Brother in Laws TC 30 ready to crack in half.

[Ryan03]

My brother in law Has a almost new New Holland cut, {same as a TC-30, but with a different name for this year} It has a factory installed frontend loader with 4 wheel drive and ag tires. On Friday, he was giving it a good look over, and noticed one of the ears on the engine block where the bell housing bolts on was broken off, and the bell housing had a couple of big cracks in it in the same area!!!!! Since this tractor is only around 6 months old and has 57 hours on it, he immediatly loaded it on his trailer and took it to his New Holland dealer which is close by. He said they seemed realy surprised by this, but were very reassuring and insisted that they would cover it under warranty. They were thinking a new short block and bell housing would take care of this. They feel that the block casting was a defective peice, which led to this failure. I have not seen it with my own eyes yet, but I will probably go over tonight to take a look since he lives 5 minutes away. I thought that I read something on here in the past 6 months about some thing similar happening to somebody elses TC-30, but I cannot seem to locate it. Does any body know if this is a weak link with this tractor, or just a fluke. The tractor has not had any kind of back hoe or other ground engaging attachment on the 3pt. hitch, just the home made 900 lb counter weight that I gave him. I will say that he has worked the loader end of it pretty hard, not grossly abused it, but worked it harder than most probably do. I will try to get some pics of damage.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Have not seen it on a NH but did see this on a Jinma. The cause of that problem was a improperly installed FEL and not torquing the bolts holding the FEL to the tractor.

Chris

 

[davitk]

For gosh sake, get pictures!!!!! Time and date stamped, with a witness pointing to the problem, BEFORE the dealer impounds it.

Then post them here enquiring minds want to know.

 

[pitt_md]

My brother in law Has a almost new New Holland cut, {same as a TC-30, but with a different name for this year} It has a factory installed frontend loader with 4 wheel drive and ag tires. On Friday, he was giving it a good look over, and noticed one of the ears on the engine block where the bell housing bolts on was broken off, and the bell housing had a couple of big cracks in it in the same area!!!!! Since this tractor is only around 6 months old and has 57 hours on it, he immediatly loaded it on his trailer and took it to his New Holland dealer which is close by. He said they seemed realy surprised by this, but were very reassuring and insisted that they would cover it under warranty. They were thinking a new short block and bell housing would take care of this. They feel that the block casting was a defective peice, which led to this failure. I have not seen it with my own eyes yet, but I will probably go over tonight to take a look since he lives 5 minutes away. I thought that I read something on here in the past 6 months about some thing similar happening to somebody elses TC-30, but I cannot seem to locate it. Does any body know if this is a weak link with this tractor, or just a fluke. The tractor has not had any kind of back hoe or other ground engaging attachment on the 3pt. hitch, just the home made 900 lb counter weight that I gave him. I will say that he has worked the loader end of it pretty hard, not grossly abused it, but worked it harder than most probably do. I will try to get some pics of damage.

It is possible that the internet just points out the problems with any given make but I sure have heard a lot about NH's breaking in half. Hope they fix this problem (if it is a problem) before

 

[IslandTractor]

I thought that I read something on here in the past 6 months about some thing similar happening to somebody elses TC-30, but I cannot seem to locate it. .

I have a similar memory. Reported in the last 6-9 months here on TBN. Not necessarily a TC30 but similar size blue tractor as I recall.

Edit: here is the link. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/nh-owning-operating/115094-arrrrrrgh-broke-my-tractor-engine.html

 

[bjr]

Yes I too remember, recently, a fellow doing serious negoiations with his NH dealer after he found similar breaks. I feel badly for all of these FEL owners that have broken their tractors. I have suffered without a Front End Loader for those very reasons. I've had to go rent a small tractor loader backhoe on occasions. But I would have never been financially able to repair a busted tractor. Hope the best for you. bjr

 

[john_bud]

I think that is a fairly rare occurance. Not that it will make your BIL feel better to learn just how unlucky he is! Still, very few tractors break from FEL use. Actually, only a few break from 3pt backhoe use and that is a much more damaging activity.

Still, I would want to see if they can add any extra bracing on the new parts to make them even stronger. Or see if the newly repaired tractor can be cheaply upgraded to a larger size new or used (or a better one like my Kubota). Joke!

jb

 

[crashz]

A fellow member here had a very similar problem on a bigger NH while plowing snow with his FEL and having a large snowblower attached. This prompted me to search for tractors that have broken in half. A review in the Reviews section had a TC30 that had broken as well with only a few hours. Also saw thread somewhere about a Kioti with FEL, BH and subframe with a cracked bellhousing.

The NH guys have swore up and down that New Hollands are not anymore prone to breaking in half than other brands. But it definately seems like there are more reports of these problems with NH than others.

After inspecting a used TC30 that at my local John Deere Dealer, I imagine its pretty easy to break them. The castings seem thinner in comparsion to similar tractors like my 770 or a 790 (the TC30 was sitting right next to a 790). The TC30 also has a pretty strong 3 pt hitch capacity too, which allows a lot of weight to be concentrated at the engine block/bellhousing area, especially during loader work. Add some impact of digging hard soil or dropping the bucket and stopping and you've got a real problem.

I bet If I did some hard digging with my loader and a 900 lb counter weight, I'd break it. That is, if my 770 could lift a 900 lb counter weight. I doubt your BIL did anything intentionally to break it, but I think the hydraulic capacity and power of the TC30 are at the limits of its structural capacity.

Just my opinion of course...

 

[Ryan03]

I built and used the same counter weight on my Farmtrac 270 for the first 100 or so hours. I constructed it specificaly to aid in heavy front end loader work {moving 100 or so cubic yards of settled clay mixed with fire wood here and there in a huge pile} , and although I did break the loader bolts off in the bell housing,I never cracked the tractor{that I know of knock on wood}. The BIL did express to me that he feels that New Holland should replace his tractor with a new one, and just install his used loader and lightly worn tires on a new unit. Personaly, I have to agree with him, but would be suprised if they replaced the tractor under warranty rather than just the short block and bell housing.

 

[Ryan03]

Just went over and took a few pics with my phone. Here they are.