Foamed the front tires; broke the 4WD?

[Zxyrthe]

Shortly after foaming my front tires, my tractor started dropping out of 4wd back into 2wd. Now it seems that the front wheels don't engage at all even though the lever "feels" like the gear is set.
Have I overtaxed and wrecked some part of my transmission adding the weight to the front wheels by filling them with foam?

Thanks in advance.

 

[repete]

I highly doubt the two are related. Do you regularly use 4WD?

 

[Rustyiron]

Not a chance imho. Purely a coincidence.

 

[big bubba]

how many hrs on your machine? ever happen before? how long after loading ft tires did the 4wd issue occur?

 

[the old grind]

I highly doubt the two are related. Do you regularly use 4WD?

I agree it's coincidental. If you always use 4WD you may have learned a cost if doing so.

How old is the tractor? What model? How long have you been operating it.

 

[repete]

I once lost the 4wd on my L2550DT and found I needed to replace what I call the "coupler" in the shaft as well as one shaft running to the front axle. Like this Coupler 4WD Front/Rear MF 4000 Series | New and second hand tractor parts, AgSpares.
The splines were gone and under load it would spin. Of course I had about 5000 hours or so on it so maybe just normal wear. I only put it in 4WD when necessary but this appears to be the "weakest link".
Posting your tractor info may be helpful.

 

[Thomas]

As other said also believe early signs wear...do you have shop manual.

 

[Diggin It]

Dealer loaded my fronts with the purple juice of beets. Because of my hills, I pretty much have to be in 4WD almost all of the time UNLESS I'm going to be on pavement. If I'm just crossing my driveway, I make sure to run slow and straight ... avoiding turning unless necessary and then only gradually and at slow speed.

Since most of my time is on grass, I've been in 4WD drive probably 80% of the 350 hours on the clock.

 

[CobyRupert]

Whether you turning or not in 4WD, the front and rear tires will either be pulling or pushing the other axle’s tires on the ground surface. That is, the front or rear tires need to slip on the ground surface when in 4wd for the drivetrain not to break.
Tire wear, inflation pressure and how much each axle is loaded (FEL, attachments, tire squat, etc..) will change the circumference of tires. There’s no way to perfectly match the front and rear tire speeds over these variations.
It’s hard for tires to slip on pavement, putting stress on the drivetrain and wear on the tires. The heavier and axle is loaded the harder it is for those tires to slip.

 

[the old grind]

There may be a stripped spline in the front drive-line/shaft, worse if in the front axle, worse yet if you have to split.