front axle damage

[dpl96]

I've been reading in the Jinma forum about front axle damage when doing heavy loader work in low gear 4WD. Has anyone owning a Kioti come across this problem? Does the HST transmission lessen this possibility? Would doing "heavy" loader work with turf tires also lessen this possibility? I'm a first time tractor buyer guys and am about as ignorant of such things as a career politician is of common sense. In talking to people I am finding this is not a brand specific "fault" by any means but an across the board case of operator abuse and through my questions am hoping to lessen THIS operator's abuse of a good piece of equipment.

 

[KiotiJohn]

This type problem CAN happen in all brands, and I don't know of any that have more than their share.
I've only KNOWN of one occasion of front axle breakage, in a DK55, and it was on a tractor owned by a man who breaks everything.

The 4WD is the thing that will help prevent the damage, I can't imagine the other things making much difference.

I do hope you understand that the Chinese Jinma is in no way related to the S. Korean Daedong Kioti tractors.

John

 

[Harrygoodwrench]

Gotta concur with John. About 7 years ago I had to do a front diff rebuild on a Kubota a friend of mine owned. 1100 bucks for the parts(ouch!!!! that hurt his pocket big time). Anything can be broken if abused. Just use good judgement and always operate safely.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I'll agree with the other guys, but add one more bit. You asked about using a loader with turf tires and while I doubt it would lessen the possibility of damage, I will say that turf tires will lessen the capacity of the loader. The turf tires have softer sidewalls than R1 or R4 tires and they can sometimes become bouncy under load. Unless you need turf tires, I would recommend R4s.

As you asked about "heavy" loader work, I would recommend you stay away from the turf tires.

 

[MajMac392]

Just another short comment on the 4wd an front axle damage. I'm certainly no expert but I think the worst damage is done to a 4WD of any kind when you cut the wheels very sharp and try to turn to sharply. It is very noticeable on dry pavement/asphalt but when you are working in snow or soil the tires can dig in and chew a little, and that absorbs some of that stress/torque. On asphalt the front gearing takes the abuse. You'll find you can turn a compact tractor quite sharp in 2 WD but when you are using 4 WD you can't cut it as tight. My F150 is very similar in 4 WD on dry pavement. I'm careful with the F150 Hi or Lo range and I believe there is a caution about it in the owners manual as well.

 

[JimR]

You could put R4's on the front and Turf's on the rear like I did. Use your 4WD sparingly with the 4WD and you will not have any problems with it. Use it all the time with the FEL and be prepared for damage. Unless of course you are in mud, snow loose dirt etc. Dry ground will drestroy it eventually. Just do a 180 turn in 4WD on dry ground and try to take it out of 4WD. The driveline will be so wrapped up you will need to backtrack your tractor to get it out of 4WD. I use my 4WD only when absolutely neccessary.

 

[JASTN70D]

I had unfortunately 5 broken axles in 6 months on a DK55 They never determined exactly why. I had the Industrial tires on it.

One theory that made a lot of since was the front wheel hubs on the 55 are extremely deep and the tire hangs way out there. I know I heard on this board of a problem like this in from a poster in another country. Kiotijohn may recall this

I do think it is just the 55 that has the problem though. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. And by the way I have owned skid steers and or tractors for about 20 years. This was the largest to that point HP Wise and the first time I had broke anything like this. All had FEL's and most were 4 wheel drive Allot of the work on the skid steer was tearing out concrete. Not a light hearted task for any machine. The tractors were used in about the same way as most people on this board use them. That includes the DK55

 

[shoppintractors]

Many years ago a Ford/NewHolland Mechanic advised me to be cautious when lifting the front tires off the ground with the front end loader.

He explained, dropping the weight of the loader & tractor back down on the front axle was hard on the king pins. I always tried to be cautious while digging and feather the front wheels back to the ground gently. I still managed to break a wheel hub off my Ford 1220.

Don

 

[PineRidge]

John maybe you should have also added that you have yet to break any axles on your hard working TN70D so they know you aren't abusing your equipment......