Broken welds

[bellview]

Using my Mahindra 1626 shuttle to move a dirt pile I noticed unusual left front tire movement. I was in 4wd and tires were turned slightly to the right. Before I could disengage and get stopped, the axle had broken loose the bracket at the weld and forced the tire towards the rear of the machine which in turn broke the right side loose folding the entire front axel back up under the chassi which crushed and put a hole in the oil pan.
Anyone else ever heard of this or had issue with welds or inferior steel in Mahindra?

 

[Gee Ray]

I had a similar problem with a massive Ferguson, 1528. Be very cautious as to who you find to repair it. My front axle broke off three times due to poor workmanship on the first repair. I ended up taking it 1000 miles to a shop that I knew, and they repaired the frame and axle and never had a problem with that again. However, the innards for the four-wheel-drive were so expensive that I ran the tractor for years is a 2 Wheel drive instead of a four-wheel-drive.

Years later, when I could afford it, I traded that mother off and bought a Kubota 2501.

 

[bellview]

I'm wondering if the 7 year chassi warranty will help cover this. I dont think that the welds should have broken loose and I had just had the dealer change hydralic fluid 4 hours earlier so they had it in the air and removed 5 drain plugs. One on each side of the axle. I would have thought that they would have looked around a bit. The welds are right there by the drain plugs. This was a catastrophic failure.

 

[stevem5215]

I've had busted welds on lots of small machines I've owned. I just use the el cheapO Harbor freight welder and put it back in service. Every once in a while it needs professional welding attention on some items and those get that paid work done. Otherwise yep welds do break.

 

[scootr]

I don't think welds should break. Engineering and welding should ensure the connection exceeds the demands. Welds breaking under 'normal' use are a red flag in my opinion.

 

[hodge]

I don't think welds should break. Engineering and welding should ensure the connection exceeds the demands. Welds breaking under 'normal' use are a red flag in my opinion.

Anything can fail, even a good weld, under the right condition.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

I don’t think the frame has a 7 year warranty

 

[BlueKnife]

I don't think welds should break. Engineering and welding should ensure the connection exceeds the demands. Welds breaking under 'normal' use are a red flag in my opinion.

A proper weld in the right application won't break. The steel around it should bend or break before the weld does. Be nice to see some pictures, but based on what I've seen on a lot of newer equipment, I'll bet the welds that broke on the OP's machine had almost no penetration.

 

[MTGreen]

Everybody loves pics -especially of catastrophic failures like you are describing

 

[sd455dan]

Everybody loves pics -especially of catastrophic failures like you are describing

IF Nothing else Pics may Help another owner of this Model catch it early. That could be very Helpful to them .
Sorry This happened, Hopefully a warranty repair.

 

[sd455dan]

Using my Mahindra 1626 shuttle to move a dirt pile I noticed unusual left front tire movement. I was in 4wd and tires were turned slightly to the right. Before I could disengage and get stopped, the axle had broken loose the bracket at the weld and forced the tire towards the rear of the machine which in turn broke the right side loose folding the entire front axel back up under the chassi which crushed and put a hole in the oil pan.
Anyone else ever heard of this or had issue with welds or inferior steel in Mahindra?

I recall a thread on Welding web where there was a leak in a casting on a newish Mahindra. Mahindra fully warranted it and replaced the casting

oil Leak through cast iron transmission case

i have a tractor with 71 hours on it. 2016 under warranty. i it is at the shop being worked on under warranty - i hope its one of the top 4 names in tractors - a red one. So i'm asking these questions just in case i have to end of fixing this my self. The rear transmission case has a...

weldingweb.com

 

[jwmorris]

I have seen defective castings but can’t see what failed on the OP’s equipment without a photo or two or half a dozen.

 

[etpm]

A proper weld in the right application won't break. The steel around it should bend or break before the weld does. Be nice to see some pictures, but based on what I've seen on a lot of newer equipment, I'll bet the welds that broke on the OP's machine had almost no penetration.

The above statement is correct. A proper weld is stronger than the parent metal. So if the weld breaks then the weld is at fault. If the weld pulls away from the parent metal and barely pulls away a tiny scab of the parent metal then the weld is at fault because of poor penetration. If the weld remains, even if distorted, and the parent metal tears or fails in some other way then the weld is not at fault.
Eric

 

[CliffordK]

As far as warranty...

My opinion is that if the item was being used as intended, and failed during normal use, then it is either a manufacturing defect or a design flaw (ignoring items with a million hours and just wore out).

That wouldn't count abuse. Dropping it off of a trailer at highway speeds, running into a brick wall, etc. Still, even so ground is uneven, and there can be potholes.

A weld failure is suspect. Too little penetration, too hot, heat affected zone failure, poor weld, etc.

A frame failure? Too thin of material? Wrong material choice? Did it need a gusset?

Ideally a manufacturer would collect information on failures and update their design. And the only way that will happen is if information goes back to the top.

An older CAT followed me home yesterday. Anything could be worn out on it, but it has a LOT of heavy metal!!!!

As far as the Mahindra, a lot can be fixable, replacing or repairing the pan, rebuilding the frame, hopefully the axle isn't too bad, etc.

 

[CliffordK]

Here are a couple of videos from Messicks from a while ago.

A lot of food for thought with respect to the new generation of compact tractors.

It is very easy to get a lot of weight on the front axle of small tractors when using the bucket.

Now this guy is a salesman not a farmer. Some of what he says about the fulcrum effect from rear ballast makes sense.

For me, I put weight on the back of the tractor so I can put more weight on the front.

 

[kthompson]

Been years but I was a welding inspector for at that time a major company in their industry in heavy equipment. Some of the welds were just visually inspected, some were tested with nondestructive testing. I never heard of a weld on any part failing, sure there was some, but we never heard of it and if the company had complaints on that we had paper trail on who inspected it and who did the welding with some parts.

Then our machines if they failed could mean serious damage or death as they lifted heavy loads in all sorts of work.

What am I saying? There really is a variance I think between the workmanship and the design of similar products out there.

You may not get what you paid for, but you will pay for what you get.

 

[JONNY BOYYYE]

Using my Mahindra 1626 shuttle to move a dirt pile I noticed unusual left front tire movement. I was in 4wd and tires were turned slightly to the right. Before I could disengage and get stopped, the axle had broken loose the bracket at the weld and forced the tire towards the rear of the machine which in turn broke the right side loose folding the entire front axel back up under the chassi which crushed and put a hole in the oil pan.
Anyone else ever heard of this or had issue with welds or inferior steel in Mahindra?

IF YOU EVER GET TO GO TO INDIA WHERE MAHINDRAS ARE MADE READY FOR ASSEMBLY IN TEXAS, YOU WOULD SEE WHY THE WELDS BREAK APART...

 

[ArlyA]

IF YOU EVER GET TO GO TO INDIA WHERE MAHINDRAS ARE MADE READY FOR ASSEMBLY IN TEXAS, YOU WOULD SEE WHY THE WELDS BREAK APART...

Caps are considered yelling.

 

[doneill127]

Maybe your tractor was made in India, but mine was made in Japan. Believe many also are manufactured in Korea

 

[BlueKnife]

IF YOU EVER GET TO GO TO INDIA WHERE MAHINDRAS ARE MADE READY FOR ASSEMBLY IN TEXAS, YOU WOULD SEE WHY THE WELDS BREAK APART...

Check the caps lock button on your keyboard. Appears to be on.