JD L130 Front Axle Replacement

[wngsprd]

Got back from vacation and the yard was a jungle from the rain. Then found the cast iron front axle was broken in half on my 11 year old L130.

I didn't find anything searching TBN or You Tube on fixing it, and since I was successful today, I thought I'd share here that it wasn't too tough a job, and maybe also save one of you about $250 labor at the dealer.

I was concerned about removing the center axle bolt since it looked like muffler and bracket removal was necessary to give clearance. But the muffler just pulls straight down from the manifold pipes.

So the order of repair was:
1. Remove the hood, pulling the springs off the catches
2. Jack up the tractor
3. Remove the muffler bracket (2 small screws) and then swings down and off
4. Remove the top 3 screws from muffler, and push (wiggle) the muffler down off the pipes
5. Remove old axle pieces, if any remains, and the center bolt
6. Remove steering spindle clip and slide spindle out from each side of axle
7. Slip new axle and bolt in place, and reverse order of other steps

I did not need to remove the front wheels steering linkages or mower deck.