1610D Complete Knuckle Teardown

[jlinn1]

I decided that cleaning the oil off the garage floor from the front left knuckle was getting alittle old.......

So this weekend I decided to completely tear down both the front knuckles and replace the knuckle seals and the wheel seals.

To get the knuckle off, is actual a very simple process and removing the old knuckle seal is very simple with a chisel and a small hammer. As you can see from the seal I took out, 30 years had definitely taken its toll on it.

 

[jlinn1]

Once I had the 6 outer bolts out, the shaft and gear come out pretty easy.

I recommend cleaning the knuckle case really well since youve got it all apart already. Once the shaft was out taking apart the gear from the shaft did not go well, there is a keeper nut on the shaft that is made of very very soft metal. I used a chisel and hammer to try to turn it but only dug into the metal. It was only after heating it with a torch could I get it to move.

Pay close attention when you take it apart to the reverse order of putting it back together, because there is some very thin metal washers that go between the shaft and bearings.

Again I recommend cleainging everything very well while its apart, in the first picture you can see all the parts you will have when its taken apart.

the second picture has both knuckles together which I used to help me put it back together.

When I tore apart the left knuckle which was the actual problem, I found something disturbing.......the seal was an aftermarket seal which you can see in the 3rd picture. This made me worry that the novice job I was doing would eventually leak as well.

 

[jlinn1]

Finally, after cleaning everything and putting it back together it was time to install the knuckle. One very simple thing to remember is that there is a thick washer that goes over the main hole in the case that the shaft slips into. I only mention this because after taking great care to make sure I did everything right I neglected to put the washer in and had to remove the knuckle once again to install the washer.

 

[jlinn1]

After finally fixing my mistake and getting the bolts back in I noticed that there was a small gap between the knuckle pieces and the seal.

I was afraid that the this small gap would allow moisture to get into the knuckle but after being reassured by my partner in crime (father) that as soon as I put weight on the FEL this would close up, my mind eased alittle.

 

[jlinn1]

After lifting my rear blade with the FEL and letting it sit for a few minutes in the air, the gap closed up and the job was finished.

All in all, the job took about 4 hours to complete. This could be done much faster if you knew what you were doing. Im glad that I did it myself as I now know the inner workings of the knuckle and could do it again much much faster. I just hope that I never have to do it again.

The last picture is my finished product.

Justin

 

[JL Sargent]

Great writeup and pictures. :thumbsup:

 

[winston1]

I think those thin metal washers you are talking about are shims to set the correct backlash on your gears. Since you went back with the same parts your backlash is probably OK. Nice pictures. My seals looked just as bad as yours when I changed them. Been a pretty good while now and they are still holding good. Thanks for the post.

 

[jlinn1]

Update: Ive used the tractor 4.5 hours and no trace of oil on the backside of the wheels or more importantly on the garage floor.

It was a hard 4.5 hours on the little fella so I must have done an ok job on the seals because everything is dry.

Justin

 

[rmully]

That is great news.... you did a great job of explaining the pit falls and what to watch out for ...all the best, should last for many years.