M7030 Front Wheel Fluid Leak

bsekf · Monday at 9:11 AM

My old M7030 is ozzing oil around the left front wheel (over the winter is leaked a +/- 1/4 pint). I am presuming a seal has failed. I have a shop manual and it doesn't mention replacing a seal. Is this a DIY project or is it a major job? One thing I haven't figures out is the zerk grease fitting on top of the spindle and the plugs to add and check oil level. Is it one of those things better left alone and just keep track of and add fluid? It is not dripping, just ozzing. My first job will be to tighten all the bolts.

bsekf · Tuesday at 7:57 AM

WOW!! Nobody out there keeping an old 30 series running????

Harry in Ky · Tuesday at 9:44 AM

That style front end has only two seals. One on the spindle portion and one on the axle flange. Which one is the problem? Axle seal is of course the easiest to deal with. If you have the shop manual you will see it describes removing, disassembling, re assembling, and installing the complete unit. Not any single part or seal. Is it a DIY project? That depends on your tools and skills. There are a few pretty stout snap rings to deal with, plus the various components are heavy.

bsekf · Tuesday at 1:15 PM

Harry, before tearing into this thing I am trying to understand just how everything works. There is gear oil in the unit and there are 2 plugs one to drain oil and one to add and that is also the fill level. Then there is a grease fitting on the very top, what does that grease?

mjw357 · Tuesday at 1:21 PM

Are you sure it is a grease fitting and not a vent? Search on youtube, there are numerous videos of these gear cases being torn down on B/L/M series tractors. All very similar in design.

Harry in Ky · Tuesday at 5:22 PM

The grease is just for the top cap. It's not connected to the lubricated parts inside.

Smokeydog · Tuesday at 10:14 PM

On my M5030 the hub grease fitting was for the top knuckle bearing. The grease fitting is tapped into a large hex cap nut. Remove that cap, thread a M10(?) bolt into a -5/8” plastic plug. Remove to add gear oil for the hub is what my WSM says. Side plug is for oil level. WSM covered M50, 60, 70, 80 -30 series. These were full size tractors. Inline 6 cylinder engine was my favorite.

Sometimes a leaky seal is symptom of a bearing going bad. Age is another. Replaced seals in my early 80’s model after about 30 years. Kubota ordered all parts. Like Harry in Ky said, takes some heavy duty snap ring pliers. Good mechanic practices like polishing sealing surfaces.

00 EP grease, corn head grease, might work and slow or stop leakage. Sure works on high power rotary cutter gearboxes.

dlundblad · 2025-05-07T04:59:33-0400

bsekf said:
Harry, before tearing into this thing I am trying to understand just how everything works. There is gear oil in the unit and there are 2 plugs one to drain oil and one to add and that is also the fill level. Then there is a grease fitting on the very top, what does that grease?

I imagine the grease would be for the left and right pivot motion from steering.. ball joints if you will.

I would get a service manual and tackle the job yourself. The how to's from various models doesnt seem like a bad job.

bsekf · 2025-05-08T09:28:21-0400

The illustrations in my manuals are very poor. My front hub looks different from the illustration. There is a plug in the bottom and a plug half way (14mm) up and it looks like a plug surrounded by a large sq. nut higher up. I took the 14 mm plug out and had gear oil flowing out. It appears my ozzing is above the bevel gear and that oil comes from the axel. I find a plug about half way up on the axel housing on left side of tactor, is that the fill and check oil plug? I am going to visit my local Dealer and try to get a look at the 7030 parts manual. If that fails I'll contact Mesick's with some pictures. I'll try to take a picture today.

Harry in Ky · 2025-05-08T09:45:58-0400

You can view the parts diagrams here. The site won't let you link to individual pages but if you fool with it a little you can type in a model number and work your way to the individual pages. Studying the diagrams will certainly be helpful without a service manual. I find that they often help just about as much.

If your leak is at the axle flange seal the repair is reasonably simple. Drain the fluid, unbolt the axle housing and remove it. You might need a gear puller for the inner bearing, but not much else in the way of specialty tools. Look for shims, keep track of where they come from and put them back as you assemble it. It's not that complicated, just heavy parts.