The steering wheel broken, the shaft bent, the steering gearbox mount broken in 4 pieces,
and the drag link cut about in half; one might think the rest of the steering would be set to go.
The Lavine steering gear was only used on the unstyled WF, they changed to a Ross setup on the styled WF.
These repairs were done at Agrimson Tool Co.
Gary is a real help with these
hard to find pieces needed to get these old tractors going again.
Inside the gearbox had also taken quite a blow from whatever broke and bent up the other parts.
The worm was still in great shape but the nut that rides on it was broken beyond repair.
Wire EDM cuts the main shape of the new nut.
The magic of conventional EDM starts with a piece of graphite and a precision shaped piece of carbide.
Then the graphite burns its way into the piece making a perfect fit.
The nut turns the shaft as it travels back and forth on the worm gear.
The shaft rides on very long needle bearings.
The arm that drives the drag link was bent and the ball very rust pitted.
The parts that ride the ball after cleaning.
The plan is to put this new ball on the end of the arm.
The center of the new ball was removed with wire EDM.
The old ball sides were machined down losing none of the base thickness.
It is a press-fit but to make sure it doesn't move two holes are drilled and tapped on the seam.
The screws are secured with high strength Loctite cut off and filed smooth.
The parts are painted now and the new ball really stands out.
These parts should ride nicely on a shiny new steel ball.
The drag link was rebuilt with a piece of a WD45 steering shaft that fit perfectly inside.
Welded to just the right length piece cut from the drag link of a parts U,
and bent in just the right places, we have a WF drag link that looks like it should.
The original blasted clean and J B Welded back together for a pattern the new castings look nice.
A new casting of the gearbox mount machined, drilled, and tapped fits great on the tractor.
With these parts ready the tractor should have steering with the original Lavine gearbox.
