Front tires caused axle failure...?

[repete]

I am guessing by the picture that the center line of the wheel is well beyond the outer axle bearing putting all of the load stress on the outer bearing as opposed to sharing the load between both axle bearings. That extra width cost me thousands of dollars. Never had an issue when I put my wheels back in to the narrow position. I am sure folks will disagree but my wallet sure noticed the difference.

 

[the old grind]

I am guessing by the picture that the center line of the wheel is well beyond the outer axle bearing putting all of the load stress on the outer bearing as opposed to sharing the load between both axle bearings. That extra width cost me thousands of dollars. Never had an issue when I put my wheels back in to the narrow position. I am sure folks will disagree but my wallet sure noticed the difference.

Yes, this! ^^ :thumbsup:

And it's actually more load on both bearings as say when the fulcrum isn't between them by design. (pretty universal)

It's a fundamental of load geometry that positioning/offsetting the load > the spacing of bearings will increase stress loads proportional to the ratio of those dimensions.

 

[Oldpath05]

Widening the tires is a none issue if a tractor is was design for that........

 

[ptsg]

Widening the tires is a none issue if a tractor is was design for that........

Tractors weren't designed for a loader in the first place... Widening the front axle stance would be just fine is there is no loader fitted to the tractor.

Once the tractor gets a loader, you'll find your self changing hub seals quite often. No matter what brand it is.

Depending on the abuse, you can also destroy the gears on the front axle.

 

[Egon]

I am guessing by the picture that the center line of the wheel is well beyond the outer axle bearing putting all of the load stress on the outer bearing as opposed to sharing the load between both axle bearings. That extra width cost me thousands of dollars. Never had an issue when I put my wheels back in to the narrow position. I am sure folks will disagree but my wallet sure noticed the difference.

Right on!

 

[the old grind]

Widening the tires is a none issue if a tractor is was design for that........
(pic worth 1000 words)

Can you find a pic of a guy mowing lawn with a toddler on his lap while you're at it?

There's another thread where I bet folks want unquestioned assurance that it's ok to do that, too.

btw, I saw a mini van yesterday whose tires were more outside the wheel wells than inside them. I couldn't get a pic of it while driving, but I'm sure that since it kept up with traffic the van was obviously designed to be shod that way.

Most 'bogger trucks' I see have wheels sticking way out, as designed, and front end parts seem to last just as long as if only driven to work.

 

[Oldpath05]

Tractors weren't designed for a loader in the first place... Widening the front axle stance would be just fine is there is no loader fitted to the tractor.

Once the tractor gets a loader, you'll find your self changing hub seals quite often. No matter what brand it is.

Depending on the abuse, you can also destroy the gears on the front axle.

This ain't Europe where no one is working in woods with a FEL.... SO I strongly disagree, yeah maybe 70 years ago but after that when tractor companies started put FEL on tractors they have to design the tractor for that, just like when they design wheels to reverse outward, hilly ground requires wheels to be outward so if tractor companies make it for that they better make it so it will wont fail, if it fails under designed use then they should be held liable. People need to realize,what is a tractor,,,, is for babying or is for work and work hard, but by most here, a tractor is meant to be babied, treated like eggs, if you people want to baby something then buy a Chevy...........

I for one am not going to baby a tractor, I'll work it and work it hard til its all but a bucket of bolts and that bucket of bolts or tractor will have a brand name on it when I'm done, so I'll settle for nothing less then a hard working tractor. Kubota take notice, I have a FEL with 5' bucket so if it fails to lift a bucket full of dirt over and over then Kubota has failed of being a hard working tractor, a tractor without FEL is the most useless thing there ever was unless alls you going to do is til the garden...............

So kubota take notice, heres my definition of a hard working tractor, not babying it like everyone here does, a man after mine own heart, starting>> @14:00
WICKED Grapple Testing FULL Video by Everything Attachments - YouTube

 

[milkman636]

One other factor in axle bearing life is tire inflation pressure. Heavy loads travelling on over-inflated tires will pound on bearings over time. Those new tires also appear noticeably taller than the old ones. It may be good to call on a knowledgeable source to ensure correct ratios are maintained. Proper calculation, from what I recall, requires knowledge of drive ratios for each axle and the rolling circumferences of the tires. I believe the target overdrive for the front axle is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-5%.

 

[rScotty]

One other factor in axle bearing life is tire inflation pressure. Heavy loads travelling on over-inflated tires will pound on bearings over time. Those new tires also appear noticeably taller than the old ones. It may be good to call on a knowledgeable source to ensure correct ratios are maintained. Proper calculation, from what I recall, requires knowledge of drive ratios for each axle and the rolling circumferences of the tires. I believe the target overdrive for the front axle is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-5%.

Overdrive to the fronts of 1 to 5% seems about right. I've built several in that range. Changing tread just means juggling rim and tires until we get back close to the factory overdriven ratio in 4wd. In 2wd it doesn't matter.

The problem with lower percentages near 1% or eveb 05 is not that they don't work well - they do. It is that the ratio tends to get negative with tire wear, and when it goes negative you lose some steering control as the relative traction for each rear tire can steer you more than the steering wheel can compensate for. It's all a compromise.

As the front-to-rear overdrive ratio becomes more and more positive and farther away 0%, the downside is that it creates more torsional stress in the drivetrain - you'll notice that because it is harder to shift out of 4wd. To unwind the stress in the drivetrain, a tire is going to have to constantly slip. The rear tires probably won't slip, so the fronts do the slipping. That's why the fronts wear so fast in 4wd. That fast wear is actually a good thing. It means the front tires are slipping enough to protect the drivetrain.

For FEL stabiilty I haven't noticed much advantage to making the front wheels wider since the front axle tilts freely. However , there is usually a huge FEL stability advantage to widening the rear wheels since they are rigid with the frame.
rScotty

 

[RickB]

New Holland TN and T4xxx tractors with Supersteer and auto 4wd are designed with a lag ratio of about 4%. The front axle is underdriven.