KAMA 554 Front Drive Repair

[TobaccoRoad]

So my 4WD has stopped working as well. At first, I was thinking it might be in the crankcase below the 4WD lever. Now, I'm wondering if it's in the front gears??? I think I heard the "noise" in the gear box below the lever? Any thoughts? Thanks Much, KevinW

 

[greg_g]

That'll likely be the sliding gear that connects the transmission to the transfer case. I had to replace mine once too. The way to tell is to block the wheels, engage 4wd, put the tractor in any gear, and jack both front tires off the ground. The front wheels should NOT rotate. If they do, you have a problem in the transfer case.

//greg//

 

[TobaccoRoad]

Thanks Greg, I'll try this... and it'll be easy with the FEL... Put everything in gear, spin the front wheels by hand while raised. If I spin the front right wheel forward will it spin the front left wheel in reverse or just not spin at all, since everthings in gear??? I'll try it and see... Thanks again, KevinW

 

[bluechip]

With the front end off the ground and 4wd engaged, rotating one wheel forward will spin the other in reverse, it should be nice and smooth with no binding. then try to hold one wheel still and rotate the other, shouldn't be possible. If it is, check drive shaft (may have to remove the cover) for rotation. if it is turning, than its int he transfer case/transmission end, if it is not turning you have something wrong up front. We should have whatever it is you need, just let us know.

 

[greg_g]

If I spin the front right wheel forward will it spin the front left wheel in reverse ...???

Normal scenario #1: Given that the driveshaft is permanently connected to the front differential, that's what you'd expect if the 2wd/4wd lever was in the 2wd position. Doing so disengages the transfer case from the transmission, which in turn permits free-wheeling of the front driveshaft.

Normal scenario #2: front wheels up, 4wd engaged, tranny in neutral. Spin one front tire, the other is as Chip described. That's because now the driveshaft is connected at both ends. Even though the lever is in 4wd, the tires still spin cuz the tranny's in neutral.

Normal scenario #3: same as #2, but tranny in gear. Front tires won't turn at all. But if you had the rears off the ground as well, turning a front tire would turn one of the rears as well (both when you engage diff lock). But getting all 4 off the ground is not very practical.

That's why I suggested you start in normal scenario #3. If turning one front tire causes the other to spin in the opposite direction, the front diff is good but you clearly don't have 4wd. Next thing to do is observe the drive shaft while turning a front tire. This will likely require you remove the driveshaft housing. If it turns, the front connection is good as well. That puts the problem farther back. Again turning the tire, observe where the shaft connects to the transfer case. If the transfer case input shaft is being turned by the driveshaft, the problem is even further back.

At this point you have to drop the drive shaft AND the transfer case (in that order). Obviously, drain the gear oil out first. Once removed, you can inspect the transfer case on the bench. If it looks and works ok, the problem is higher up. The 4wd lever is connected to a sliding gear at the bottom of the tranny. This gear engages and disengages the transfer case. That's where the problem was on my KM454. Unfortunately it meant splitting the tractor and removing the tranny to assess and replace the damaged bits.

Hopefully this description will assist finding/fixing the problem before deciding to split the tractor.

//greg//