Cracked bell housing in a 2006 110TLB

[fried1765]

Had the same problem with my 2009 4720 with 894 hours on it. The 4720 and the 110 TLB came off the same line (in Georgia?). Anyway, when you look at the clutch housings in the JD parts catalogs you are hard pressed to see any difference. I ran this way up the flagpole at Deere. I drive past the flagship parts warehouse on my way to work every day. I work in Moline, Illinois, home base for JD. So, I know quite a few mid level guys there who got me as far as the thing could go. No help from the green guys.

The problem is that the clutch housing is the only structural member between the front and rear axles. When outfitted with a loader and a 448 backhoe, that is a lot of strain on the cast iron tube. It is under 1/4" thick at many points around its circumference. The cost of the replacement housing was close to $4k. My dealer was as helpful as could be - advocated for me to Deere as well. He helped me quite a bit with the replacement parts.

Since we were in the middle of a major building project we needed another digging machine pretty quick. We looked at what Deere had - basically a 310 or something green with a backhoe attached. Since I also have a friend who is a Kubota dealer we went over to see him. We opted for the M62. The L48 is also a dandy machine. The loader and backhoe are built onto a frame which then attaches to the tractor. The hoe can be removed pretty easily and the M62 used for other utility work. It comes with a 540 rpm pto.

So - in summary - I would suggest steering clear of the 110 TLB. Look at the Kubota M62 and L48. Deere has nothing like them. Our M62 is up to almost 400 hours. So far, not a single problem. I will confess that I find the seats on my Deere stuff more comfortable and I like the hydrostatic control pedals on my Deere stuff a lot more the those on the Kubota. Another handy detail in favor of Kubota is that the maintenance intervals are twice as long as my Deere stuff.

In any case, it is hard to go wrong buying more cool hardware.

I carefully researched both the JD110 TLB, and the Kubota L48 TLB, and I looked for about 10 months last year.
The look of the JD110 was sexy, but the L48 won me over.
I was uncomfortable with the risk history of the JD110.

 

[bkdaz]

I have had 3 of these and all 3 cracked bell housing cost 1000 to weld all have held and there is an absolute defect in the units Deere SHOULD ABSOLUTELY warranty this item as there are MANY MANY issues with them.......but they won't. Just wanted to let you know they can be welded. Need qualified welder that can weld cast iron welds need to be baked or heated up and welded in short runs with reheating as needed to keep temps up for bond. Welding can work even if broken in half. Again have centered out and done it so its worth the effort.

 

[ACHorton]

@Nobhill I am curious about seeing your pictures of your cracked bell housing? Mine fractured this past week while working. No idea what caused it. I was removing some sizable stumps, but not sure what causes this. I was thinking of going the cast welding route, but I have decided to just order a new transmission (that houses the bell). Any thoughts or guidance would be appreciated! I doubt it will be an easy repair. Thank you!

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[beenthere]

Welcome to TBN
Pick who you think can best answer your question and send a Personal Message (PM) in case they don't see your question for some help and guidance. Tough decision with a break like that one. Sorry to see it. Click on the user name and there you will see how to send the PM.

 

[ACHorton]

Welcome to TBN
Pick who you think can best answer your question and send a Personal Message (PM) in case they don't see your question for some help and guidance. Tough decision with a break like that one. Sorry to see it. Click on the user name and there you will see how to send the PM.

Thank you. I assume you mean tough decision as in fixing it at all? I plan on ordering a new transmission and doing the work. It won't be easy, but it is possible from what I have read and seen. A new tranny is $3,800 from JD. I paid 15K for the tractor. Still has a lot of life left in it...in my opinion. JD or anyone in Alaska has no shop time, so I will have to do it myself.

 

[ACHorton]

Now that you have seen a few 110 tlb with the cracks. Can you post some photos so I would know where to look for the cracks

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[ACHorton]

Does anyone on this board have pics of the bell housing crack failures? There is so much discussion about it here, and there are some pics of the bolts that most people say are the cause of the cracks but i can't find any pictures anywhere on the actual housing cracks and where you can find them.
Any help would be great.
thanks

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[spitter]

The search on this website sucks since it was updated awhile back. There were many threads about the cracked bellhousing, but they are hard to find. If you find the members that are in this thread that have had this problem, then find their multiple threads you might find more info.

A few other websites had threads can't remember their names landscapers, John Dere, snowplow site to name a few. Try a google search. A bit of hunting but when I was researching buying a 110, I ran into quite a few. I decided to go with the loader mini route but that's neither here nor there.

I'll try to back track when I get more time. Time to make the doughnuts. 

 

[jpolcyn]

Wow i have heard of the cracked bellhousings before i bought my 110 but never seen pictures. That is some serious damage!!.

This thread makes me nervous and tells me i should sell mine but after many many years owning it and i have abused it a time or two or 10 somehow mine has stayed together.

They said loose loader bolts cause it and i have checked mine but hell you cant get get a torque wrench into the top ones to even check!!

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I would be very, very, very, surprised if it were cast iron. I don't think that is done much these days.

I'd say cast steel. Maybe Nodular Cast, which is weldable similar to steel. You don't have to use high dollar rods for Nodular. I'm like you, doubt seriously that it is plain old cast. Hit with a grinder and watch the spark. Star shaped sparks are steel. T shaped are Nodular, not sparking much is pig iron. I call pig iron a wash pot type cast, like cast sewer pipe, exhaust manifolds, etc... Like you, I highly doubt it is that.