Clunking in front axle?

[RNeumann]

I drained it from the center drain plug. Perhaps I should drain from each side and see what I find?

It may give you a starting point!

 

[DirtHauler]

I drained it from the center drain plug. Perhaps I should drain from each side and see what I find?

If drained it from the center plug, which is directly below the differential, and got a little bit of very fine (like fuzz) metal particles, then that could be considered "normal" as gear wear. Usually anything larger is a sign of pending trouble i.e. bad bearing and/or shims. I'm going to say that 9 times out of 10, your "clunking" is being caused by one of the "finals" having a bad bearing. Tractor front axles take a beating with supporting the weight of the machine then add a loaded bucket and driving down a "wash board" road or across some ruts etc., there's a lot stress & impact on the axle bearings.

 

[patchfarm]

So I just drained about a quart from each side, and there were very fine shavings on each side, more so on the right side (passenger side). But not as much as I would expect if there were real damage. Should I drain it all from each side or drain from the center plug again and see?

 

[melroebobcat]

if I remember right I think on some of these you can only order a front axle as a whole assembly. say the cost at dealer is $2500 the dealers cost is going to be about $1600

 

[DirtHauler]

.............. Should I drain it all from each side or drain from the center plug again and see?

Yes, each side and center again.

 

[radios1]

how old is this tractor?. some fine metal shavings are normal for a new tractor, but if it's older, that should have stopped after it broke in. unless it's very old. a clunking sound, and lurching is a sign of serious wear!. you need to look at the gears inside the axle!.. many times, it could be the universal joints have worn to cause this, disconnecting the universal at the transmission, then rotating the universal with the tires on the ground will usually show a bad joint. there needs to be no play. but metal shavings inside the axle needs to be investigated!..

 

[sd455dan]

how old is this tractor?. some fine metal shavings are normal for a new tractor, but if it's older, that should have stopped after it broke in. unless it's very old. a clunking sound, and lurching is a sign of serious wear!. you need to look at the gears inside the axle!.. many times, it could be the universal joints have worn to cause this, disconnecting the universal at the transmission, then rotating the universal with the tires on the ground will usually show a bad joint. there needs to be no play. but metal shavings inside the axle needs to be investigated!..

edited

maybe i am wrong but
don't think universal joints are used in the majority of under 55 or so HP tractors... even on the front driveline especially if the engine/ trans/ rear axle are married, they are generally splined shafts with slip couplings.


Agree investigation is needed before working the tractor again.

Like posted the outer axle ends appear to utilize bevel gears.

once over ~55 hp the generally considered stronger universal joint equipped axle shafts and outer hubs with planetary gears are more common.

At some point- setting the front axle on jack stands and pulling the tires and then unbolting the outer hubs for a look see may be necessary.... If they use a big O ring seal no new gaskets are really needed if everything is OK.

If there is no bearing failure or broken gear teeth in the outer housings Op at least has eliminated the outer reduction assemblies as the problem. But do understand It is no fun doing this work out in the weather for sure.

As Dirt Hauler said those outer housings/bearings take a beating and are put under a Lot of stress when hauling heavy FEL loads/ tight turns especially when used in 4x4

Eliminating the outer housings as the problem area is important because Loose ball bearings can cause a lot of gear carnage in a hurry due to the ball bearings being made of such hard material my :2cents:

 

[Bud Soda]

if I remember right I think on some of these you can only order a front axle as a whole assembly. say the cost at dealer is $2500 the dealers cost is going to be about $1600

You can get the repair parts from a TYM dealer. I ordered a bearing and seals for mine last week. I hope it less than $100 to do the repair.
I wish I had checked mine instead of kept using it when it started making noise. It firs made a pop a few pops and then didn't do it for a few more hours, Then a few more pops. Then the wheel ran off. Easy repair.
The best thing to do is to take the wheel off, take the front drive case bolts out, slide the hub out and check the bearings. Should not take long at all to check both sides. My tractor was less than 2 years old and less than 300 hours when it went out. I do use the loader a lot moving fire wood ad dirt.

 

[patchfarm]

Drained the remainder from the center plug and got about 3x as much shavings, and discernably larger. Should I assume that means the spider gear is going or shot? I have both wheels off anyways to get my pan under the side plugs to drain so I could pull the hubs to check the final gears but maybe not worth it knowing that most of the shavings are from center? Easy way to check the spider gear?

 

[RNeumann]

I’ll place a bet it isn’t the diff. 100:1 it’s not those gears. If you can’t figure out what side to take apart, flip a coin and take the final drive off as described above by Bud