOUR different p/n's for 4211 spindles, so finding a parts tractor that ALSO had the right part to replace my spindle seemed like a longshot. Here's a table I put together; just curious -- are these different parts REALLY different? (according to the info, my 4211 needs p/n 1673638ASM)

So plan B: I'll heat up my spindle and try straightening it. BUT, I'm not sure which part of the spindle is bent. Here's where I could use your vote. Should I bend area "1" or area "2"? (see photo)

 

[extech]

i would first compare it to the other side

 

[bried66]

i would first compare it to the other side

Good Idea. I had thought about that, but had gotten lazy and thought I could avoid taking the good side apart.
But peer pressure wins.
Removing the good side confirms the LH side is bent; looks like most of the bend is in area #2 and at the end of the "axle" shaft is 1/2"-3/4" out and also has some twist to it

.

There are also grooves cut into the spindle shaft itself (where wheel just have been pushing hard on the shaft while being driven bent).
Will try heating / bending. Will also keep my eye out for a good used one.

 

[KennyP]

Recently purchased 4211 to rehabilitate. It came with a front left wheel with too much camber as seen in photos, which I assume is due to a bent (or incorrect) wheel spindle. Both RH and LH spindles are painted black, so I assume at some point previous owner replaced them (?). I was thinking about buying a parts tractor anyway (if I could find one), but upon researching found that there were FOUR different p/n's for 4211 spindles, so finding a parts tractor that ALSO had the right part to replace my spindle seemed like a longshot. Here's a table I put together; just curious -- are these different parts REALLY different? (according to the info, my 4211 needs p/n 1673638ASM)
View attachment 420900
So plan B: I'll heat up my spindle and try straightening it. BUT, I'm not sure which part of the spindle is bent. Here's where I could use your vote. Should I bend area "1" or area "2"? (see photo)
View attachment 420901 View attachment 420902 View attachment 420903

What is your serial? That will tell you which spindle #'s to get according to your chart!

 

[bried66]

yes, as mentioned in my first post, my 4211 needs p/n 1673638ASM
I found one for $50, which is 1/2 of what I spent for the whole tractor with deck so I'm hoping to find a cheaper way out.
The trick will be finding a 4211 (model 1690843) parts tractor with serial number>1498 (or figuring out what other models use this p/n).

 

[bried66]

Does anyone know if LH spindle p/n 1673638 (for 4211 model 1690843 serial number >1498) and p/n 1665080 (for 4211 model 1690840 serial number <1327 or serial number >3319) are interchangeable?

 

[KennyP]

I would not have a clue. Entirely possible though!

 

[TUDOR]

Both spindles need to be replaced due to bearing wear. The spindles are steel, the bearings are bronze. Which do you think wears faster?

Measure the included angle between two sections of spindle to eliminate guesswork.

 

[Ingersoll224]

Both spindles need to be replaced due to bearing wear. The spindles are steel, the bearings are bronze. Which do you think wears faster?

Measure the included angle between two sections of spindle to eliminate guesswork.

Agreed. The left one looks especially trashed with how deep the grooves are worn.

 

[bried66]

After looking more closely at the LH one, between the grooves worn in it, the bend, and there's also a twist...I bit the bullet and ordered a new one.
The wheels on my 4211 have steel bushings (not bronze) and both wheels fit tightly on the good (RH) spindle, so it doesn't seem worn.
Tractor has hubcaps; when I removed them to remove the wheels, both were FULL of grease. I think previous owner was over-generous with greasing the fittings on the wheels, so maybe that kept the bushings in good shape and/or maybe he replaced the bushings at some point.
So for now I will forgo splurging on RH spindle & bushings (bearings) as I still need to get this one up and running and suspect I'll have other things to spend money on.
It's still a mystery what the heck happened to the tractor to cause that RH spindle to get so mangled yet no damage to tire, rim, axle, etc

 

[bried66]

After looking more closely at the LH one, between the grooves worn in it, the bend, and there's also a twist...I bit the bullet and ordered a new one.
The wheels on my 4211 have steel bushings (not bronze) and both wheels fit tightly on the good (RH) spindle, so it doesn't seem worn.
Tractor has hubcaps; when I removed them to remove the wheels, both were FULL of grease. I think previous owner was over-generous with greasing the fittings on the wheels, so maybe that kept the bushings in good shape and/or maybe he replaced the bushings at some point.
So for now I will forgo splurging on RH spindle & bushings (bearings) as I still need to get this one up and running and suspect I'll have other things to spend money on.
It's still a mystery what the heck happened to the tractor to cause that RH spindle to get so mangled yet no damage to tire, rim, axle, etc

(BTW, my avatar photo is of my 6211; here's a photo of the 4211 I'm working on just to keep it clear that I'm not confused about what model my tractor is )

 

[TUDOR]

After looking more closely at the LH one, between the grooves worn in it, the bend, and there's also a twist...I bit the bullet and ordered a new one.
The wheels on my 4211 have steel bushings (not bronze) and both wheels fit tightly on the good (RH) spindle, so it doesn't seem worn.
Tractor has hubcaps; when I removed them to remove the wheels, both were FULL of grease. I think previous owner was over-generous with greasing the fittings on the wheels, so maybe that kept the bushings in good shape and/or maybe he replaced the bushings at some point.
So for now I will forgo splurging on RH spindle & bushings (bearings) as I still need to get this one up and running and suspect I'll have other things to spend money on.
It's still a mystery what the heck happened to the tractor to cause that RH spindle to get so mangled yet no damage to tire, rim, axle, etc

Are you sure? I've never seen a bushing that wasn't made from a softer metal or plastic. Something has to be sacrificial and the bushing is cheaper.

 

[bried66]

it would make sense to have a softer "sacrificial" bushing...but mine didn't/doesn't. I guess that's how the grooves got cut into the RH spindle, though the LH spindle doesn't have such grooves worn into it and I assume the LH tire traveled as many miles as the RH one. I think the fact that the RH spindle was ALSO twisted and bent put much more stress on the spindle shaft and with the added stress, the bushings cut into it. The RH tire had a TON of camber that it shouldn't have).
To check the bushings, I tried the RH wheel on the (undamaged) LH spindle and it fits tightly...so the RH bushings didn't get worn even though they wore the spindle (or maybe previous owner replaced the bushings?).
Still wondering how that spindle got so bent and twisted.

 

[Ingersoll224]

Still wondering how that spindle got so bent and twisted.

Falling out of the back of a truck or trailer and landing on that wheel just right maybe.

 

[bried66]

Falling out of the back of a truck or trailer and landing on that wheel just right maybe.

Could be.
Also, it was garage-kept all its life, and I'm also thinking maybe previous owner drove into the LH wheel with his car or truck when the tractor was wedged up against the wall.
One of life's mysteries.