Front Axle Oil

[joshuabardwell]

The leaking I have seen are actual leaks with oil on the ground. Disappearing oil after a change is not a leak, but some other mysterious thing where it takes a good while for some places to fill.

Yes, exactly. There is no oil on the ground, nor any oily parts on the underside of the axle (if it was leaking only when it was run). And yet I was sure the tractor would not have been delivered without all fluids topped off. I figured, what the heck, and called the dealer and they came out and topped it off and left me a gallon of the fluid. May as well get another couple bucks out of my warranty, you know? That was at 8 hours. At 16 hours, it was low again! So I put another quart in it and it showed full. It's nice to know this is a common experience.

 

[Proletarian]

they probably didnt remove the vent plugs to let the air escape while they where filling. oh well, we pay good money for our tractors, they should provide service.

 

[JohnnyW]

Cheap insurance, change the oil at the recommended interval. I belive it is 80 or 90 wt gear oil. I change mine, no problems.

 

[My Hoe]

And she went to which Diesel Tech School? Or "Ag School" (if such things exist)? Or which Automotive Tech School?

Does she have a Snap-On box out back with $70,000. worth of chrome moly in it? I don't, but I look for the guy or gal that DOES, if I've got a question I can't get one of YOU guys or gals to answer--LOL.

And no offense to a previous poster (don't know who, don't want to look, just voicing my opinion, which is no more significant than his or hers) but I also don't see why non-maintenance, that created "gunk," could lead to leaks, either.

What I HAVE heard, applied to back in the '80's, I'd say--or whenever synthetics first came out (remember when "Mobile 1" was IT?). Because synthhetics do have a lower "pour point," i.e., they tend to be THINNER than the viscosity of the OEM dino oil, at a given temperature, and rumor had it that if you put SYNTHETIC OIL into an OLDER ENGINE (or, I guess, trans, rear end, whatever) that BECAUSE it was thinner, it would find it's way out from under that marginal valve cover gasket, that wasn't doing more than "weeping silently," under the dust, until the synthetic hit it. THEN, because the synthetic was thinner, yeah, you'd see leaks you didn't know you had, because they weren't really LEAKS then, just "wet" gasket surfaces, from gaskets that were okay holding 10W-40 back, but leaked with 5W-30 synthetic. Or 0W-30 synthetic (though honestly, I can't remember if 0W was out way back then, even in synthetics).

That's (admittedly) anecdotal information that I could believe, but I do NOT believe machinery made in the Year of Our Lord 2000 AFTER CHRIST, generally, would be having this problem--especially if it was "born" with synthetic.

JMO, but me no likey the Parts Lady....

Wonder what she'd say if you asked her what the torque specs were on your lug nuts, or what a "power beyond" valve does? (Okay, I don't even know the answer to the latter, myself--[though I believe it allows you to power FEL's an' such?]--but I DO know that I DON'T know, so I KNOW not to try to tell someone ELSE what I DON'T know--you know?) :mischievous:

(The "Parts Lady" Is NOT) My Hoe

 

[kdlklm]

What is the volume in those front axles for the BX 1830, I want to make sure I pick up enough.

 

[onyamatey]

Sorry but your dealers comments on not changing oil is complete Bullsh*#. I am a diesel mechanic at a Kubota dealership in Australia and we change front BX axle oil a lot. We use UDT, and it's also what is filled at factory assembly. The Kubota final drive spindle seals work well and you should get thousands of hours of use before you would expect to see them leak. Not changing the oil will rapidly reduce the seals life span.
Leaving the old oil in is a recipe for disaster. As the bevel gears inside the diff and final drive work against each other they oxidize the oil and naturally wear leaving metallic particles in the oil effectively turning the oil into a grinding paste, you can only imagine what that is doing to the components inside and the spindle seals. If you pull the yellow dipstick out and it's off color, then yep it's dirty and should be changed because UDT is normally very clear and natural color.

As for the mystery of oil disappearing after the first fill, I can tell you exactly why. When the final drive housings are empty there is always an air pocket at the top, and when you fill the front axle with oil that air pocket remains. So when you dip it to check the oil level it looks correct. As you use it and go on slight angles the air in the top of the final drive housing is displaced with oil which causes the level to drop.
I can confirm that brand new BX tractors straight out of the crate are filled incorrectly. You can dip check the level and it looks ok on the stick but if not filled properly then you will find after a short while of use the oil has vanished.
To correctly fill a BX front housing you need to first remove the 2 x plugs in the very top of the final drive housings (14mm hex head on plug) allow the air to purge out, then fill it, it takes a short while for gravity to do it's job and pass oil through the bearing cages to reach the final drives. Let it sit for a few minutes and check it again. Once you have the correct level, refit those 2 top plugs, job done !
A brand new BX out of the crate will take an extra 2 liters of oil once it has been correctly checked. You can take those 2 plugs out and physically watch that oil level drop before your eyes. Your selling dealer should be doing this as part of a pre delivery inspection. But it's easy for a young kid in a workshop to not understand this procedure and tick off the sheet anyway because they saw oil when they first pulled out the dipstick.

 

[EE_Bota]

To correctly fill a BX front housing you need to first remove the 2 x plugs in the very top of the final drive housings (14mm hex head on plug) allow the air to purge out, then fill it, it takes a short while for gravity to do it's job and pass oil through the bearing cages to reach the final drives. Let it sit for a few minutes and check it again. Once you have the correct level, refit those 2 top plugs, job done !

Close, but this is not enough. The oil will usually be low in a week. I always do it like you say, but it STILL needs one more follow-up.

Why is a mystery. I am quite particular, and I did my best to be sure I would be full because I didn't believe what folks report here because I could see no physical reason for it. And I have been all in the front end, and still see no physical reason. But just removing the air plugs, and filling and waiting and stuff didn't get mine full. I still had to add more in a week or so. THEN it was full.