Traction LK3054 FWD Engaging and turning but no traction

kentrodngun · Mar 20, 2020

Hi guys. LK3054 here. Two years ago I had a bearing disintegrate and destroy my vertical bevel gear shaft. I replaced the shaft and upper & lower bearings and was back in business. Since last year, my FWD doesn't seem to fully engage. Today we took all four wheels off the ground and started it up. One rear wheel turned and when I engaged the FWD lever, one front wheel turned. I re-positioned the jack so the front wheel that turned earlier was on the ground. Engaging the FWD lever and this front wheel now turned, so the mechanics seem fine. However when we try to jamb something like a 2x4 in front of the turning front wheel(s), they stop. It's like the gears aren't fully engaging and when they experience any resistance, they just slip. Don't ask about noises because me & the boss are both deaf. Next step is to tear both sides apart unless one of you kind souls out there has a better suggestion. Thanks.

Patches · Mar 20, 2020

There are two couplings and roll pins on the front drive shaft; check both of them before you freak. They're located on each end of the front shaft

countrybumpkin · Mar 20, 2020

Is the front drive shaft exposed so you can see it turning, if so does it stop turning when both front wheels are stopped? If it keeps turning then the problem is something with the front end, if it stops too then it’s with the transmission area. Not sure on that model how the front and rear yokes on the drive shaft are driven, but that’s the first thing I’d check.

countrybumpkin · Mar 20, 2020

Ah you beat me to that while I was typing.

kentrodngun · Mar 20, 2020

Are the two couplings and pins in either of these pics? Thanks again

Patches · Mar 20, 2020

10-4 Items #2 and #3 in the second image. You must take the covers off to access the couplings/roll pins. Hope this helps

kentrodngun · Mar 21, 2020

Patches said:
10-4 Items #2 and #3 in the second image. You must take the covers off to access the couplings/roll pins. Hope this helps

Sounds like you're identified the problem. The shaft attaches to the PTO in the rear and that's working fine so I'll assume the coupling and pin are not compromised on that end. That leaves the front of the shaft. Looking at the picture, I'm not sure how to get to it. It looks like it could be either inside the front differential (in pic with dotted outline) or just before it? I'm not sure where the cover you reference is located. A pic or drawing will help. Many thanks and I'll let you know how we make out.

countrybumpkin · Mar 21, 2020

It’s just before it inside the tube that covers the shaft, you’ll have to remove a couple of bolts that secure the cover and slide it back to see the collar more than likely.

kentrodngun · Mar 23, 2020

UPDATE: drive shaft & couplings were fine. We wound up disengaging the pulling the front axle. Taking it apart, the upper & lower bearings on the splined shaft failed as they did last year as I reported in a prior post. This time it was the other side. Luckily, I sill had a set of bearings and have ordered another spare set (30305 Tapered Roller on the top of the splined shaft which was the failure culprit; 6208C3 the large lower ball bearing on the shaft (which was damaged by the upper bearing failure) and 51109 the flat Thrush Bearing which takes all the weight of the front end. I'll put it all back together tomorrow but only after I check for any residual damages. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

K5lwq · Mar 23, 2020

kentrodngun said:
UPDATE: drive shaft & couplings were fine. We wound up disengaging the pulling the front axle. Taking it apart, the upper & lower bearings on the splined shaft failed as they did last year as I reported in a prior post. This time it was the other side. Luckily, I sill had a set of bearings and have ordered another spare set (30305 Tapered Roller on the top of the splined shaft which was the failure culprit; 6208C3 the large lower ball bearing on the shaft (which was damaged by the upper bearing failure) and 51109 the flat Thrush Bearing which takes all the weight of the front end. I'll put it all back together tomorrow but only after I check for any residual damages. Thanks to all for your suggestions.

That was my guess but did not want to distract the line of thinking you were on. I had the same problem with my 2554. As I looked at how the upper bearing gets oil, I determined that it was insufficient. I decided to pack the bearings with wheel bearing grease and have not had any more issues. That was around 10 years ago.

Not suggesting you do that but it has worked well for me.