Tiller leaky tiller

Anonymous Poster · May 11, 2003

I bought a Woods GTO40 tiller with my bx2200. Noticed a small puddle under it after it set for a month in the garage. It seemed like the leak was coming from the chain drive cover. I talked to the dealer, and they ordered me a new chain cover gasket under warranty (I was going to install). I finally got it dirty 2 weeks ago and after that it was aparent that its not the chain cover leaking: the oil is coming from the 4 bolt cover for the tine shaft on the left side where it exits the chain drive(either the seal or the gasket).
Anybody had a problem with a Woods tiller leaking like this?? If so, how is Woods for backing warranty issues? The dealer (Frederick Equipment) has been great, but I don't know if they would repair in their shop or if Woods handles warranty service some other way. Changing a gasket is one thing; but tearing the drive apart is something I won't do with it under warranty. I need the tiller now and would hate to have to send it out for repair at this time.
Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
DaveL

HayDR · May 11, 2003

There should be a seal there like a 35-62-10 but may require you to remove the roter to replace the seal.

Anonymous Poster · May 11, 2003

Thanks for the response. It seems to be the inside rotor bearing cover. The parts view shows that the rotor shaft bearing is held on both sides by covers, no gasket shown, and a seal on the rotor side cover. The nuts on the inside towards the rotor are tight. I guess they use RTV to seal the cover? The bear is that the chain cover and sprocket still have to come off to get to the bolt heads in the drive case. Probably a 1-2 hour job but one that I feel should be handled under warranty.
Have you had dealings with Woods on a warranty problem? How are they?
Thanks,
DaveL

Anonymous Poster · May 12, 2003

Called the dealer today and described the problem. Before I even asked I was told they will be out tomorrow to pick it up. Makes me feel good that the dealer is so interested in service that they will jump on a problem like this even when they're really busy.
You guys are right; go with the dealer you feel most comfortable with.
DaveL

Anonymous Poster · May 15, 2003

Just a followup on the tiller. Seems someone at Woods forgot the gasket for the inside bearing cover when they assembled it.
DaveL

AndyMA · May 16, 2003

Glad to know you're getting the problem fixed quickly. I have 4 Woods attachments and their first rate. Last year my Woods 1050 backhoe bent a bucket curl cylinder like a U. Woods overnighted a new one. Second cylinder bent the same way. Woods now looked into problem and found out they had a lot of non hardened cylinder pods. New one came overnight and has been working fine every since.

Andy

gobbler · May 16, 2003

Dave,

I've got that same tiller for my BX. I haven't had the leaking problem you've described, but I have had oil seep from the relief nut on top of the gear case during use. I was told that this is normal, but in my case it seemed excessive. What has helped, was changing the gear lube and making sure it wasn't overfilled. It was overfilled from the dealer.

I've been extremely happy with this tiller. Very rugged and the BX handles it beautifully.

Jim

Anonymous Poster · May 17, 2003

It leaks from the relief on mine as well. I couldn't localize the cover leak until I got it dirty. Then the oil was aparent coming from the lower part of the inner cover. It is a nice tiller and the bx doesn't seem to even notice it running, even when it was chucking rocks out, though the rocks hitting the back cover made me jump a couple of times. I'm just happy the dealer responded as quickly as he did, since its' about time to get things in the ground(once the $%^$#@$%^ rain stops).
DaveL

Rick Jay · May 20, 2003

DaveL and Jim,

I'm thinking about picking up a GTO52 or GTO60 for my B2910, probably within the next year or so, so it's interesting to read your comments.

I have a question: How difficult is it to offset the tiller? Does it look like the offset ability weakens the drive mechanism at all?

My dealer has had the non-offset GT series in stock, and they look real nice. I'm assuming the GTO series is as beefy, but I was a bit concerned if the added complexity of the offset feature might be a potential reliability problem.

Thanks,

~Rick

Anonymous Poster · May 21, 2003

The gto has a 1 1/4" (?) or so hex shaft and a hollow shaft output on the gearbox. The front of the 3ph mount is attached by u bolts, and the back of the mount wraps around the frame. Woods supplies a wrench with a rod on it to allow you to lever it around. Though the whole works looks plenty beefy and I doubt you would ever have a structural problem with it, it isn't something you would want to move all the time.
One thing that I noted on this tiller; it doesn't sit on the floor well and has a tendency to want to tip over (haven't done it yet but got close a couple of times). I have to stop by the dealer this week and will probably order a second parking stand for it.
Hope this helps.
DaveL