Century 3035 FWA not engaging....

MicroPilot · Sep 11, 2006

I noticed last night that it seemed the Front Wheel Assist on my Century 3035 didn't seem to be working. After several attempts at engaging the FWA after going forward and backward to remove gear binding etc. I lifted the front end of the tractor with the loader. With the lever in 4 wheel postion The front wheels were not spinning while moving forward. I shut off the tractor and was able to spin a front wheel while my son kept the other wheel from turning.

It feels like the FWA is engaging on the lever, but the front wheels are not spinning

Other than this, I have not noticed any other problems with the operation of the tractor.

What are some other steps I can take to troubleshoot this problem?

If/when I take it to the dealer to be split apart what kind of repair bill would I be facing?

Zork · Sep 12, 2006

Hi, well my doctor wouldn't give me a diagnosis without looking at me. Im not a doctor- fool maybe, lol. FWA, is that 4wd, or a front axle that is full floating? Assuming it is 4wd, and barring any obiously known physical damage, I would look underneath the platform to make sure that the linkage is not bent or loose/ out of adjustment. You say that it feels like the lever is engaging, and you removed gear binding, was the 4wd working before? If you had the typical binding it would IMPLY that the 4wd was engaged at one time, with no intermediate clutch pack for the front shaft. Assuming you have an enclosed front drive shaft, maybe the rubber boot can be removed to make sure or not that the drive shaft turns up to the transaxle (with engine off, front wheels raised and frame chocked -to prevent lowering). If your front shaft turns, it could either be bad linkage/ adjustment, or internal coupler in transaxle. If the front shaft doesnt turn it could be in the front differential (spider or ring and pinion, or the spiders/worm gear at the wheel hubs) I dont know how the shaft is secured (welded, pinned, bolted). A broken weld or loose/ broken bolt should make obvious noise, a pin on the other hand might not produce freewheel until just enough tourge was applied. Hope this helps, and should steer you in a good direction.

MicroPilot · Sep 12, 2006

I checked the linkage between the lever and the transmission housing. This looks ok and undamaged.

I spoke with my dealer today and he ballparked $300 - $400 plus parts if they have to split the tractor.

I think I'll see If I can take a look at the drive shaft. From the service manual it doesn't look to difficult to get this apart.

DavesTractor · Sep 13, 2006

MicroPilot,
Typically this would be the driveshaft that powers the front axle. It has a spring that is retained that holds some little steel balls in a joint near the front axle. There is no convenient way to grease this joint. It can get dry and put a lot of pressure on the spring and cause this sort of failure. Pull back the shaft cover and take a look. Let's hope that is all it is. If so, fix it yourself in about 30 minutes.

MicroPilot · Sep 13, 2006

DavesTractor said:
MicroPilot,
Typically this would be the driveshaft that powers the front axle. It has a spring that is retained that holds some little steel balls in a joint near the front axle. There is no convenient way to grease this joint. It can get dry and put a lot of pressure on the spring and cause this sort of failure. Pull back the shaft cover and take a look. Let's hope that is all it is. If so, fix it yourself in about 30 minutes.

Thanks for the Reply.

I briefly looked at the service manual the night I figured out things weren't right, but couldn't tell how the mechanism that engages the FWA actually worked. I was a little tired and somewhat upset at the time so wasn't inclined to puzzle it out. I'll take a look again at it again.

Your description seems to imply that the whole shaft moves forward to engage the FWA. Is this true? If not true, then why would this spring keep the FWA from engaging?

DavesTractor · Sep 13, 2006

The shaft doesn't move forward. The spring is part of the joint. Just take a look at it, it's simpler to see than to explain.

MicroPilot · Sep 15, 2006

Dave,

You were almost exactly right. I took the drive shaft apart this afternoon and found that it was disconnected from the front axle shaft. However it was not dry, just the opposite, it was covered in grease.

I think what might have happened is that I put too much grease in when I lubed the tractor recently. Apparently this forced the coupling back and let the bearings get out of their slots in the front axle shaft.

Thanks for your help. Working slowley this repair took maybe 1 hour.