Wheel broke off !

   / Wheel broke off ! #1  

Post Carbon

Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2012
Messages
44
Location
Pacific NorthWest
Tractor
Kubota B7800, LA402 FEL
Hello Gentlemen,

So I just finished tilling up my potato patch, went to park the Kubota 7800 and felt a bump. Got off and the front left tire has fallen off ! Broken off. WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED?

I'm a new owner of this used tractor and have little experience with maintenance, certainly with wheels falling off of anything. Feeling stunned. What does this mean? I have no idea. How does this kind of thing happen? Have I wrecked the axle? Will I have to take this to the doctor? Can I buy a part to fix it? It looks serious. I'm pretty sure this is much more than a tire problem.

Enclosing photos to help with diagnosis. Really glad it didn't happen in the middle of the field.
 

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   / Wheel broke off ! #2  
   / Wheel broke off !
  • Thread Starter
#3  
N. Fowler, many thanks for the redirect ! I'm not completely cognizant of all the subtleties of this site yet, but have received much help and advice so far ! Really bummed out by this development, but I will soldier on !

PCP
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #4  
Do you have a FEL? Are your front tire loaded with fluid? Looks like the weld broke. Though I cant see details close enough. If it is a broken weld you may be able to disassemble it and either re-weld it yourself or have it re-welded.:thumbsup:
 
   / Wheel broke off !
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Yes, I do have a FEL, and tires are loaded. I will have to take the tire off, obviously, to really get a gander at what's up. But I would think that something like this would take a lot of stress--would a weld really hold up well? Freaks me out. Makes me think I should take the opposite wheel off too, just to see how it's doing.
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #6  
Yes, I do have a FEL, and tires are loaded. I will have to take the tire off, obviously, to really get a gander at what's up. But I would think that something like this would take a lot of stress--would a weld really hold up well? Freaks me out. Makes me think I should take the opposite wheel off too, just to see how it's doing.

No reason to remove the tire. Separate the rim and hub, open the gear case and pull out the stub axle.

It will take longer to clean the thing up than make the repair.
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #7  
Yes, I do have a FEL, and tires are loaded. I will have to take the tire off, obviously, to really get a gander at what's up. But I would think that something like this would take a lot of stress--would a weld really hold up well? Freaks me out. Makes me think I should take the opposite wheel off too, just to see how it's doing.
The reason I asked about the front tires being loaded is when the front tires are loaded it doesn't allow enough air space to give the proper dampening. I have even seen the wheel center brake out. For this reason I would leave the fronts empty of liquid ballast. :thumbsup:
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #8  
I'm with KevinJ..... looks bad, but not a major repair. Kubota must have had a batch of bad axles, because there was another member with the same problem within the past couple weeks. I'd ask your dealer if Kubota is offering any help with these, since they seem to be having a problem. Use the search function and print off several treads where people have had the axle break and bring them in to the dealer.
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #9  
Dex3361 - I agree front tires do not need to be loaded when you run an FEL. not enough spring in the tire to protect the structure.

From the photos is looks like this may have been cracked for a while. There is no reason you cannot get the hub and stub shaft out and have them welded and they would be as good or better than new. Of course it takes a welder that knows what they are doing but I would not hesitate to repair it that way.

I may want to check the other wheel though to see if it is cracked. sometimes cracks are hard to see but if you wash it off and dry it with a hair dryer the water in the crack will show up after the surface is dry displaying a crack that cannot be seen by the naked eye. There re more professional methods such as a die penetrant, magnetic resonance, etc. but this is quick and easy for us tractor guys.
 
   / Wheel broke off ! #10  
Yeah, that's clearly been a fracture in progress for a long time based on the rust on part of the crack. So if it's any consolation, you didn't cause the problem, you're just the poor sucker operating the tractor when it was finished off!
 
 
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