Front Axle Pumpkin Vent

[dfkrug]

Some pictures of the axle pivots on the axle. They're hardened sleeves. They don't look good in my opinion. I think something needs to be done here. At the very least a good greasing.

This is what I wanted to see most. I debated long about taking mine
apart to inspect the pivots since they were very accessible with my
whole engine subframe off. But there was no wiggle in them at all and
both seals were in place. They are large diameter pivots, too. What
would you say their diameter is?

These are nothing like the axle pivot on my 955; it was only a single 25mm
shaft, and tough to remove. Mine had failed because it takes a LOT of
grease to properly fill the cavity in there. It is bizarre that that the
4x00s are not greasable.

 

[arrabil]

So does the PS cylinder get in the way of removing the diff cover?

Oh yeah, big time. You could, maybe, finagle the bolts without removing the cylinder but there is no way at all you're pulling the gears out. You wouldn't even be able to make enough room to get your hand and/or a towel in there to catch the drillings.

But there was no wiggle in them at all and both seals were in place. They are large diameter pivots, too. What would you say their diameter is?

I have to measure them still. I had a long day today so I didn't even look at the axle.

I think the bolt adjustment is what keeps the pivot tight. Which is to say, I think it'll always feel tight even when its shot. Mine felt and worked just as I would have expected, however, you can see the shape its in. The one pivot bracket "stuttered" off the pivot as I removed the axle. Thats always a bad sign to me.

And the seal was an interesting bit.... The dry rot is currently at the lip which contacts the bracket. It didn't look bad until I removed the bracket. You might have the same problem.

It is bizarre that that the 4x00s are not greasable.

Good description.... bizarre. I've decided not to replace the bushings. Too much pain involved. Haven't looked at the thrust washer in detail yet. But I'm definitely adding a grease fitting to each bracket. This whole exercise may have started out under dubious pretenses but what I've learned about the pivots makes the whole thing exceedingly worthwhile. I think anyway.

Nice pix!

Thanks!

 

[dfkrug]

I have to measure them still. I had a long day today so I didn't even look at the axle.

I think the bolt adjustment is what keeps the pivot tight. Which is to say, I think it'll always feel tight even when its shot. Mine felt and worked just as I would have expected, however, you can see the shape its in. The one pivot bracket "stuttered" off the pivot as I removed the axle. Thats always a bad sign to me.

And the seal was an interesting bit.... The dry rot is currently at the lip which contacts the bracket. It didn't look bad until I removed the bracket. You might have the same problem.


Good description.... bizarre. I've decided not to replace the bushings. Too much pain involved. Haven't looked at the thrust washer in detail yet. But I'm definitely adding a grease fitting to each bracket. This whole exercise may have started out under dubious pretenses but what I've learned about the pivots makes the whole thing exceedingly worthwhile. I think anyway.

The pivots look to be at least 1.5" in diameter. That is confidence-inspiring.
Also, the fact that they did not slide off the two supports easily means they
have not developed a lot of clearance (wear). That is also good, unless
rust has built up to keep it tight. The inner and outer wear surfaces are
hardened sleeves...another good thing. I will post a photo of my failed
955 pivot when I take one. It had hardened sleeves acting on a
not-so-hard shaft. Even without zerks, the 4x00 pivot looks like
a big improvement. I wonder how the budget CUTs of that era did it
(JD950, JD970).

What this all means is that anyone with 4x00s or 4x10s needs to be
concerned about the long-term health of their pivots as their machines
get to be 10 y old or more. Maybe disassembly and re-greasing is
warranted for owners who want to keep their tractors a long time.

Nice work, ARRABIL. Getting a grease fitting on the pivots will be an
interesting exercise if you decide to attempt it.

 

[JD755]

I wonder how the budget CUTs of that era did it
(JD950, JD970).

The 950/1050 used a similar pivot to the 4x00, but did have grease fittings on both ends. (You might be able to see the bright object on the sides in the pictures.) The 670/1070 used the hanging type pivot similar to the x55 and also had a grease fitting, although done differently than the x55. The 850 used the hanging type pivot but I have not yet found a grease fitting on it. It may not have one since the 650/750 also use the hanging type and did not have a grease fitting.

 

[Rob-D]

Nice work Arrabil,
Thanks for laying this out for us.

