Help With Leaking PTO Seal on John Deere 430

[beenthere]

Glad to hear you persevered and won the battle.. almost think I could match you with replacing a drier belt on our Maytag drier.
But know what you are talking about... just think, the next time it will be easier... yah.,, right!!

 

[Kish318420]

Man, what a nightmare this turned out to be. Removing the fender deck is supposed to be a 5-minute job. Took me more like 2 hours, not including research. When I got it off, and I moved the fuel tank out of the way, I had very poor access to the cylinder and hoses, but it was enough to make the job possible.

To get the deck off my 430, you have to remove the shift lever in the floor. The engineering is unbelievably stupid. The shift knob protrudes through a small hole too narrow for a wrench, and the hex on the lever is BELOW the deck. I had to turn it about a tenth of a turn at a time. The person who designed this must have been trying to get fired, because no one can be that dumb and still breathe. I feel like welding a T-handle to it. I slathered the nut and threads with anti-seize, and I left the lever finger-tight so I would be able to get it off next time.

The annoying seat switch (bypassed with a cable tie) has a huge connector on it, and you have to feed it through a tiny hole in the deck with one hand, while holding the deck up with the other. Otherwise, the switch wires tie the deck to the tractor.

A good engineer would have used a boat-type kill switch that attaches to a cord and bracelet. Before I killed the switch, I had to restart the tractor every time I got off to pick up a stick.

The taillight lamps have to be pulled out of their housings in order to remove the deck. Pushing them back in is nearly impossible. I greased them, and I still had to wrestle with each one for over 5 minutes. For $9200, Deere could have put disconnects in the wires, or they could have used sockets that screw in, like, oh, every major vehicle manufacturer.

I don't know why my lawnmower needs taillights anyway.

The deck and seat must weigh 60 pounds, and when you lift the assembly, you have zero leverage. Like lifting an ironing board with a fat child sitting on the far end. It's a wonder I managed it.

The new cylinder is in, however. Hope it lasts a while.

View attachment 606097

Someone did type up a step by step instructions on how to remove the deck pan on 316/318/420/430. It is on one of the other forms IIRC. Which also lets u know that the taillights are 1/4 to release or to tighten after insertion. They are patterned after side Chevy side marker lights the cars of their period of the 80-90s.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Someone did type up a step by step instructions on how to remove the deck pan on 316/318/420/430. It is on one of the other forms IIRC. Which also lets u know that the taillights are 1/4 to release or to tighten after insertion. They are patterned after side Chevy side marker lights the cars of their period of the 80-90s.

Thanks. I don't think that will help me with the tail lamps, because I tried everything imaginable while I was working on them, but I will keep it in mind.

Now I have to figure out how to replace or fix a leaking quick coupler on my Kubota's front end loader! My workshop floor will still have an oil problem until both tractors are fixed.

 

[Vandybart]

Just removed mine from the 430. You can pull the mower deck off, if installed, to get underneath tractor. Follow the hose from the front of the cylinder up the road side, left facing forward, frame rail. The hose connects to a hydraulic hose fitting roughly under the foot rest flat step area on inner side of that left frame rail. Take a 3/4" open end wrench on rear fitting which is the forward end of the line from the cylinder and another open end wrench (forgot which size used, maybe 9/16" or 5/8") on the fitting of the other end of the connection which is the aft end of the line coming from the hydraulic distro valve. I couldn't fit a crescent in the area due tight fit. The line coming aft is held to the frame rail with a 10mm bolt that I loosened, not removed, to get some slack in the lines to get the open end wrenches on both fittings. Hold the 3/4" end fitting in place while turning the nut on the other hose fitting (normal hydraulic connection). Once broken loose, just unthread the two hose fitting apart. With that loose, go unhook the other hydraulic line on the aft end of the cylinder. Now pull the carter pins and pull the two pins to free the cylinder. The front hose can be pulled down the frame rail and out with the cylinder. Now it is just removing the short, maybe 10" hose from the front of the cylinder for reuse. Pulling the mower deck is a lot easier than mentioned ideas above.

For reassembly, I envision reusing the short hose by connecting it to the new cylinder and feeding it up the frame rail to reconnect. Probably place a baggie or wrap the end with plastic wrap to keep debris out of the line. Pin cylinder in place, install carter pins, and connect the rear hose to the cylinder. Move under the tractor to reconnect the forward cylinder hose to the supply hose via standard hydraulic connection. Those are my thoughts.

Got to go find a replacement cylinder now. Dreading that cost.

 

[MTGreen]

Just removed mine from the 430. You can pull the mower deck off, if installed, to get underneath tractor. Follow the hose from the front of the cylinder up the road side, left facing forward, frame rail. The hose connects to a hydraulic hose fitting roughly foot rest flat step area. Take a 3/4" open end wrench on rear nut and another open end wrench (forgot which size used, maybe 9/16" or 5/8") on the fitting of the other end of the connection which is the line coming from the hydraulic distro valve. I couldn't fit a crescent in the area due tight fit. The line coming aft is held to the frame rail with a 10mm bolt that I loosened, not removed, to get some slack in the lines to get the open end wrenches on both fittings. Hold the 3/4" end fitting in place while turning the nut on the other hose fitting (normal hydraulic connection). Once broken loose, just unthread the two hose fitting apart. With that loose, go unhook the other hydraulic line on the aft end of the cylinder. Now pull the carter pins and pull the two pins to free the cylinder. The front hose can be pulled down the frame rail and out with the cylinder. Now it is just removing the short, maybe 10" hose from the front of the cylinder for reuse. Pulling the mower deck is a lot easier than mentioned ideas above.

For reassembly, I envision reusing the short hose by connecting it to the new cylinder and feeding it up the frame rail to reconnect. Probably place a baggie or wrap the end with plastic wrap to keep debris out of the line. Pin cylinder in place, install carter pins, and connect the rear hose to the cylinder. Move under the tractor to reconnect the forward cylinder hose to the supply hose via standard hydraulic connection. Those are my thoughts.

Got to go find a replacement cylinder now. Dreading that cost.

Good hydraulic shops will cut, rebuild, and reweld a "non-rebuildable" cylinder. That being said, there are quite a few used ones on eBay for less than $100