3320 Oil Leak

[foggy1111]

This is a pic of oil leak from the front of my 3320 tractor. I assume it's a wheel seal??.or, have I got more problems?

Just went to my tractor shed today after not being there for a few weeks. The last time I used the tractor, I plowed a little snow in 4WD with my loader mounted plow. Not sure why that would cause a seal to fail?

 

[RG1]

My 4115 just started doing that a couple days ago, though nowhere near as bad as yours. Mine is on the same wheel too. On mine it is coming from the seal in the joint at the top of the spindle that drops down from the axle to the final drive next to the wheel. Going in for service this week sometime. That sucks because we are supposed to have a bunch more snow.

 

[cartod]

My dealer has a crew that will do small fixes on site, maybe you could ask them about that.

 

[foggy1111]

My dealer has a crew that will do small fixes on site, maybe you could ask them about that.

Yep….gonna ask the service dept. Not sure if this is something that I should tackle myself?? Anyone able to comment on the difficulty of front seal replacement?

 

[RG1]

Yep….gonna ask the service dept. Not sure if this is something that I should tackle myself?? Anyone able to comment on the difficulty of front seal replacement?

I spent quite a bit of time reading about it here and on other tractor forums a couple nights ago. It sounds like you need a heavy duty hydraulic press and maybe a couple other specialized tools to do the job, depending on which exact seal it is.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

From what I can see in the service manual and verified on my 3320, the front axle is unvented. In the winter months temps fluctuate a lot, the warm to very cold and back again cycles can cause pressure to build up in the housing, forcing fluid past the seals. Pop the fill plug and if you hear escaping pressure as it unscrews, you may have found your issue.

Here's hoping its this simple.

Tom

 

[jd110]

Make sure the oil isn't dripping down from the loader cylinder or a hydraulic hose on the loader.

 

[foggy1111]

Hiya,

From what I can see in the service manual and verified on my 3320, the front axle is unvented. In the winter months temps fluctuate a lot, the warm to very cold and back again cycles can cause pressure to build up in the housing, forcing fluid past the seals. Pop the fill plug and if you hear escaping pressure as it unscrews, you may have found your issue.

Here's hoping its this simple.

Tom

Wow. Never considered this. Could be I had warmed it up really well while plowing…..and it's been very cold ambient temps. I suppose it's possible. Maybe I will just fill it a time or two and watch what happens. Will definitely check for venting issues before I load it up for a trip to the dealer. Thanks.

 

[RG1]

Wow. Never considered this. Could be I had warmed it up really well while plowing…..and it's been very cold ambient temps. I suppose it's possible. Maybe I will just fill it a time or two and watch what happens. Will definitely check for venting issues before I load it up for a trip to the dealer. Thanks.

Since reading tomd999's post to you above, I have been removing my axle fill cap after every use and I do get the pressure relief sound. I am not having near the amount of fluid that does seep out either now. Maybe one or two drops compared to about an ounce before doing the relief thing.

I have never had this happen on any of my JD CUT's before now, including never once in the past several years with this one. However, we are having some seriously cold temps here this winter compared to all past years, and I'm thinking that maybe the seals shrink up more when they cool down after use and the temps fall to zero and below at night, which allows the oil to seep out past the seal. I wish it'd warm up some to see if that is all it is.

 

[foggy1111]

Since reading tomd999's post to you above, I have been removing my axle fill cap after every use and I do get the pressure relief sound. I am not having near the amount of fluid that does seep out either now. Maybe one or two drops compared to about an ounce before doing the relief thing.

I have never had this happen on any of my JD CUT's before now, including never once in the past several years with this one. However, we are having some seriously cold temps here this winter compared to all past years, and I'm thinking that maybe the seals shrink up more when they cool down after use and the temps fall to zero and below at night, which allows the oil to seep out past the seal. I wish it'd warm up some to see if that is all it is.

I thought that perhaps I had some condensation or ice in the front axel…..and that may have torn the seal? Been one of the sustained coldest on record here. Still…..I got allot of oil on the floor.