Kubota B26 TLB front axle bearing repair

[Crocus]

I have had a second front axle bearing failure. The front axle was rebuilt - bearings, seals about 9 months ago at a dealership. One bearing failed shortly after and was repaired under warranty. Now the second bearing has failed. The damaged bearing is the last one in the axle mechanism and is right next to the wheel hub. Metal shards from the disentigrated bearing are can be seend in the nearby bearings and the gearcase.
I have purchased a new bearing and seal but I can't get the metal shards cleaned out of the other lower bearings. The lowermost bearing for the vertical axle part can't be removed easily. I managed to remove the vertical shaft, with difficulty, but I have no idea how to pull the bottom bearing out. There are so much metal fragments from the damaged bearing the that bearing is difficult to turn so I need to pull it somehow to clean.
To repair the other side's bearing failure I had to send the parts to the dealership to pull that bearing for replacement. That dealership is a five hour drive so I want to avoid that.
I have scoured YouTube for ideas and also have the downloaded Kubota shop manual fro that tractor but neither have been any help.
Anyone with a suggestion please.

 

[mini14]

Your prob not going to get it out in one piece so I would order new ones instead of trying to reuse them. There's plenty of u tube vids on removing bearings. Those bearings are like one thousandth of an inch larger then the bore they sit in and are kept cold before installing.

 

[pycoed]

I have had a second front axle bearing failure. The front axle was rebuilt - bearings, seals about 9 months ago at a dealership. One bearing failed shortly after and was repaired under warranty. Now the second bearing has failed. The damaged bearing is the last one in the axle mechanism and is right next to the wheel hub. Metal shards from the disentigrated bearing are can be seend in the nearby bearings and the gearcase.
I have purchased a new bearing and seal but I can't get the metal shards cleaned out of the other lower bearings. The lowermost bearing for the vertical axle part can't be removed easily. I managed to remove the vertical shaft, with difficulty, but I have no idea how to pull the bottom bearing out. There are so much metal fragments from the damaged bearing the that bearing is difficult to turn so I need to pull it somehow to clean.
To repair the other side's bearing failure I had to send the parts to the dealership to pull that bearing for replacement. That dealership is a five hour drive so I want to avoid that.
I have scoured YouTube for ideas and also have the downloaded Kubota shop manual fro that tractor but neither have been any help.
Anyone with a suggestion please.

If there is no room under the bearing to get the puller legs in from the inside, you will have to destroy the bearing to remove (might not be a bad idea to replace it anyway - they are usually marked with the bearing code & are cheap enough if you don't go to a Kubota dealer! )
Weld a bar across the bearing with a length of studded rod sticking up welded in the middle. Use that studding to pull the bearing either using spacers or with a slide hammer on the stud. If the outer race stays in the housing, then weld a good bead all the way around the race where the balls/rollers ran (DON'T weld the race to the housing!!). Let it cool & it will have shrunk & you'll get it out easily.

 

[Crocus]

Thanks John, I'll give that some thought. I suspect Kubota supplied bad bearings since I have more than 10 years and 1900 hours on the tractor with no bearing problems until the dealer replaced all of them due to seal failures.
After posting my story I found a YouTube video where cloth pieces and lots of grease were packed into the bearing and a tight fitting (drill bit) was used to hammer into the bearing center to force the bearing out. Hard to believe that would work but I'll try that, non-destructive, technique first.
Using non-Kubota bearings in the future is quite appealing given my experience.

 

[5030]

Actually a shrink fit is a couple 10ths', not a thousandth. As suggested above get all the bearings as removing them will destroy the old ones. When you go to reassemble, but the new bearings on your freezer for a couple hours and then assemble (quickly), they will drop in.

 

[pycoed]

Thanks John, I'll give that some thought. I suspect Kubota supplied bad bearings since I have more than 10 years and 1900 hours on the tractor with no bearing problems until the dealer replaced all of them due to seal failures.
After posting my story I found a YouTube video where cloth pieces and lots of grease were packed into the bearing and a tight fitting (drill bit) was used to hammer into the bearing center to force the bearing out. Hard to believe that would work but I'll try that, non-destructive, technique first.
Using non-Kubota bearings in the future is quite appealing given my experience.

I doubt the grease trick will do the job - it works well with bushes, like the pilot bearing in a crank, but the grease will just extrude through the balls. I admit I've never tried it with cloth as well though.
Careful (eyes) if you try it because the grease can jet out between balls, or any little crack if you give the centre plug (I wouldn't use a drill bit) a hefty whack

 

[Crocus]

To complete the story:
I manged with an improvised slide hammer to pull that bearing. I found all of the lower bearings were contaminated with metal shards so I have ordered all new ones, from Kubota. I was assured my failed bearings was a rare occurrence.
Had to hammer away with the "slide hammer" to pull all of the affected bearings.
I need to upgrade my tool box with better cir-clip pliers and a proper slide hammer.
Mr. Kubota gets a brief holiday until the parts arrive and they spend time in the freezer as recommended.

 

[5030]

As an aside, I've never found Kubota to use cheap Chineseum bearings.

 

[Smokeydog]

Having a B26 also interested in your repair.

What lubricant are you using? Change time?

I changed mine at 400hrs from the factory fill of sudt. Surprised how dark it was. Refilled with Lucas synthetic 75-90 gear oil. Hoping it is a better extreme pressure lubricant. Now over 600 hours and will change again at 800.

Kubota has increased the hp and lifting strength from the B20. Can’t tell if the front axle is beefer to match.

Surprised how much this little tractor can lift and move with a grapple. Has to be hard on the front axle.

Thinking this tractor could benefit from a loader soft ride system. Cushion the pounding forces transmitted thru the bearings from loads on the loader. Did that on the M59 with great results.