John Deere 430 I just bought

[arto98607]

Be careful with 'generic' bearings as they may be inferior if made over there.

We will see how long my replacement "Rocky Mountain Bearings" will survive in this mower?

Their name is on these bearings so at least I know the brand when it's time to replace next time...(They were certainly made "there").

Rocky Mountain Bearings

 

[5030]

Ah yes, made 'there' and carried here by a container ship. Again, I prefer Japanese or European made (as in Europe not Asia) bearings or made domestically bearings. That especially holds true for the ABECC high precision spindle bearings used in my machine tools.

 

[arto98607]

Here is a SKF, a well known European (Swedish) bearing manufacturer's small OEM ball bearing from a small GE electric fan motor in a Canadian made HRV unit:

I know nothing about Argentinian bearing manufacturing or quality controls, but this shows how many well known brands have had to spread some manufacturing out to lower cost countries in order to stay competitive.

 

[arto98607]

I worked on the 430 when I first transferred to JD Lawn & Garden in '93. It was already in production then and my group was just launching it's replacement: the 455. The 420/430 still required engineering support though.

From memory, it had a Sundstand 90 transaxle and Yanmar 3TN72 diesel. It was one of the first garden tractors to get a diesel so air management was key (large amounts of cooling required in a small package). The Sundstand transaxle design dictated the engine rotation and thus orientation. It sucked cooling air in from the front and discharged below. The nose was extended out to add intake air surface. Too little screen and you build a vacuum cleaner that sucks airborne debris TO the machine. The engine was flipped on the new 455 and sucked cooling air in at the pedestal (the Kanzaki 90 transaxle was designed in conjunction). It too had minimal air intake area but brought air in closer to the operator. The debate still rages about which is better... you decide.

The 430 has proven itself to be a great tractor. What to look for though: 430 has Ackermann steering geometry controlled by a frame mounted steering cylinder... so the steering cylinder pushes the axle forward/back to facilitate turning. As steering components wear though, user inputs to the system get less and less precise creating steering that can feel "wonky". I don't remember if the 430 had axle outriggers for support (455 did). New bushings to tighten steering will fix.

I remember some (not crazy) muffler warranty! (because it was assigned to me!) Design guidelines always warn about mounting mufflers and intake canisters directly to engines... especially diesels! But in small packages (compacts on down) you have to. I recalled some failed warranty parts and saw the muffler failures: cracks at the header-to-can joint. I had Test order in some snazzy high temp stain gages and gaged up a new muffler. Installed on the several 430's we owned in Engineering... quiet. Low strain, no issues. WTH? A guy in Experimental told me though, his personal 430 had already cracked several. So with his backing, I had his machine picked up and brought to JD, gaged muffler installed, and tested. You guessed it... that stupid thing lit up like a search light! I had the engine guys go over it too... nothing wrong! Turns out, some desiels have a certain shake that others don't. I reinforced the muffler design as much as possible but a small percentage of machines could still fatigue one within their life.

Mower decks (especially the 60) on this machine were old designs and not considered great cutters. That's it... all I remember. I'm old.

Thank you for a very informative reply!

Am I correct that by front axle "outriggers" you are referring to items 24 & 23 (M16 x 40 mm bolt & nut)?

It was easy to adjust the excess "slack" on the right hand side on my JD430, but the left side bolt is seized tight and looks like the easiest way of deal with it is when I will take the front PTO apart for inspection in couple of weeks.

It should be pretty easy to remove the front axle and deal with the seized bolt at the same time when inspecting the PTO belts etc., shaft bearings & front axle pivot bushings.


Front axle:


Front PTO:




It's noticeable that the muffler setup in this JD430 has been worked on at some point in time, and it is all intact now.
We will see how well it holds up in future...

Perhaps one of these would help if needed later?

 

[dadohead]

Thank you for a very informative reply!

Am I correct that by front axle "outriggers" you are referring to items 24 & 23 (M16 x 40 mm bolt & nut)?

Yes, 23 & 24 look like outriggers that rub the axle saddle in the frame... adjust out the slack and you'll be good!

 

[BravoXray]

Yes, 23 & 24 look like outriggers that rub the axle saddle in the frame... adjust out the slack and you'll be good!

I always thought that was a pretty poor way to keep the front axle in position. The areas the bolt heads rub against wear more in the normal position, but less at the limits of travel, so you have to adjust them so they aren't too tight at the travel limits, but then they still have play in the resting position. That was one of the only nits I could pick with my 430, it has never had good tight steering, it's always like steering a bucket of water. I also have replaced the steering cylinder, which helped a little bit.

 

[dadohead]

It was designed to be a 1500 hr tractor (equivalent to 100k miles on a car). We all know they can live  well beyond that though.

The 455 used 'snubbed bolts' for outriggers. The axle had machined pads that contact the axle saddle reducing wear. The snubbers have large heads that engage the frame maintaining support against the saddle. It was an improvement.

 

[arto98607]

I think they put in engine (small Yanmar industrial Diesel) that was designed for lot more hours, maybe 5000 - 7500 hours depending on how many cold starts, oil change interval etc.?

I will take later a close look at those "outrigger" bolts and see how much work it would take to replace them with larger & smooth head custom made bolts?

 

[pmsmechanic]

I will take later a close look at those "outrigger" bolts and see how much work it would take to replace them with larger & smooth head custom made bolts?

Or get a strong cross linked piece of plastic that you've trimmed to the right width and hold it on place with a counter sunk bolt. You would need to check where steel is worn and remove any ridges if there are some, but the larger area and hard plastic would virtually eliminate all wear in that area. If it does wear you could periodically shim out the plastic pieces.

 

[dadohead]

I think they put in engine (small Yanmar industrial Diesel) that was designed for lot more hours, maybe 5000 - 7500 hours depending on how many cold starts, oil change interval etc.?

I will take later a close look at those "outrigger" bolts and see how much work it would take to replace them with larger & smooth head custom made bolts?

Yes, HST is the weak link in almost every tractor design life. Transaxle oil changes are the single most important service your machine gets.

it was mentioned the center region of the outrigger's path is where the wear is. Without seeing pictures, another strategy could be to weld up the wear grooves in the axle saddle and grind flat again.