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So it turns out the other day I was greasing my tractor and found the cast piece that the hand crank and front end hold on to is cracked in all the way through in 2 areas, I don't know how to weld cast but I don't know if I should get a new one or not. This is probably why my front end shimmees back and forth when in road gear and it is sorta hard to steer. I will post pictures when I get a chance and see what people are thinking. My guess is that it broke when this tractor was used to skid firewood out for a company! Any thoughts or suggestions?

only 2 ways to repair cast iron that will last best way is to have it welded with a powder torch or grind the cracks out good and braise them with brass if you could find a used steering bolster in good shape that would be the best bet as for the wheels shimming in 5th gear the teeth are worn on the sector gear you can jack the front end up and knock the vertical shaft lose and flip the sector gear over if it hasnt already been done that will stop the wheel shimmey

Repairing cast iron is a PIA. The options are to strip the bolster down, clean it VERY well.
Then grind out the crack in a v and heat up the iron in a fire, then weld it using cast iron rod or high nickle rod. With a big crack you will need to weld a couple passes, peen the weld to remove the slag, return it to the fire for more heat, then weld some more. Once the weld is finished you leave the last layer of slag on then bury the part in the fire and then put the fire out using sand. Let the entire thing cool slowly.

OR you can go the mechanical way. drill a couple holes for alignment dowels. Once you have those done then you install the dowels using a good epoxy and clamp it tight. Next you install some mechanical stitching materials and finish it off.

Visit
http://www.locknstitch.com/
They cover a variety of methods and show how they work.

You could also do a combination of repairs. Like weld or braze the pieces together, then apply locks across the cracks as reinforcement.

BUT unless you have a serious attachment to that bolster or just cannot find another one I would replace it.

That's what I will do. I am just gonna run it cause it's been that way for some time and I will go to a junkyard find a parts tractor and rob it off that I suppose that bolster must be 500+ pounds probably