Drive shaft U-joint repair on BX2200

[ConcordBX]

While I was mowing this weekend, my BX2200 suddenly took off downhill. Thankfully, the tractor was pointed down the hill at the time and I was able to stop it before it went in the pond. When I got it back up to the house, I found a u-joint resting on the top of the mower deck. After taking the deck off, I found out that it had come loose from the drive-shaft to the front wheels. There is a roll pin in one side of the u-joint that had come out partially and sheared off.

My local dealer has a replacement pin in stock, so I'm planning to install it in the old joint tomorrow. My question is whether I should be worried about damage to front drive mechanism? Is there a risk to damage to front drivetrain by connecting the driveshaft again? Is there anything I should check?

The tractor seems to drive OK. It has plenty of power and seems to move with no problems. Fluid levels are okay and the power steering works with no problems.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with their BX?

 

[aczlan]

Spin the wheels while they are in the air and make sure everything spins smoothly. Also, spin the input shaft on the front axle and make sure it is smooth as well.

Aaron Z

 

[SPYDERLK]

I have not had that happen. Maybe you can press the pin in ... like squeeze with Vise Grips. If not, the risk repinning will be from the impacts needed to drive the pin. I assume it will have to be driven in against moderate resistance. Best to have someone hold a reaction mass opposite the side youre driving from. A 3# hammer would do well to react against the driving blows so that the shaft bearings dont have to absorb the impacts.
larry

 

[rbarker]

While I was mowing this weekend, my BX2200 suddenly took off downhill. Thankfully, the tractor was pointed down the hill at the time and I was able to stop it before it went in the pond. When I got it back up to the house, I found a u-joint resting on the top of the mower deck. After taking the deck off, I found out that it had come loose from the drive-shaft to the front wheels. There is a roll pin in one side of the u-joint that had come out partially and sheared off. My local dealer has a replacement pin in stock, so I'm planning to install it in the old joint tomorrow. My question is whether I should be worried about damage to front drive mechanism? Is there a risk to damage to front drivetrain by connecting the driveshaft again? Is there anything I should check? The tractor seems to drive OK. It has plenty of power and seems to move with no problems. Fluid levels are okay and the power steering works with no problems. Has anyone else had a similar issue with their BX?

I'm still not quite clear on how it took off on you. Were you in 4 wheel drive at the time? Was it a gravity powered run away or an engine powered one? If the drive shaft came undone and the tractor started accelerating due to no front wheel drive being engaged then I think you should be able to hook it back up and not be concerned with any damage.

Sent from my iPad using TractorByNet

 

[pdowling1]

It sounds like he was on a steep hill and a rear wheel was sliding. Been there and done that. Also have had the exact same pin fail 2 times now. It is easy to fix and there should be nothing else damaged.

 

[Earl Ohl]

While I was mowing this weekend, my BX2200 suddenly took off downhill. Thankfully, the tractor was pointed down the hill at the time and I was able to stop it before it went in the pond. When I got it back up to the house, I found a u-joint resting on the top of the mower deck. After taking the deck off, I found out that it had come loose from the drive-shaft to the front wheels. There is a roll pin in one side of the u-joint that had come out partially and sheared off.

My local dealer has a replacement pin in stock, so I'm planning to install it in the old joint tomorrow. My question is whether I should be worried about damage to front drive mechanism? Is there a risk to damage to front drivetrain by connecting the driveshaft again? Is there anything I should check?

The tractor seems to drive OK. It has plenty of power and seems to move with no problems. Fluid levels are okay and the power steering works with no problems.

Has anyone else had a similar issue with their BX?

Had this happen to my B3030HSDCC also. Only I wasn't on a hill & I caught it before the driveshaft came apart. Front driveshaft was making a hammering sound & I stopped to investigate. Found a piece of the roll pin coming out of the driveshaft. I didn't have the correct diameter roll pin to replace it so I drilled out to the next bigger size. That was about 2 years ago & no problem since.

 

[SPYDERLK]

It sounds like he was on a steep hill and a rear wheel was sliding. Been there and done that. Also have had the exact same pin fail 2 times now. It is easy to fix and there should be nothing else damaged.

The brakes on my car fail repeatedly, but theyre easy to fix. I keep a spare part handy.

 

[SeymourBota]

This happened on my BX2200. With the mower installed, you have the perfect place place for the driveshaft to fall with little chance of damage.

I reinstalled and things have been fine since (approx 4 years now...)

 

[ConcordBX]

Thanks for the posts. I was able to verify the front wheels and driveshaft rotate freely, so I don't think anything is damaged in the drivetrain. I reconnected everything tonight and will hopefully be able to do a test drive tomorrow.

I think that the runaway was gravity-caused, not due to the engine. The u-joint had probably come loose earlier but I was thinking I was still in 4-wheel drive. The tractor had felt "tippy" all day, and I'm wondering if this could be due to being in 2-wheel drive the whole time.