Leak from Hole in front axle

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>Why not cover the entire outside area with brazing?</font color=blue>

I could have left the patch covered in brass and maybe should have. But I just couldn't stand the suspense! I had to grind down to the plug to see how it fit after brazing. When I made the plug, I made it to fit a 1/16" or so proud of the casting surface. The "after grinding" picture doesn't show real well that the plug is still slightly proud of the casting. The edges are feathered down to the casting surface.

Inside, some braze material coated the floor of the casting. I ground it down some, but left it raised a bit to add a little strength. Still plenty of clearance for the bearing that sits on top.

 

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>those gears are not made in sets at the factory</font color=blue>

Good point. I will assemble using the "old" gear M. It still looks pretty good.

 

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>gears needed to be replaced in sets so they could wear in togeher.</font color=blue>

Could this be an exception? I will let you know if things fail...again.

 

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>how much whine can you get at 1-10 mph? </font color=blue>

I don't know. Not only was there no whine, but there was no bang, pop, thump or bump. I had no clue things were on the way to going bad and no clue after things went bad until I saw the leak.

Of course, I do wear earplugs and my hearing is not so good, but this axle failure came as a complete surprise.

 

[OkieG]

A few days ago, the JD manager said he'd never seen a hole in the cast housing. Yesterday, however, he said he's seen lots of spindle bearing failures. He said "overloading" the loader puts too much weight on the front axle and can cause bearing failure with 4WD engaged. He infered that the bottom spindle bearing is designed as the weak link in the system. It's failure protects more expensive parts in the drivetrain. Hmmm.

Is there such a thing as overloading the loader? I figure if the hydraulics can handle it, it is not overloaded. If the loader is overloaded, hydraulic bypass keeps action from happening, which makes it hard for me to conceive of an overload situation.

My loader does get a lot of use. And occassionally to max hydraulic capability. But, I don't think that is different from many tractor/loader users. My thought has been that the hydraulic pressure relief valve is the "weak link" in the system and pops off before mechanical damage is threatened. However, even with a boxblade and weights for ballast, the rear wheels can get a bit light on the ground with a full FEL. Maybe that is just too much for the axle to handle.

Somehow, though, I don't think too many folks have had this problem, just judging by TBN posts.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I about got ran off for saying this before. Fellows were talking about balast. I for one do not use fluid in my tires or added weight beyond a normal emplement on the 3pt.
when we get that loader filled to capacity, to the point that the back gets light, that little front end is taking on the total weight of the tractor plus anything we pile on it. I realize the need for stability and traction, but making a few more trips will give our girls a longer life.

 

[AndyMA]

If the M gear looks ok, you'll probably be ok. I realize the gears are not made in sets, but are ground to precise dimensions. As they wear in, certain points of contact are developed. When you replace just one gear depending on how even the wear is you may or may not have a problem. The one statement that I do disagree with is the one regarding the bearing being the component designed to fail. As an engineer that makes no sense to me. If a bearing fails, not only do we get loosed pieces to lodge every where, but we also get all of the mechanisms out of alignment, so that all bets are off as to what fails. If you are designing a "weak" point you also have to design in a controlled failure mode. Andy

 

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>making a few more trips</font color=blue>

Every time there is a new scratch on my tractor, I look real close to see if there's yellow paint underneath the green.

My "ol' girl" gets her share of heavy work. I've never felt it was abuse, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[OkieG]

<font color=blue>the bearing being the component designed to fail.</font color=blue>

I am sure the manager knows a lot about tractors, but I think he was talking through his hat on this one.

 

[rdbrumfield]

I think they have meetings to learn what to tell a customer to make him feel good. That weak link fairytale is pure fantasy, If that were the case, you think they would put shear pins on the axles, lol.