Kubota HST Input Shaft Splines Stripped

[radios1]

I can't imagine the shaft being $1200, that's crazy!. my friend had a dodge transaxle for a B body shortened to fit an A body, cutting the axle tubes, welding up, and cutting and re-splining the shafts costed $200.. btw, you are abusing the mower, it's not a tractor!..

 

[4570Man]

If they’re both steel I’d be inclined to weld it. But I wouldn’t doubt if the coupler is cast. Maybe you could drill the hole bigger and bolt it so the bolt isn’t as likely to shear.

 

[5030]

Reminds me of the song, 'I fought the law and the law won. You abused it terribly so now you get to pay for the abuse.

 

[Industrial Toys]

The six inch or so one side of the axle, drive shaft in my E-Gator is about that much!

 

[Hysyde]

I'm shocked you get along with those turf tires in that terrain and envirnoment. Snow, maybe not so bad, but turfs and mud don't get along.

I had a pretty heavy duty Gravely walk behind. It too wore out the wheel hubs, that went on splined axle shafts. I guess castings are pretty soft by comparison to the hardened shaft.

4Wd, a diff lock, and occasionally chains on the front tires, really helps.

 

[Hysyde]

I can't imagine the shaft being $1200, that's crazy!. my friend had a dodge transaxle for a B body shortened to fit an A body, cutting the axle tubes, welding up, and cutting and re-splining the shafts costed $200.. btw, you are abusing the mower, it's not a tractor!..

It's a fine line between working it and abusing it. Getting it stuck in the bush and rocking the hydro back and forth violently to get it out is abuse, but I wouldn't classify using it as a "tractor" as abuse necessarily. They're pretty robust machines.

I'm going to try to avoid using it as a skidder/bush machine, but the rear steering makes it agile through the trees. Much more so than my 1210 with a FEL on it and no power steering. More so than the ATV too. Looking at options for a "straight" pulling SCUT, but kind of hard to justify under the current circumstances.

 

[Hysyde]

If they’re both steel I’d be inclined to weld it. But I wouldn’t doubt if the coupler is cast. Maybe you could drill the hole bigger and bolt it so the bolt isn’t as likely to shear.

Any bigger and I'd be worried about the shaft breaking. Not a lot of meat left if I did that.

 

[pmsmechanic]

It's a fine line between working it and abusing it. Getting it stuck in the bush and rocking the hydro back and forth violently to get it out is abuse, but I wouldn't classify using it as a "tractor" as abuse necessarily.

I wouldn't classify rocking the hydro back and forth as abuse to the input shaft of the hydro unit. The engine isn't changing rpm's and the shaft is running at a constant speed. The back and forth all takes place within the hydro unit. In this case the hydro isn't broken. The input shaft is.

 

[ruffdog]

A strong cheap fix may be to saw cut item 40 (flex joint) perpendicular to the cross bolt so it can be squeezed to the shaft. Then, use a clamp collar next to the bolt to squeeze the flex joint to the shaft. You would have to measure the OD where the cross bolt goes through. Here are the clamp collars:

McMaster-Carr

 

[4570Man]

Any bigger and I'd be worried about the shaft breaking. Not a lot of meat left if I did that.

Could you drill another hole the same size and use 2 bolts?