Craftsman Wheel Align

Hey All, I have a craftsman Tractor model 944.609231 (YTS4000) & the front wheels toe out bad. He hit something & I found a bent left spindle & replaced. Still over 1 1/2" toe out. Thinking the drag link, I got one of them too even tho both measured 17 3/16 long,, no help. The sector appears good & centered with the pinion with the steering wheel centered & the gears mesh good. I have removed the cast iron axle & using a straight edge isn't bent & the frame appears straight. The drag links are not adjustable on this unit. Has anyone else had trouble with these or am I missing something????
Thanks lots,,, Roger

 

The tie rod that goes from one wheel to the other is bent. Take a look under there, it is bowed upward. Take it off and straighten it out and you'll be good to go!

 

This unit doesen't have the tie rod between the wheels,, I wish it did!! There are 2 links from the sector, 1 to each spindle.. 1 on each side,, nothing is adjustable & as far as I can see nothing is bent,,,I know I`m missing something, I just can`t see it,,,,
Thanks,, Roger

 

Oh, well your model number doesn't come up valid. Is this one of the newer ones made by MTD? On MTDs like that, I think I've seen one or two with the piece where the drag link connects gets bent/twisted. I've had one with a bent cast iron front end. How the heck that happened is beyond me.

 

No this isn't a MTD one, The model is canadian & it's not shown on searspartsdirect. Canadians have to call sears for parts. With the sector centered, the distance from the end of the drag links to the end of the frame is the same on both sides. The distance from the verticle steering stops on the spindles to the axle is the same on both sides. Has anyone had issues with the spindles welded together @ the wrong positions?? I'm really grasping @ straws here,,

Thanks, Roger

 

Never seen that. Does this have a cast iron front end, or the welded steel one?

 

This one has the cast iron axle. I removed it from the unit & checked it with a straight edge & it seems straight ,,the frame seems square if I measure it across the corners... Im about at the end of my patiencience with this unit,, I really want to fix it for him , but how far can you go??? Thanks for all the help,,,, Roger

 

The only thing I can offer is that maybe you can heat and bend the bar that comes off each spindle a little to move them into closer alignment.