Proper radius ball install (no rubber ball)

[Late31ugh?]

Hi hope this is an easy question. Went for a ride in dads car and the steering felt off. Thought the box may need adjustment but found the radius ball does not appear to be installed properly. The top of the ball is a quarter to half inch below the top mount. Dad said its been that way since he got it back from the restorer. I have been searching for how the factory install is supposed be and have found tons of posts about the rubber ball, felt pads and there topics. I would think the ball needs to be firmly cinched up in the upper and lower keepers but not so tight it can't rotate. I did find a post about hitting a big bump can crack the case so that had me want to confirm and be sure. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Gary WA]

If the ball is held rigid in the ball cup the radius rods will bend or twist when driving on rough roads, the radius ball must fit snugly to the ball cup but must be allowed to flex on the mounting bolt/spacers springs. The rubber ball is not advisable but they are used.screw the nuts down until it just contacts the spacer and insert cotter pins.

 

[CT Jack]

Agee with Gary WA about not using a rubber replacement. If the present ball has excessive wear (no longer round), adjusting the radius rod mounting plates may not solve the problem. The next best solution is to replace the existing ball with a radius repair ball. Snyders sells a replacement (A3405-RK2) which requires cutting, drilling, and welding. This requires some skill and effort but is a permanent fix. You will have to remove the A frame radius arm to do this or you can search for radius rod that has minimal ball wear.

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Usually speaking, I find it is easier to add weld to the ball and grind/file it to the proper 1.500" diameter. Getting the Spring Perches out of the front axle so the front radius rod can be mounted onto a Mill can often be a little challenging when replacing the entire ball.

 

[Bruce of MN]

I thought that the circled spacer was meant to set the proper tightness on the ball?

 

[Badpuppy]

It spaces the nut from the upper cup, spring tension holds the lower cup against the ball. Note the rubber ball uses different parts, clamps the two halves tightly together.

 

[SAXBY2]

Also check the 3 deg. slope of the engine after installation and the axle for proper caster angle. Some posts suggest the original style upper/lower cupped plates had a small gap between them when nuts tight per post 5. This allows the lower plate and springs to flex on the spacers.

 

[Late31ugh?]

Thanks for your help this makes perfect since. I should have gone to the parts book first to look for a diagram. It looks like this was just put together wrong. The springs were above the bottom plate and the nuts were not run up completely letting the ball sit way bellow the the top locating plate (but it had the carter pins inplace). It appears the odd steering may have been the extra positive caster and im guessing the radius ball was moving a good bit. So in addition to being correct and safer Im guessing we should also see a slight improvement with the overall ease of steering. Thanks again for your help.

 

[rotorwrench]

The ball can have some wear and still be snug as long as it's still basically round. Folks use to put cupped washers in there after the ball starts looking more like the end of a Q-tip. It's time to build it back up if it gets that bad.

 

[Johan Ottosen]

I found a reason for my loose 1929 radius ball: The bolt holes in the bell housing had been grinded down in the casting by nearly a century of use - so far down that they could not even reach the pin that is supposed to secure them.
Solution: I put a couple of shims on the bolts to elevate them to the original height.
The steel ball is now tight and the steering firm and reliable.
Pictures here from before and after.