2006 4320 front wheel seals leaking

[logcabin]

What are the odds? The left front tire where you drain the front axel fluid, I noticed a fluid leak. Brownish colored on the snow. Tractor hadn't moved in a few days. The day before there was nothing on the ground. Well ok, must be a seal under the housing. Next day there was a lot bigger spot. Two days after the left side, on the right side was the same thing!! Tractor still had not moved! 18 years old both front sides leaking within a couple of days apart. Anyone seen anything like this?

 

[super55]

It's pretty common on JD. The front axle isn't vented which can create issues. The bottom plug is just pressed in and sometimes pressure changes can cause it to start leaking. Also if there is water in the fluid it typically will eventually settle to the bottom of the front axle as shown in the pic. If it freezes it has the ability to push out the plug.

On my 4400 after snowblowing the next day I had the cap laying right on the ground along with a puddle of gear lube. Only thing I could think of was that I had water at the bottom of the axle because I vented my check plug. Now every year before winter I will go and remove the drain plugs on each side just to confirm that the gear lube isn't contaminated.

 

[logcabin]

Your explanation makes perfect sense. In your case the press in plug pushed out. My fluid isn't coming from the drain plug, rather the bottom of the housing on each side. If you look real close you can see a slight stream of the fluid. I have not crawled underneath to look at the housing. I am thinking there is a snap ring there. I will verify later for certain. There must be a seal of some sort under that housing possibly?

 

[super55]

That bottom cap is just beveled with a thin rubber gasket around it and held in place by friction. Sometimes they will slightly work their way out and can be tapped in lightly with a brass punch. I have 3 tractors that all have that same setup and I know two of my tractors instead of replacing that bottom cap I just cleaned it up real good with brake cleaner and applied a silicone or gasket maker over the top and it resolved the issue instead of removing and replacing. They can be tricky to install sometimes because they are so big they don't want to go in straight.

 

[5030]

Isn't there an aftermarket supplier than offers a vented fill cap with a hose you attach to the frame rail?

 

[super55]

Isn't there an aftermarket supplier than offers a vented fill cap with a hose you attach to the frame rail?

They do. I actually vented mine myself. I just drilled a hole in the plastic fill plug. In the middle of the fill plug there's an indentation. I just drilled a 1/16 hole in it at an angle it works for me. Eventually I might buy some of those vented fill plugs but they are kind of pricey for what they are but are definitely worth it to keep you axle seals from blowing out and leaking.

 

[5030]

Go to a hardware or box store and buy yourself a threaded brass hose barb and screw it in the drilled plug, add a length of aquarium hose and you are in business for about 4 bucks.

 

[oldtimer 66]

I have a 4320 compact JD with the MFWD. The parts list for the front axle shows a breather,

42 -Breather, Oil Breather Plug​

Part Number
SU52604
Qty Req
1
I haven't looked at my front axle to verify yet. But I thing it is probably there.

I also looked at the 4300 and the 4310. I could not find a front axle breather on those models. Strange eh!

 

[beenthere]

Might be the breather was found to be a good upgrade on the 4320 axle after seals leaking without a breather.

 

[logcabin]

It's pretty common on JD. The front axle isn't vented which can create issues. The bottom plug is just pressed in and sometimes pressure changes can cause it to start leaking. Also if there is water in the fluid it typically will eventually settle to the bottom of the front axle as shown in the pic. If it freezes it has the ability to push out the plug.

On my 4400 after snowblowing the next day I had the cap laying right on the ground along with a puddle of gear lube. Only thing I could think of was that I had water at the bottom of the axle because I vented my check plug. Now every year before winter I will go and remove the drain plugs on each side just to confirm that the gear lube isn't contaminated.

That bottom cap is just beveled with a thin rubber gasket around it and held in place by friction. Sometimes they will slightly work their way out and can be tapped in lightly with a brass punch. I have 3 tractors that all have that same setup and I know two of my tractors instead of replacing that bottom cap I just cleaned it up real good with brake cleaner and applied a silicone or gasket maker over the top and it resolved the issue instead of removing and replacing. They can be tricky to install sometimes because they are so big they don't want to go in straight.

 

[Peter 315]

Axle Vents - BoltOnHooks LLC

 

[logcabin]

I am not overly mechanically inclined, this isn't looking good to me. Attached is each front wheel looking up. As others have mentioned a cover is supposed to be there. Shocked to see NO COVER!! Both leaked within a couple of days. One whould have thought after seeing what I am seeing, where in hell did the covers go? They are no where to be found and they leaked while setting with no movement. By the center on each side, looks pretty recent for covers to be gone. I wiped the area but still looks recent to me. Is the fluid that leaked on the ground because of the seals further up this shaft leaked? Is fluid supposed to be here at all times? The saying "Miller time" is it now dealer time? Thank you, each and every one of you for helping me with this.

 

[rmonio]

Isn't there an aftermarket supplier than offers a vented fill cap with a hose you attach to the frame rail?

This would be nice to have.

