Triangulating the axle isn't a bad idea, but it isn't necessary. The applications where triangulation is most necessary, is when the center of the wheel hub axis is substantially LOWER than the axle pivot point. Hi-crop tractors... like the Oliver 88, Allis D17, etc., or my WD with Schwartz adjustable WF... what happens, as the wheels roll over irregularities, is that the axle beam is applying substantial fore-aft reaction to the axle pivot. That torque destroys the pivot rapidly. By adding triangulation rearward, the axle's pivot axis is better supported. The antithesis of this situation would be if the axle were flipped (upside down), the pivot being LOWER than the wheel hub axis, it would naturally want to 'hang' centered. It would still want to 'swing' fore/aft, but gravity would tend to return it to center.
The reason why INDIVIDUALS choose to triangulate, is because the axle yaws right-left in response to thrust from the steering drag link on one or the other knuckle. As wear progresses, the axle wobbles right-left more, causing more slop within the steering cycle, and with it, limited turning circle. It also means that as the axle yaws, the steering wanders (because the distance between steering box and knuckle changes). Driving down the road fast results in 'hunting', or if you're going fast enough, what Jeepers call 'death wobble'. One of the solutions that SOME have employed to attempt to reduce this, is to redirect the steering box thrust straight forward, then put a 90-degree pivot that translates steering action parallel to the axle beam, and in some cases, they just connect the pivot to tie rod... and this helps, but adds one more point of slop.
Realize that although there's room underneath the Cub Cadet, there's lots of hardware in the way... the loader frame, underside of the engine, etc., are all right there.
An 'Overloaded Bucket' means you've taken a scoop who's volume exceed's the bucket's ability to retain the contents, thus, they overflow onto the ground, onto the hood, engine, and operator... has nothing really to do with the machine's weight capacity. When you stick the edge of the bucket underneath a piece of concrete, and pull on the levers to pop the broken chunk out of the ground, the leverage angles, cylinder dimensions, hydraulic pump drive ratios and hydraulic pressure-relief valves determine wether you'll be able to lift whatever it is you're attempting. Making a smaller bucket doesn't change the physical loading of the machine, it just makes it so that you can't move as much snow, and that you leave a trail of mulch across the lawn as you go.
The problem with the IH Cub Cadet cast iron axle, is specifically that- it's cast iron, and NOT a malleable iron flavor. Naturally, it's very brittle, and while it is heavy and durable in day-to-day use, it's NOT able to 'fail gracefully'... it only fails one way... without warning. Most times, when you hear of axles breaking, it's on ordinary tractors, someone gets carried away and winds up with the front wheels in the air, then it drops back down onto the tires fast, and 'bang'. To make it worse, the IHCC mule drive's fitment oftentimes places the belt-deflection sheaves' flanges in contact with the beam... look at a dozen IHCCs used for mowing, and ten of those will have little V-grooves in the front of the beam, just on either side of the pivot. Right where the lower 'flange' of the 'I-beam shape' is. There's your weakest point... far from the load, and right through the meat which you need the most. When you see that, imagine the axle folded up right there, with the mule-drive area buried in the ground, and the tops of the tires stuffed against the sides of the hood tinwork, with bent steering rods and knuckles. That's what happens, and I'm not ashamed to share this as personal experience. The cast iron beam idea wasn't a bad idea, but malleable iron, and more clearance on the mule drive would have made all the difference in the world.
The factory power steering systems that use just one cylinder, are either special, or wrong. The 'special' types, have a rod that passes all the way through the cylinder. The 'wrong' types, use just one conventional cylinder. The difference being, that rod-through design, is 'balanced'... the volume required to extend the cylinder, is the same as the volume required to retract it. A common hydraulic cylinder generally requires upwards of twice as much fluid to extend as retract, because the retracting side has a piston rod occupying what would have been working displacement. Calculate bore and stroke of the non-rod side, and that's what it takes to extend. Now calculate the diameter and length of the rod, subtract that from the cylinder displacement, and you have retract volume.
When you use a non-balanced design, the result is 5 turns lock-to-lock to go right, and 2.5 turns to go full lock left. People do that, and it works, but the steering sucks.
The factory power steering pricetag was pretty darned high, considering how they're built and what they do... much much higher than just buying a valve, two cylinders, and some hoses and doing it right. People put a high pricetag on these parts because they want a 'bolt on' solution... and although it DOES provide power steering, it does nothing to correct all the other maladies. When I change things, I address as many issues as possible in my designs at once. For example... I could have put brackets on the original cast iron beam axle... but I would have either had to clamp around, or drill through, to make that happen. Can't weld to the iron. By going fabricated steel, that's not an issue. I could have put a brace UNDER the axle to make it stronger under vertical load... instead, I shaped the fabricated axle to do same. I could have reinforced the knuckles, or even make new knuckles to fit the factory iron axle (wait... I actually DID both of those...) and even convert to 1" SG spindle bearings (did that too), but ordinary trailer axle spindles are on there now.
On mine, I used two cylinders, in push-push mode... back ends pinned to brackets welded to the axle beam... and rod end pushing on the knuckle. With one pushing each way, it's naturally balanced, and because they're small, and act directly on the knuckles, there's very little to hanging out to get snagged, nothing to break. My tie-rod is BEHIND the axle, and instead of little sissy rods, I used 1" square tubing, with an industrial heim joint that has a 5/8" bore through the sphere. If you ask AW, he can provide you with these joints, because I've 'arranged' for a few for him.
You can attempt to reinforce the existing axle and knuckles, and try to enhance the mechanical steering... I did that before. I wish I hadn't wasted the time, but fortunately, I'm glad I saw the future and moved to a better design. It's like a guy wanting to make a hotrod out of a Model A Ford... you can swap the 40hp inline four with a 60hp flathead eight, three-speed, torque tube, and original and keep the solid front axle, yoke, steering and mechanical brakes, or you can bolt on a Mustang II IFS with rack-and-pinion/disk brakes, and drop in a 350 Chevy with a 700R4 pushing a Ford 9". The difference is drivability, safety, and performance vs. nostalgia.
I'm not saying your axle won't survive... it might. If it does break, and you're facing downhill, at an angle, with the bucket 3" off the ground, you're going over the dashboard and hood, and the machine will land on top of you.
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Yesterday, on my jobsite, one of my truck drivers had an air-suspension control valve bracket break off his trailer. ONly way to get it back on, was to weld it in place. One of my guys had a welder on his truck, and was happy to allow the driver to use it to weld the bracket back on, but he did NOT want to loan anyone his automatic-darkening welding helmet, on account that it was 'really expensive'. Yeah, just under $400 for a new one.
Of course, nobody else had one... so the driver was gonna hafta weld it by braille, and of course, unprotected.
I thought about it, and went back to my guy and said "Hey Bill- I understand you're concerned about an expensive helmet. Ed has a wife, kids, and mortage, and a truck stuck in the driveway here. Although I can NOT buy a man a new pair of eyes... but I can buy a new helmet any day of the week. I'll make you a deal- You loan him your helmet, just to get that bracket stuck back on, and if he even puts so much as a GREASE SMUDGE on it, I'll KEEP yours, and buy you TWO NEW ONES.
He thought about that for a minute.
Then he pulled out his helmet and handed it to me.
There are times when doing something right means accepting the circumstances for what they are, and setting our dispositions aside. I couldn't buy ONE RETINA for eight hundred bucks... so even if I did wind up having to buy two helmets, it still would'a been a good deal for me.