Branson 4WD

bobmisi · Jan 27, 2011

Anyone ever lost 4WD on their Branson? Mine quit today while plowing. Useless without it with the heavy power angle plow on the front. My son's friend said it's probably the balls in the coupler in the shaft going to the front axle. I hope he's right. Don't need any big bills right about now. Been out of work for two years and just getting ready to retire. Just wonderring if anyone has had this happen. I used it for about 2-3 hours and it just stopped working, no noises or anything unusual. First problem I have ever had with my 3820i. Thanks in advance for any help.........

MicroPilot · Jan 28, 2011

bobmisi said:
...My son's friend said it's probably the balls in the coupler in the shaft going to the front axle. I hope he's right. ...

He could be right. Too much grease in this coupling can prevent the bearings from locking in. Not sure why this would fail though, while you were using the tractor.

bobmisi · Jan 30, 2011

Just so anyone who cares wants to know, the shaft from the transfer case to the front axle has 6 balls at each end. If you are spinning a wheel and it hits bare pavement or you are operating on bare pavement etc. the balls can fall out as a safety, so you don't break an axle or ruin the transfer case. Not too bad a job to put them back in, just watch for the balls when you pull it apart so you don't lose them, as they will fall out when you remove the shaft. I paid my son's friend who worked as a Branson mechanic, just so I could see what to do next time. Just thought I would pass this on, cause when you lose your 4WD all you can think of is major dollar repair.

MicroPilot · Jan 30, 2011

So what was causing you initial problem?

bobmisi · Jan 30, 2011

I lost 4WD while plowing our road the other day. We got 20 inches of snow and the town had yet to plow the road at 10:00 a.m. While plowing my driveway I had a couple of cars come by and could barely move, so I decided to open the road up to the next intersection about a half mile away. I believe that I was going too fast in 4Wd while doing the road and it caused the balls to come out, cause I definately was not on bare pavement. When I pulled back into my drive I had no 4WD, causing some minor heart irregularities. I could only see my local dealers smile and $$$$, as my warranty was up 6 months ago. It really is a pretty good system for preventing major damage to the drivetrain. Sort of like shear pins on a snowblower. Glad I'm up and running as we're getting 6 more inches Tuesday, and a major storm on Wednesday. Allready have at least three feet on the ground.

the fox 1940 · Jan 31, 2011

bobmisi said:
I lost 4WD while plowing our road the other day. We got 20 inches of snow and the town had yet to plow the road at 10:00 a.m. While plowing my driveway I had a couple of cars come by and could barely move, so I decided to open the road up to the next intersection about a half mile away. I believe that I was going too fast in 4Wd while doing the road and it caused the balls to come out, cause I definately was not on bare pavement. When I pulled back into my drive I had no 4WD, causing some minor heart irregularities. I could only see my local dealers smile and $$$$, as my warranty was up 6 months ago. It really is a pretty good system for preventing major damage to the drivetrain. Sort of like shear pins on a snowblower. Glad I'm up and running as we're getting 6 more inches Tuesday, and a major storm on Wednesday. Allready have at least three feet on the ground.

Can you tell me how these balls would come out if the shaft and Bearing housing is all enclosed ?? Is there a hole for them to fall out.? Sounds like a dumb question I know. BUT ....
Is the same set up on ALL the Branson Tractors or are they different on the different models ? I'll have to watch this I guess from now on . I have the 3510i 4wd.
The Fox

Reg · Jan 31, 2011

Thanks for the info, definitely something worth knowing about & to watch out for.
Since there are basically only two (Large and small frame) basic Cat 1 tractors from Kukje I think the answer to "All ?" is most likely a yes.
I have hard copy shop manuals and will try to find the time to read up on this - before the snows of the next couple of days.

I'll just add that I frequently make fairly tight turns in 4WD on dry pavement as I clear snow.
The street is often clear and sun dried, I need to be in 4WD and don't shift in/out every time I get on dry back top.
Sure, I feel wheel hop and it probably isn't helping my tire life (-:
I'm usually in mid range 2nd gear and only running at 1500 or fewer RPM, so maybe I just don't hit the critical parameters.

bobmisi · Feb 1, 2011

From what I could tell while watching the repairs beeing done, ( I did not slide under the tractor on the wet floor ) the shaft does not have splines, but are fluted so one of the six ball bearing goes in each flute and the other half of the shaft is fluted to slip over it. They do not fall out of the tractor when there is a problem as there is on outer cover to enclose the whole shaft, so you will not lose them, but be carefull when you slide the shaft cover back as they will fall out. In my case we were looking for the front half of the shaft to be the problem, but when we slid the shaft cover back, they were in place. We spun the front wheel and the shaft turned all the way back to the transfer case. My heart sunk and we thought transfer case problem, which means splitting the tractor. $$$$$. We then exposed the rear coupling and there were the balls. I could not have been happier. Took about 1 1/2 hours to do the repairs and tighten a loose motor mount that he noticed. Now I'm ready for today and tomorrows storm. I'm starting to realize that it's best to do your own yard, forget about trying to help everyone else out for free and end up with break downs. It's fine to use your tractor off your property when your being paid well for it, but repairs today are just way too costly. Hope this answers your questions.