OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
Thanks for finding all the threads about your previous problems with the pinion gear bolts and lumping them into one reply. Interesting reading.
555DTC - Problem - 4WD
- Thread starter Chiggerville Farm
- Start date
- Views: 12777
OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
So far we have identified the gears that are now toothless. The 4wd box is cracked. Since the box is not under load, we're having it brazed. Anticipating that it may be months before we get the replacement gears, we are having a flat plate made up to bolt on where the box had been so we can operate the tractor as a 2wd. We've removed the drive to the front wheels. Hopefully, in operating it as a 2wd, if there is any other damage that we haven't seen, it will show up so we can fix everything all at once. 
(Couldn't find an icon for crossed fingers.)
(Couldn't find an icon for crossed fingers.)Clint S
Veteran Member
Well that is what I thought. Question is why the destruction in the box? were you pulling hard in reverse in 4x4? From my experience they do not like that. IIRC the box and gears were pretty readily available when I got mine. I tried brazing mine, worked the first time , but it was in bad shape the second time and leaked. The plate will work fine. I do have a set of gears from the box that are serviceable, but I think dad wants to keep them as spares. I would replace the bearings too.
OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
No, I was moving forward and when the bucket was filling and being rotated and lifted, the front wheels couldn't spin because they contacted hard ground so something had to give! We haven't torn into the front differential to see if there is any damage. Your Dad is smart to keep the set of gears as spares. Have you experienced that pieces of whatever breaks, in our case, teeth, get into the bearings? Is that why you replaced bearings or were you just doing it as a precaution?
The plate we had made up is installed, gears are ordered, and JD is in town getting fluids today. I'm the female half of the Chiggerville Farm duo and am the one who broke the tractor. Who would have thought that a 5' 2" "old" lady weighing 116 lbs could do so much damage? But I did! :duh:
Oh, yes, and I did have to put it in reverse to back away. Dumb, I left it in 4wd when I did.
The plate we had made up is installed, gears are ordered, and JD is in town getting fluids today. I'm the female half of the Chiggerville Farm duo and am the one who broke the tractor. Who would have thought that a 5' 2" "old" lady weighing 116 lbs could do so much damage? But I did! :duh:
Oh, yes, and I did have to put it in reverse to back away. Dumb, I left it in 4wd when I did.
Clint S
Veteran Member
I replaced the bearings as a precaution when I got the new case. We had brazed on it twice and it had gotten hot. Felt it was just good sense to do it. In my case a bolt came out and got caught between the gear and the case and broke the case and chipped a few teeth. After I replaced everything I had a noise that happened to be the new box being out of spec and causing the gears to clatter because they were out of mesh. A 25 cent gasket fixed it. We welded the bolts so they will no come loose again.
I would put the plate on and drive it around. The front diff turns all the time so any issue would be evident soon. It seems those gears are the weak link.
The front diff is made by an Italian company and IIRC is well made.
As far a the brake boots they were made out of a crappy material and many cracked from the sun. The replacements are thicker material. I have the new ones but I covered the old ones with silicone and duct tape and the have been good for a while now.
We just moved a TON of snow with ours today.
I would put the plate on and drive it around. The front diff turns all the time so any issue would be evident soon. It seems those gears are the weak link.
The front diff is made by an Italian company and IIRC is well made.
As far a the brake boots they were made out of a crappy material and many cracked from the sun. The replacements are thicker material. I have the new ones but I covered the old ones with silicone and duct tape and the have been good for a while now.
We just moved a TON of snow with ours today.
OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
We're going the brazing route with the case (4wd box). Getting new seals and o-rings, too.
We put the plate on yesterday and JD drove it around. Front end seems OK. He he, he doesn't want me to drive it. Humm, wonder why.... I need to collect some big rocks along the gravel road for a project I've got going.
Being in Arkansas, it is supposed to be 52 tomorrow. (Not intentionally rubbing it in.) I'm from Utica, NY. When I was in junior college back in '65 or maybe it was '66, we had 3' of snow dumped on us in 24 hours. My Gram and I spent all day shoveling snow from the driveway to the street, the sidewalk and the walk to the front porch. Of course we couldn't go anywhere until the snow plow came through the next day. Then we had to shovel that hard packed snow that they pushed into the driveway. I can honestly say that I DO NOT miss all that snow!! At least you have a tractor!
Those brake boots are a pain in the you know where. We have been changing them without taking off the wheels. The first replacement pair must have sat on the dealers shelf for eons. They lasted 6 months. We tried the silicone and tape route. No luck; leaked. The next pair were the newer, softer, thicker pair. Still got leaks. So JD designed a flange and used special hard oil resistant hose. Seems to be working.
We put the plate on yesterday and JD drove it around. Front end seems OK. He he, he doesn't want me to drive it. Humm, wonder why.... I need to collect some big rocks along the gravel road for a project I've got going.
Being in Arkansas, it is supposed to be 52 tomorrow. (Not intentionally rubbing it in.) I'm from Utica, NY. When I was in junior college back in '65 or maybe it was '66, we had 3' of snow dumped on us in 24 hours. My Gram and I spent all day shoveling snow from the driveway to the street, the sidewalk and the walk to the front porch. Of course we couldn't go anywhere until the snow plow came through the next day. Then we had to shovel that hard packed snow that they pushed into the driveway. I can honestly say that I DO NOT miss all that snow!! At least you have a tractor!
Those brake boots are a pain in the you know where. We have been changing them without taking off the wheels. The first replacement pair must have sat on the dealers shelf for eons. They lasted 6 months. We tried the silicone and tape route. No luck; leaked. The next pair were the newer, softer, thicker pair. Still got leaks. So JD designed a flange and used special hard oil resistant hose. Seems to be working.
OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
Clint, did you happen to come across that 4x4 shop manual?
We're getting ready to put our tractor back to a 4x4 after buying several new gears, etc.
We are planning to split the tractor between the transmission and the rear differential (have a new gasket) because we may have to replace the main gear and we will have to replace the idler gear that runs the transfer case for the 4wd. We have never split a tractor and could use some guidance on how to do it, how to support each part and what tips and tricks anyone has to help us get through this. :confused3:
Clint S
Veteran Member
So I built a wooden block to support the front of tractor under the tranny and we used a engine crane to just wheel the rear diff back. Easy as that. It should just pull apart I know where the manual is and I think it should fit in an E mail. If you want the whole service manual and the 4*4 manual I could send you a cd.
OP
Chiggerville Farm
Member
Thank You. You have been so helpful! Yes, we'd love to have the whole service manual and 4x4 supplement manual on a cd. Our email address is matefey@gmail.com. Can you email us and we'll reply with our mailing address for the cd?
