L285 manual steering gear box repaired!

[ribs1963]

In april this year my son was backing our L285 out of the barn and the steering gear box cracked and crumbled into three pieces.After a month of trying to find ANY new or used parts we gave up and left it parked.The only box we could find was 400 miles away in Kentucky in a salvage yard for $950 and a $200 core.I just happened to mention to one of the guys I work with the story about the gear box and he told me to bring it in and he would
have a guy that worked for him at his other job fix it.I told him it was sand cast iron and nobody I talked to would even touch it but he insisted that I bring it to him so I did.i told him no rush since the tractor had been sitting for 6 months anyway.three weeks late he brought it back to me brazed back together and ready to use.he even had the guy machine a new end piece for it that was bolted to the side of it where the steering shaft and gear go into the side of the box.We filled it with 80/90w gear oil and checked for leaks and put the tractor back together and today we started using the tractor again with no problems. Has anyone else had success doing this to their gearbox?

 

[torch]

Not a steering gear box specifically, no. But I've seen many castings braised or welded over the years. If the guy doing it knows his stuff and prepared things right it will last for many years.

 

[ribs1963]

he told me its a slow process and low heat

 

[rbargeron]

........ Has anyone else had success doing this to their gearbox?

Once while towing an big orchard sprayer on my Ford 8N's drawbar, a big chunk of the differential case broke out of the bottom. All the oil came out but no other parts.

To get access to the bottom I used a backhoe to tip the 8N over BACKWARD on its rear tires (battery, fenders, oil removed). My neighbor brazed the 6" square chunk back in. The 8N had a long life after that, but with no more drawbar hitches.