I just had my front seals and bearings replaced on my 2000 4600 unit. The dealer said that he was surprised I hadn’t had it addressed sooner due to age, wear, and # of hours. And mine wasn’t a slow issue either…. One day it was boom and I had leaks on both ends by the wheels and also coming from the seal on the MFWD connection. The dealer also said that this wasn’t surprising.

As for the vented fill cap, I asked the dealer about it. He said that he had heard of some people changing out their fill caps for vented ones - but he hadn’t seen them.

 

[logcabin]

I have 2500 hours on my 4320, never had a problem until recently. like you, why would we adress it? Have to address it now though. This is a NON educcated guess on the cost. It must be a grand per side? I recently checked on a loader greasable pin, that was $91.00. That is just stupid price in my opinion. They probably are all the same I suppose.
Thank you for your valuable information!

 

[rmonio]

I have 2500 hours on my 4320, never had a problem until recently. like you, why would we adress it? Have to address it now though. This is a NON educcated guess on the cost. It must be a grand per side? I recently checked on a loader greasable pin, that was $91.00. That is just stupid price in my opinion. They probably are all the same I suppose.
Thank you for your valuable information!

I have about 2800 on my 4600. The cost to take apart the axle unit, replace seals and bearings, etc., was about $1400 at the dealer. My daughter’s boyfriend (a implement dealer mechanic) took the axle unit off and delivered it to the dealer for the service.

I know it would have been more expensive if I had to pay the dealer to do what he did in diagnosing the problems and then taking it apart and reassembling it - so I feel pretty lucky about that.

I always felt that the way we checked the fluid level, etc., on the front MFWD was bizarre. When I asked the Dealer service manager (now retired) about it many years ago, he indicated that it wasn’t the best mechanism for checking. He basically said that when the front end seals go, you’ll know it and that it is something you just need to deal with. JD’s shop time isn’t cheap - but my daughter’s boyfriend made the right call and said that it was best if JD dealt with it.

 

[oldtimer 66]

Attached is some info from the operating manual about the oil and oil changes. I just clocked 2800 hrs. on my 4320 and I am glad I saw this post. I haven't had any problems but I am over due for and oil change on the front axle. Last one was at 2101 hrs. Thanks logcabin. I have the oil I just need to change it. I think super55 diagnosed the problem correctly, moisture laden frozen oil. I don't think the breather has any effect on this type of failure.

 

[rmonio]

I changed my oil as well when prescribed by the manual. But in my case it didn’t help. I hope things work our for you!

 

[logcabin]

I changed my oil as well when prescribed by the manual. But in my case it didn’t help. I hope things work our for you!

Here is the lastest at this point. A young friend of mine lives in Vermont, I now live in Pittsburg NH. He was near a JD dealership yesterday. He showed the pictures I posted to the service manager there. After viewing he had a tech come and look. The feeling at this point is, if I replace the cap on each side, fill the axel with fluid all should be good to go. He purchased the two caps, $15.00 EACH and put them in the snail mail. The tech said, take some gasket maker, red or black and put a squeeze on the inner side outter edge of the cap and tap them in place, The tech suggested taking a large socket that fits as close to the outter edge as possible so when you tap on the socket the pressure to set the cap is on the outter edge, as opposed to tapping anywhere else to avoid disrupting the shape of the cap itself. As Super55 said it is a friction fit cap. I doubt I will get to do this until my return from Montana. We are leaving Friday for the long drive to Montana to see our daughter. To everyone that posted such valuable information, I sincerely THANK YOU! To oldtimer 66, you are very welcome. I will upate as soon as possibe on how it works out. Be safe everyone!

 

[rmonio]

That’s great news, @logcabin ! That will save a ton of money given that all works well for you. I look forward to hearing your results when you return from Montana - have a nice trip to see your daughter!

 

[logcabin]

That’s great news, @logcabin ! That will save a ton of money given that all works well for you. I look forward to hearing your results when you return from Montana - have a nice trip to see your daughter!

My mind is workng overtime here. Being the seals on both sides are leaking, if they were not leaking there would not be any fluid from the cap (if they were in place) looking upward. That void is say 2"wide and an inch or so up. I am having some trouble by the dealer saying by putting in the new caps, everything is good to go. A good seal supposedly prevents fluid getting to the cap? If by putting in the new caps, with the seals leaking that is allowing fluid to fill the void to the cap. So, You wouldn't know if the seal or seals were leaking if this cap was completely sealing off the bottom. If the seals were not leaking then no fluid can make it's way to the cap, therefore no fluid in the void. It comes down to, Is fluid supposed to be in the void setting on the cap cover?? I am going to call this dealer tomorrow to get a clarification on where the fluid is supposed to be. As much as I want to spend as little as possible, I don't want to put a bandaid on it either. Sorry to be a pain in the butt!

rmonio, thank you for wishing us a nice trip to see my best friend (daughter) For everyone with kids, or parents too, cherish every second of every day with them. I know way to many that sometimes say, " I wish I had..." You just never know. Life is so precious and so very short!