broken bolts again

[dostep]

I should have said where the front axle housing connects to the cv joint housing. there are 8 or so bolts and three broke about 2 inches into connection. are these extra hard bolts or can they be drilled. what I need is a diagrahm of the front axel assembly.

 

[square1]

The marking on the head will tell you the hardness

 

[GManBart]

Back up a step....what model tractor are you talking about?

Depending on the brand/model you may be able to find a parts diagram posted online by companies that sell parts. They do that so you can find the correct part to order. It's a really good idea to buy the parts book, and shop manual for any tractor you own...it makes this sort of stuff much easier, and saves a lot of time. The older the machine gets, the more important this becomes.

Just as an FYI, you can edit threads that you've started, rather than starting a second thread...that keeps all the information in one place, and cuts down on clutter. What can happen is that different people are answering in two different threads, and it makes it a lot harder for you to keep up with.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Try using a reverse twist drill bit on them. Usually when the bit "catches" the bolt it will just turn the whole broken piece right out. Bits are available at places like NAPA Etc.

 

[puckgrinder85]

And when you do the above use the largest bit you can get into the hole. The smaller the bit the less this trick works. You WANT the bit to grab if the remaining bolt is just floating in the threads it should come right out.

 

[DavesTractor]

I should have said where the front axle housing connects to the cv joint housing. there are 8 or so bolts and three broke about 2 inches into connection. are these extra hard bolts or can they be drilled. what I need is a diagrahm of the front axel assembly.

If this is on a Century and they broke, they are likely the long bolts that go through the spacer block to make the axle wider? They were initially sold with a lower grade bolt and many of them broke. They tend to be pretty easy to extract. Remove the remaining bolts first and take that portion of the axle apart. Replace with grade 10.9 and replace the dowel pins so things never have a chance to get moving in the first place, which tends to loosen up the bolts. Years ago Branson (same manufacturer as Century - Kukje) went through this and we spent a few weeks traveling our area and replaced every bolt on every affected front axle. Since then, zero such problems. Do both sides. Not a hard job generally, although removing broken bolts is never fun.

 

[dostep]

it's a century there's about 8 of them and the 3 lower ones broke. i'll give it a try tomorrow

 

[DavesTractor]

dostep, it'll be a little easier than you think. Put a floor jack or blocks under the hub when you unbolt it. It's heavy and easy to drop with your hand still under it. Ouch.

 

[Texasmark]

If this is on a Century and they broke, they are likely the long bolts that go through the spacer block to make the axle wider? They were initially sold with a lower grade bolt and many of them broke. They tend to be pretty easy to extract. Remove the remaining bolts first and take that portion of the axle apart. Replace with grade 10.9 and replace the dowel pins so things never have a chance to get moving in the first place, which tends to loosen up the bolts. Years ago Branson (same manufacturer as Century - Kukje) went through this and we spent a few weeks traveling our area and replaced every bolt on every affected front axle. Since then, zero such problems. Do both sides. Not a hard job generally, although removing broken bolts is never fun.

Interesting comment you made, not hijacking the thread but IS related to this subject. When you and your coworkers did your replacement effort, what size and year model tractors were you workiing on. I picked up a couple of tidbits on bad front ends on Bransons and wanted more info. Mine is a 2007 and built like a tank. Have had it since new and have had zero problems. Your reply would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[DavesTractor]

Interesting comment you made, not hijacking the thread but IS related to this subject. When you and your coworkers did your replacement effort, what size and year model tractors were you workiing on. I picked up a couple of tidbits on bad front ends on Bransons and wanted more info. Mine is a 2007 and built like a tank. Have had it since new and have had zero problems. Your reply would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Mark

Mark,
The bolt breakage was on the early 20 series units, like the 3520-4020-4520. I think by the time they got to the I series, like 3820i, 4220i, 4720i they had long since installed the better bolts and dowel pins. Similarly they upgraded the tie rod ends from a bolt that was around 3/8" to a bolt that is about 5/8" (metric of course) and no more problems.

Your 6530 axle is different. They did have some issues with the first year or so of the 30 series front axles. They then beefed them up.

It is like the engineers in Korea designed these primarily for field use as they are normally used in Korea. A lot of rototilling, etc., but not designed for heavy front end loader use. It didn't take them long to figure that out and we have not seen front axle problems in Branson tractors in years. A high duty cycle of FEL use means the front axle has to be really stout. They are now.