2000 4100 - dipstick shows no fluid in ft axle

[coloradotrout]

Help please. I have bought via Ebay a JD 4100 compact. I've been looking it over. The biggest issue I have found is the ft axle dipstick shows no oil. In fact, if I put in some other object I get NO OIL at all on it. I test drove it. 4WD works, but is there any way to know what damage may have occured?

It has 1080 hours and is model yr 2000. A couple other issues. The pto selector (mid, rear, both) is frozen at the rod pivot point. The actual pto lever and pto work. I confirmed that by pulling the pin and actuating the lever manually. But the selector rod pivot is frozen; I'm trying Rust Eater, etc.

The engine starts right up. But under a load - pushing the FEL into a pile, or digging the box blade in deep, it shoots out good sized black puffs of smoke. I understand "blue" is the color to watch out for. It could be a little blue, but since the engine starts right up, I'm thinking it's not a compression issue.

The tires are prettyworn, some cracks, etc. Owner says he put in a tube to stop some leaks. Is that OK? Or should we really have new tires?

Sale price was $8500 w/ HST, 410 FEL, 4' box blade. I'd say it's in OK condition, but very concerned about the empty ft axle oil.

 

[755inNY]

The amount of damage, if any, would depend on how much the 4WD was used and how hard. Ask the person you bought it from. Maybe you will get lucky and the owner just drained it as part of servicing it before the sale and forgot to refill it. Maybe it got no use.

Jeff

 

[kennyd]

Put oil in the axle(90w gear oil), make sure its full (can take about 1 hour to settle into the gearboxes). Then drive in 4WD and listen for strange noises. That is about all you can do at this point. Are there any signs of leakage?

The puff of black smoke is normal.

Just keep an eye on the tires, and start saving for new ones since these a pretty worn anyway.

 

[coloradotrout]

Took it to JD dealer who looked it over. Drained the front differential. There was very little fluid, maybe a pint, but it was clear - no filings, etc. So we filled it up, and drove it. No abnormal noises. His recommendation was to "drive it".

 

[coloradotrout]

Also, I got the PTO selector to finally pivot. It was just the lever pivot that was frozen, not the actual PTO lever. I pulled it off, and w/hammer and heat got it loosened up. I should have relied more on heat than hammer.

Anyone know a way to put a groove back into a metal rod, 3/4" dia. or so for a spring clip? I was thinking of using a hacksaw, carefully. Thoughts?