L3130 Front Axle Leak

[Farmerford]

Todd G:

You are the first (I think) to suggest that use of front wheel drive puts stress on the front axle assembly and causes the seals to leak. I have three Kubotas (B2400, L2900, and Grand L4330) and am learning all I can to avoid this problem. One thing that I have never understood clearly is which seals are affected: the seals around the axle shaft that carries the hub that the wheel bolts to, or the seals between the two castings where the parts swivel to allow steering.

Are you referring to the stress when the front axle is pulling because the rear wheels are slipping or is there another kind of stress?

I would have thought the stress from a heavy load on the FEL would be greater than from front wheel drive, but I have not studied the front axle design to do more than guess.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[dfkrug]

One thing that I have never understood clearly is which seals are affected: the seals around the axle shaft that carries the hub that the wheel bolts to, or the seals between the two castings where the parts swivel to allow steering.

Are you referring to the stress when the front axle is pulling because the rear wheels are slipping or is there another kind of stress?

I would have thought the stress from a heavy load on the FEL would be greater than from front wheel drive, but I have not studied the front axle design to do more than guess.

I call the first seal the hub seal, and the second one, the kingpin seal.

I just completed the replacement of both seals (and one bearing) on my
JD 4300, and I was amazed at how robust it is. More robust than the last
L-series Kubota I did, that's for sure. Also, the L2550DT I did did NOT
require removal of the king pin cap at all. Easy. The JD 4300 was quite
difficult, actually. I am very interested in how the Lxx30 axle is built inside.
I hope one of you guys with leaks will post some pix here. I came sooo
close to buying an L3130 new back 5 y ago.

As for how they fail, driving in mud past the hub or axle is very bad, IMO.
Also, earlier kingpin seals did not have the mud-excluder steel rings that
the newer tractors seem to have. I also found that if you park your
tractor overnight with little or no weight on the front axles, you can make
the kingpin seals leak. Found that out the hard way, by leaving tractors
on jackstands, or parking tractors with FEL down, and backhoe up in the
air. Of course, as soon as you break a gear in the axle, you will distort the
seal, and get a leak. 3RRL posted a good thread on this for his Kama. You
will also get a seal to distort if a bearing gets sloppy.