Joystick does not move easily 940

[papajoe]

I just purchased a Mustang 940. It has a relatively new engine and seems to be in fair shape. However, the t-bar is pretty hard to move forward and backward. It turns left to right very nicely and smoothly. I have removed the plate the seat is attached to and lubed all the linkage I can see but it is still too hard to move. Where should I look next?

Also, do these have a button to pre-warm the glow plugs and if so, where is it located?

 

[Firefighter]

u bought a good loader, they are still well liked the t-bar has pivots that can get tight the early models had grease fittings to lube the pivots, , the other place is the neutral assemblies, they are attached to the lt & rt steering linkage
they resemble a cylinder, on the back of them is a black or red plastic cap held on by a hose clamp they are about 2 inches in diameter, they can be filled with oil to lubricate the rod that brings the t-bar back to neutral. the glow plug button is up on the instrument panel

 

[papajoe]

u bought a good loader, they are still well liked the t-bar has pivots that can get tight the early models had grease fittings to lube the pivots, , the other place is the neutral assemblies, they are attached to the lt & rt steering linkage
they resemble a cylinder, on the back of them is a black or red plastic cap held on by a hose clamp they are about 2 inches in diameter, they can be filled with oil to lubricate the rod that brings the t-bar back to neutral. the glow plug button is up on the instrument panel

Thanks Firefighter! I have tried to spray up all the pivot points and the t-bar is better but still not where I would like it. It pivots fine right to left so I am thinking it is the main pivot point of the t-bar for forward/reverse. I don't see any grease fittings for that joint. If there are not grease fittings for that point I will probably knock that pin out and add them in the future. I will add oil to the neutral assemblies - thanks! I found the pre-heat button - how long to pre-heat @ 30 seconds - or should there be a light that comes on and goes out when it has cycled? I see in the manual that there should be some spacer/washers on the linkages and if they are missing it could cause drag on the linkage - they are missing on mine. Do you have a source for parts for these? I see you have been a member of this forum since '69 - sheesh! You have got to be a wealth of knowledge! Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

[Firefighter]

The preheat is manual it is a grid heater in the intake 30 seconds when cold is ok, there is no timer or light.
the yanmar engine does not mind cold weather starting easily at 10 degrees, as far as parts most everything is still available thru gehl or mustang dealers which now is manitou. the linkage may cause drag but not that it is noticeable

 

[papajoe]

Ok - thanks firefighter. I see that you are (were) an equipment repair shop. If you can get parts I would be glad to order from you if you're interested.

 

[papajoe]

I have been going through this machine and I really like it. I have downloaded and printed the manuals and they are really good.

 

[Firefighter]

yes i can help u out with parts

 

[papajoe]

yes i can help u out with parts

Ok thanks - is there another way to contact you; website, email, cell #? My email is [email protected]

 

[papajoe]

So in case anybody has this issue in the future, what I found is when I took off the cover of the t-bar and removed the steering control links, as I suspected, the pivot point was so tight I could not move it without the leverage of the t-bar. So I put it in a vise and knocked off the end caps (there is nothing that holds them on once it has been removed from the t-bar cover). They were caked with crud and quite corroded.

 

[papajoe]

After cleaning everything up it moves freely.

Also - I needed to remove the floor board and I had the bucket down because it made a convenient step to get in and out of the cab area even though the manual said to raise the bucket. I thought I was smarter than the manual - until I realized that the floor board has to pull forward - not up! So everything had to go back on so that I could man the steering controls (since I don't have the neutral adjusted yet) and raise the bucket - just to get the floor pan out. Hopefully someone can learn from my mistake. I tried lifting the bucket without putting everything back together and succeeded in running over my air line and splitting it since I had no way to stop the creep of the machine. Glad it was just an air line and not someone's foot - or worse.

A dozen mice nests and about twenty pounds of crud have come out of the machine so far.

I will get parts ordered and then back together. Should have it fixed about the time I'm ready for the grave - then my sons will have a nice machine.

 

[papajoe]

Much better.

 

[haymaker]

After cleaning everything up it moves freely.

Also - I needed to remove the floor board and I had the bucket down because it made a convenient step to get in and out of the cab area even though the manual said to raise the bucket. I thought I was smarter than the manual - until I realized that the floor board has to pull forward - not up! So everything had to go back on so that I could man the steering controls (since I don't have the neutral adjusted yet) and raise the bucket - just to get the floor pan out. Hopefully someone can learn from my mistake. I tried lifting the bucket without putting everything back together and succeeded in running over my air line and splitting it since I had no way to stop the creep of the machine. Glad it was just an air line and not someone's foot - or worse.

A dozen mice nests and about twenty pounds of crud have come out of the machine so far.

I will get parts ordered and then back together. Should have it fixed about the time I'm ready for the grave - then my sons will have a nice machine.

I have dug a few graves, for horses, with my S510 Bobcat. It is not easy.
Tell your boys to rent a backhoe when the time comes!
Seriously, everyone needs to remember, there are lots of places we almost never see on our machines. Part of a good P.M. program is removing covers and cleaning crud and lubricating things that are not necessarily in the maintenance guide in the manual.

 

[papajoe]

Haha - I have a backhoe they'll end up with too! Yeah...a lttle pm goes a long way. I usually buy things that are one step from the scrap yard.

 

[papajoe]

So after removing the front floor pan I see there is an inspection pan that seems to have been missing from my machine for a very long time. All that crud was packed in there.

 

[papajoe]

To anyone that is following this thread - now or in the future - I replaced all the steering linkage washers, spacers, and bushings and got the t-bar control working smoothly. The next thing was to balance the neutral settings so the machine quit drifting. I put it up on blocks and pulled the seat for the 20th time. I started the machine and slowly adjust the left side until the wheels stopped moving. Then I went to the right side and repeated the process. Then I moved the t-bar in both forward and reverse to watch and see if the wheels stayed stopped. Once I was satisfied I tightened the lock nuts, put the seat back in, and took it off the blocks. Then I gave it a try and it still drifts a little on the left. It's a lot better but I really want it as perfect as possible so I will give it another shot when I have some time.