Rob

 

[Rob-D]

A couple of things:

I worked on the drive shaft of my friends 990 (4005) and had to lift the front end. The axle pivoted with no trouble and it wasn't stiff or frozen. She did have relatively low hours on it but it wasn't a new tractor, maybe three or four years old I'm guessing.

As for the bushing itself, it depends on what material it is. If it's a 660 bronze I might lube it but I'd have to inspect it personally.

You could put fittings on it, certainly wouldn't hurt, but how much benefit you'd get is questionable. that thing doesn't move around that much.

If I was going to attempt it I'd drill it with a carbide drill (going very slowly) and figure the HSS tap wouldn't be much good after a couple of holes so I'd buy a relatively cheap one just for this job.

You could do it with HSS drill but start small and work up to the final size. You may have to sharpen it a couple of times along the way.

Rob

 

[arrabil]

The pivots look to be at least 1.5" in diameter.

I think its closer to 3" even. I'll be measuring it tomorrow.

unless rust has built up to keep it tight.

Thats the problem I see. I'll take pictures of me cleaning the pivots.

Maybe disassembly and re-greasing is warranted for owners who want to keep their tractors a long time.

Certainly it'll be easier to take out the axle and grease it every five years than it would be to replace the hardened sleeves every fifteen. I guess that doesn't sound like a lot now that I type it, but I don't like it anyway. Even my X475 has a grease fitting on the axle and I don't carry 800lbs in a loader with it ever.

The axle pivoted with no trouble and it wasn't stiff or frozen. She did have relatively low hours on it but it wasn't a new tractor, maybe three or four years old I'm guessing.

Mine wasn't stiff or frozen either. Worked great as far as I could tell. But I don't like whats going on there. It couldn't possibly stay in great working condition for the next ten years. Mine has been through water and mud too though. If you baby it, certainly it should be better for longer.

You could put fittings on it, certainly wouldn't hurt, but how much benefit you'd get is questionable. that thing doesn't move around that much.

Deere lubed and sealed it from the factory. But even though it doesn't move around much (and it actually does on my property with all the hills), it does grind metal against metal with a couple thousand pounds of force. Just like water on rocks.... sooner or later.

HSS tap wouldn't be much good after a couple of holes

Whats HSS? I'm not worried though. The tap only has to turn in some cast steel. Its the drill bit that has to go through the last 1/16" of hardened steel (which may also be no problem, I have no idea).

 

[dfkrug]

Those hard steel bushings are going to be very tough to drill, and
I will bet a high-speed steel (HSS) bit won't touch it. Even cobalt
bits will be getting dull really fast.

I do not think much grease is put in there on the assembly line. I would
like my axle pivots to be greasable, and this is the only tractor I have
had where they are not.

Here are some pix of the pivot from my 955. The two sleeves are very
hard steel, and the shaft is much softer. The plate that holds the shaft
in is right behind the battery, and gets very rusty. I had to cut the
bolt heads off with my plasma cutter and do a lot of sledgehammer
pounding to get it out. The all-new parts were reasonable. This, the
battery tray, and the front grille are the 3 biggest problems with the
x55s, IMO.

 

[arrabil]

I guess my Drill Doctor will be getting a workout tomorrow.

I measured the the pivots on the axle: 65mm = 2.56"

 

[Rob-D]

Whats HSS? I'm not worried though. The tap only has to turn in some cast steel. Its the drill bit that has to go through the last 1/16" of hardened steel (which may also be no problem, I have no idea).

High speed steel.

It depends on how "hardened" it is. Personally I can't imagine it's anymore than Rockwell 50, if that. Run a file across it and see if it it cuts into it.
That's a lot of bearing surface. Especially since Deere greases it before assembly. If I remember that bearing is pretty easy to take apart to check and relube in a year from now if you're concerned.

Rob

 

[Rob-D]

Those hard steel bushings are going to be very tough to drill, and
I will bet a high-speed steel (HSS) bit won't touch it. Even cobalt
bits will be getting dull really fast.

I do not think much grease is put in there on the assembly line. I would
like my axle pivots to be greasable, and this is the only tractor I have
had where they are not.

