King KutterII Tiller Oil Seal Replacement

[stihlman]

I have had my 72" King Kutter tiller for about 5 years and really like the job it does with my L3830 Kubota. The only issue is the tine shaft seal on the gearbox side have leaked since it was new. My TSC store that sold me the tiller gave me the replacement seals for free and I continued to use the tiller and closely watched the oil level. That worked great until last weekend when I went in the garage and a huge puddle of 140wt oil was on the floor. Yesterday I tore into the tiller to replace the seals. The bottom gear needs to be removed along with the flange bolts that holds the drive tube to the top of the gearbox housing. Then I supported the tine shaft with a floor jack and removed the hub bolts on the tiller tine shaft and the lower gearbox. The next step is to remove the 4 bolts that holds the gear housing to the tiller frame. The housing will go over the top gear and the middle gear stays with the housing. Now the fun begins, the hub is pressed onto the tine shaft very tightly, I used a 8" gear puller, some heat, and light taps to finally get it off. Now the hub is off you will have to remove the bearing to get to the seals that are behind it in the hub. I took the hub to a buddy's hydraulic arbor press. I removed the bearing and pressed in the new seals the pressed the bearing back in. I put it all back together without much problem. You will need to press the hub back on by using the lower gear, it's spacer and bolt. I called the KK factory in Alabama a couple of times along the way for advice and talked to a very knowledgable gentleman who was very helpful. He told me that the last several years they advise guys in my situation to replace the gear oil in the side gearbox with 000 grease to stop the leakage issues. So there it is, not a really big job, but you need to have access to more than average homeowner tools. I will refill my gearbox up with the 000 grease as suggested, Lubriplate brand "gear guard", available at bearing supply stores. I hope this helps somebody with a leaky KK

Steve

 

[TractorLady]

Thanks Stihlman very helpful! Anyone wanting to buy a King Kutter tiller can plan on spending several hours doing the same.

 

[DaleV]

I have had my 72" King Kutter tiller for about 5 years and really like the job it does with my L3830 Kubota. The only issue is the tine shaft seal on the gearbox side have leaked since it was new. My TSC store that sold me the tiller gave me the replacement seals for free and I continued to use the tiller and closely watched the oil level. That worked great until last weekend when I went in the garage and a huge puddle of 140wt oil was on the floor. Yesterday I tore into the tiller to replace the seals. The bottom gear needs to be removed along with the flange bolts that holds the drive tube to the top of the gearbox housing. Then I supported the tine shaft with a floor jack and removed the hub bolts on the tiller tine shaft and the lower gearbox. The next step is to remove the 4 bolts that holds the gear housing to the tiller frame. The housing will go over the top gear and the middle gear stays with the housing. Now the fun begins, the hub is pressed onto the tine shaft very tightly, I used a 8" gear puller, some heat, and light taps to finally get it off. Now the hub is off you will have to remove the bearing to get to the seals that are behind it in the hub. I took the hub to a buddy's hydraulic arbor press. I removed the bearing and pressed in the new seals the pressed the bearing back in. I put it all back together without much problem. You will need to press the hub back on by using the lower gear, it's spacer and bolt. I called the KK factory in Alabama a couple of times along the way for advice and talked to a very knowledgable gentleman who was very helpful. He told me that the last several years they advise guys in my situation to replace the gear oil in the side gearbox with 000 grease to stop the leakage issues. So there it is, not a really big job, but you need to have access to more than average homeowner tools. I will refill my gearbox up with the 000 grease as suggested, Lubriplate brand "gear guard", available at bearing supply stores. I hope this helps somebody with a leaky KK

Steve

Steve,
I am working on the same seal change and found your posting very helpful. Would appreciate if you could tell me how you pressed the seal out. I can see how the seal would be pressed in but there is nothing to push against when pressing the bearing out (hole through center). Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks

 

[stihlman]

As I remember I used the press to remove the bearing and seal together. It's been awhile since this project so I'm not 100% sure

 

[DaleV]

Thanks Steve.
I have a press that I can use- that's not the problem. I can't see just how I would go about pressing the bearing OUT. Pressing IN would be no problem because there is the solid outside perimeter of the bearing to push against, but pushing OUT on the bearing from the other side of the housing is the problem. From this direction there is a machined shoulder against which the seal rests then the bearing. Of course through the middle is the inside opening of the bearing through which the shaft slides. The only thing I could possibly push against (if I could jam something inside the hole) is the inside ring of bearing which is very hard to get at but more concerning is that I am afraid that if I push on the bearing here I will destroy the bearing as the casting holding the ball bearings in the race are appears to be very light material. Not sure what to do.

 

[DaleV]

Actually the bearing almost fell out once I got playing with it. Problem solved.