TCV linkage

[ras101]

Part of my maintenance on my new 446 1979 is to replace the linkage between the travel control linkage and the TCV. My aim is to upgrade as in the past I have just bought a new ball joint linkage from a Case dealer and have always been disappointed with the results so this time I want to upgrade. Searched on line and well Ebay too and found a couple of kits using what seems steering ball joints and well it seems to fix a lot of design flaws too. I like the concept and I might well pull the plug on one. My question is that all these parts seem to be available from somewhere like McMaster Carr so has anyone sourced their own parts and have any info? Might be the easiest is to just buy the kit complete but as retired person living on a pension always interested in saving money.

Ray

[Timj]

One of the kits you found is probably from " The Hemlock Case Guy" , he is a member here @ssmewing . I think he has them available through Facebook Marketplace too. I think you can avoid some of the eBay fees.

I have not used it, but the reviews are good.
Tim

[ras101]

Thanks Tim for your reply. Yes you are exactly right that is the person I have been looking at and the parts do seem like standard McMaster Carr parts too. I did a little analysis and the parts costs were not too far off so i Pulled the plug on that kit. My aim though is to learn, fit the parts and document my findings here with hopefully McMaster part numbers too. Right now I want to "fix" the travel control but as you know we also have the same linkage for the other control too. For me I want to fix both - I guess I am just anal..

Ray

[ras101]

oh, I have contacted ssmewing about the linkages for the height control and awaiting his response, think I know the answer but I want the expert to help too. This is not about saving a few cents here but more about selecting the correct parts to make my GT better and doing it only once. It's almost like my my OCD in changing all stainless as I rebuild my tractors and drawing all the parts as I do that.

Ray

[thebuildist]

It turns out that I'm currently in the process of re-installing my TCV. Reading this post, I'm going to go ahead and upgrade my linkage while I'm in there.

My approach won't be for everyone. I'll do a bit of lathe work and some drilling and welding. But for anyone who's handy enough to do it, it's only going to cost me $23.00

I've ordered these from amazon:

And I'll be building them up for installation like this:

The $23 doesn't include the piece of tube or the various nuts and bolts.

I'll update this thread with as-built photos and measurements for the drawing once I've got the work completed.

Bob

[Jancoe]

While your at it guys, make sure you change the lower nylon bushing on the travel lever to the bronze oilite bushing if it doesn't already have it. Also something I thought was a good upgrade that Bob MacGregor on the other site did was add a plate with 2 bolts to pin the travel bushing down in place so that bushing and lever can't slop around. I know when I changed my nylon bushing out to the bronze one there was still some play. After seeing what he had done on a few, I'd like to do that to mine if I get things broke down that far again. Here's one pic showing what I'm talking about.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

[Eugen]

While your at it guys, make sure you change the lower nylon bushing on the travel lever to the bronze oilite bushing if it doesn't already have it. Also something I thought was a good upgrade that Bob MacGregor on the other site did was add a plate with 2 bolts to pin the travel bushing down in place so that bushing and lever can't slop around. I know when I changed my nylon bushing out to the bronze one there was still some play. After seeing what he had done on a few, I'd like to do that to mine if I get things broke down that far again. Here's one pic showing what I'm talking about.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Thanks @Jancoe! Know what the size of the bushing is, to source the bronze one?

Hard to tell what plate you're referring to.

[ssmewing]

oh, I have contacted ssmewing about the linkages for the height control and awaiting his response, think I know the answer but I want the expert to help too. This is not about saving a few cents here but more about selecting the correct parts to make my GT better and doing it only once. It's almost like my my OCD in changing all stainless as I rebuild my tractors and drawing all the parts as I do that.

Ray

The parts are only partially from McMaster. I buy the joints by lots of 100. So, I spend well over $1,000 to buy the parts to make 100 linkages. That discount is high enough for me to make my modifications to make the linkage better and for the buyer to get a joint pretty close to what they would pay if they bought enough for one linkage.

The linkage is the same for both spools.

[ssmewing]

It turns out that I'm currently in the process of re-installing my TCV. Reading this post, I'm going to go ahead and upgrade my linkage while I'm in there.

My approach won't be for everyone. I'll do a bit of lathe work and some drilling and welding. But for anyone who's handy enough to do it, it's only going to cost me $23.00

I've ordered these from amazon:
2022-05-22 23_27_08-Your Orders — Mozilla Firefox.png

And I'll be building them up for installation like this:

2022-05-22 23_23_53-DeltaCad - [LINKAGE UPGRADE.MC].png

The $23 doesn't include the piece of tube or the various nuts and bolts.

I'll update this thread with as-built photos and measurements for the drawing once I've got the work completed.

Bob

There is not enough room for most tractors to use a hiem joint on the end that attaches to the travel control lever.

My eBay listing has every model and serial number my linkage fits. I also use all grade 5 or better hardware. Even the threaded rod is the B7 rod.

The washer that I include is a thrust bearing that is the softest but still many times better than the original plastic ones. The bearing is extremely important. When you use that lever you are supposed to push it down toward the dash when moving from Neutral as per the owner's manual. This also prevents a wear ring in the travel control lever.

All those extra small parts add up fast. I get my part via USPS. The package is so expensive that I have to actually sign for it to get it from them.

I install a lot of these and every part is the best part that I know of for both function and installation. Even the nuts are special so I can easier install them. It takes me enough time that I tend to just make 20 at a time as needed. I customize parts. Not with a lathe. But, there are things I have learned that make my linkage the best, with no compromises.

Thanks to these linkages I got to buy a Milwaukee portable M18 band saw. I then made a bench mount and extra-large table for it. It is a tool that I can never put away.

[ssmewing]

While your at it guys, make sure you change the lower nylon bushing on the travel lever to the bronze oilite bushing if it doesn't already have it. Also something I thought was a good upgrade that Bob MacGregor on the other site did was add a plate with 2 bolts to pin the travel bushing down in place so that bushing and lever can't slop around. I know when I changed my nylon bushing out to the bronze one there was still some play. After seeing what he had done on a few, I'd like to do that to mine if I get things broke down that far again. Here's one pic showing what I'm talking about.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

My "opinion" is that the holder bracket was only added to the later 4-digit tractors because the nylon washer was never a good choice and the bracket held it in place. And then the 4 digit tractor has a completely different neutral safety switch. With the new switch, the spring was much lighter that the ones on the 3-digit tractors. Personally, I have never seen a washer eject from the steering support casting.

I can say I would rather install linkages in 4-digit tractors over 3-digit by a large margin. One reason is fighting the spring that presses down on the thrust washer is very hard to get it up and into the steering support on 3-digit tractors. It takes me less than half the time to do a 4-digit over a 3-digit tractor.