Here are some pix of the pivot from my 955. The two sleeves are very
hard steel, and the shaft is much softer. The plate that holds the shaft
in is right behind the battery, and gets very rusty. I had to cut the
bolt heads off with my plasma cutter and do a lot of sledgehammer
pounding to get it out. The all-new parts were reasonable. This, the
battery tray, and the front grille are the 3 biggest problems with the
x55s, IMO.

I'd start the hole with a 1/4" carbide drill and then the sizing drill. We're only talking an 'R' drill (.339") for a 1/8-27 pipe thread. You should be able to do that without much trouble.

DF, How many hours do you have on those bushings?

The other thing is now Deere has corrected the battery problem so acids won't be creating the mess they used to so parts should come apart easier.

I just checked the manual on the new 3320 and they don't show any fittings on those bushings. Probably I'll check them every couple of years or so and relube them.

Rob

 

[dfkrug]

DF, How many hours do you have on those bushings?

That repair to my last 955 was the last one I did to it before I sold it,
about 5 years ago. It had something like 1700 hrs on it, mostly rental
hours. The void created between the two bushings needs to be full of
grease before any of it gets forced between the bushings and the shaft.
I think that most owners don't completely fill the void as it takes many
many pumps of the grease gun.

If one were to add a zerk to the front and rear 4x00 axle pivots, the fitting
would only have to thread into the outer soft casting, and the inner
hard bushing would need only the tiniest hole in it.

 

[arrabil]

If one were to add a zerk to the front and rear 4x00 axle pivots, the fitting would only have to thread into the outer soft casting, and the inner hard bushing would need only the tiniest hole in it.

That is the exact plan. Though I intend to use a bit big enough to sharpen easily. Should have some results by the end of the day... (late, gotta replace the neighbor's fuel pump first).

 

[Rob-D]

That repair to my last 955 was the last one I did to it before I sold it,
about 5 years ago. It had something like 1700 hrs on it, mostly rental
hours. The void created between the two bushings needs to be full of
grease before any of it gets forced between the bushings and the shaft.
I think that most owners don't completely fill the void as it takes many
many pumps of the grease gun.

From what I'm hearing it sounds like there's a lot of grease behind the bearings. Usually the way it works is the grease migrates down from vibration and as heat build up, this keeps the joints lubed. Of course nothing works better than pushing clean grease from a fitting.

 

[dfkrug]

From what I'm hearing it sounds like there's a lot of grease behind the bearings. Usually the way it works is the grease migrates down from vibration and as heat build up, this keeps the joints lubed. Of course nothing works better than pushing clean grease from a fitting.

There was a lot of petrified grease in there, but the only way to know if
there was enough to get those bushings to get force-lubed was if some
got squeezed out. Most folks (this writer included) don't have the patience
to wait 50 squeezes on the lube gun.

 

[dcyrilc]

There was a lot of petrified grease in there, but the only way to know if
there was enough to get those bushings to get force-lubed was if some
got squeezed out. Most folks (this writer included) don't have the patience
to wait 50 squeezes on the lube gun.

That's why I have a pnumatic grease gun. I bought some bearing buddies for a three axle trailer I have access to which hadn't been used in about ten years. The bearing buddies were easier than pulling and packing the bearings, but I wasn't about to grease all six of them by hand.:laughing: It took 3 tubes of grease to get them all full.

 

[Rob-D]

That's why I have a pnumatic grease gun. I bought some bearing buddies for a three axle trailer I have access to which hadn't been used in about ten years. The bearing buddies were easier than pulling and packing the bearings, but I wasn't about to grease all six of them by hand.:laughing: It took 3 tubes of grease to get them all full.

Cyril,
What's a bearing buddy?

Rob

 

[JD755]

Cyril,
What's a bearing buddy?

Rob

I put Bearing Buddy on my trailer many years ago. It provides a grease fitting to the axle. Replaces the bearing cap and eliminates regularly repacking the bearings. A plate and spring keep the grease under pressure to keep out water.

Genuine Bearing Buddy Web Site

 

[Rob-D]

I put Bearing Buddy on my trailer many years ago. It provides a grease fitting to the axle. Replaces the bearing cap and eliminates regularly repacking the bearings. A plate and spring keep the grease under pressure to keep out water.

Genuine Bearing Buddy Web Site

That's cool. Thanks for the info.

 

[jenkinsph]

I am well satisfied with Bearing Buddiy too, use them on my boat trailer and when I have time will put them on my equipment trailers too.