Mahindra 4550 front wheel came off

[ptsg]

I would be more worried about the gears in the final drive with all the bolt heads bouncing around the wrong places, rather than with the spindle.

The spindle, other than a few dings here and there that can be taken care with a file and some patience, is still fine. The broken bolts can be removed, even if it takes it going to a machinist.

 

[Williy]

When you don't know what happened or how something broke on your tractor it's best to have a parts list this way you can see how every thing goes together and you will also have the part numbers to order any parts needed for repair

willy

 

[Gregster613]

When you don't know what happened or how something broke on your tractor it's best to have a parts list this way you can see how every thing goes together and you will also have the part numbers to order any parts needed for repair

willy

I believe that the OP already knows this Willy; but what you said is very true. Without a parts manual it can be quite awkward in finding needed replacement parts, nor seeing "exactly" how they are to be fitted into the right place.

 

[Williy]

And most of the time you can get them for free

FREE PARTS LIST {KIND OF TRACTOR}

willy

 

[svendawg]

I believe that the OP already knows this Willy; but what you said is very true. Without a parts manual it can be quite awkward in finding needed replacement parts, nor seeing "exactly" how they are to be fitted into the right place.

I would be more worried about the gears in the final drive with all the bolt heads bouncing around the wrong places, rather than with the spindle.

The spindle, other than a few dings here and there that can be taken care with a file and some patience, is still fine. The broken bolts can be removed, even if it takes it going to a machinist.

I do have the parts breakdown and the service manual. I think my frustration was the pricing on the parts.
I got the axle apart and found that the 3 retaining bolts that hold the spindle in place snapped allowing the spindle to come out.
The three bolt heads stayed in the retaining washer so there were no small pieces floating around in the final drive area.
I was able to clean up the spline on the spindle with a Dremel and fit it back into the housing and there does not appear to be any noticeable slop in the spline.
I took the spindle and housing to the machanic at my dealer. Upon inspection he said he would run it the way it is. If it becomes a problem in the future then I should install the new conversion kit.
The mechanic said he has seen the type of break in the past and believes that is why Mahindra updated the spindle to a much stronger single bolt and retainer.
So for now I will be installing the axel hub today for a total cost of buying 3 new bolts and gear lube. In the mean time I will keep a close eye on the axle to any free play.

 

[Gregster613]

I do have the parts breakdown and the service manual. I think my frustration was the pricing on the parts.
I got the axle apart and found that the 3 retaining bolts that hold the spindle in place snapped allowing the spindle to come out.
The three bolt heads stayed in the retaining washer so there were no small pieces floating around in the final drive area.
I was able to clean up the spline on the spindle with a Dremel and fit it back into the housing and there does not appear to be any noticeable slop in the spline.
I took the spindle and housing to the machanic at my dealer. Upon inspection he said he would run it the way it is. If it becomes a problem in the future then I should install the new conversion kit.
The mechanic said he has seen the type of break in the past and believes that is why Mahindra updated the spindle to a much stronger single bolt and retainer.
So for now I will be installing the axel hub today for a total cost of buying 3 new bolts and gear lube. In the mean time I will keep a close eye on the axle to any free play.

Sounds like you've got it all worked out; good on you! Hope for the best results and that the fix lasts for you!

 

[5030]

Interesting. The stub axles on both my large frame Kubota's are retained in the outer housing by a rather beefy external snap ring that is a PITA to remove as I just had to replace a leaking outer seal on one. No specialized pullers required other than a 3 arm heavy duty gear puller to remove the gearing in the outer hub and the planetary gear set. Seal started leaking after over 6000 hours of time, all with a front end loader being used.

I am not fond of the bearings in it however and would prefer angular contact roller bearings, especially considering the capacity of the loader and the weight of the tractor.

 

[Pinecrest]

you may also want to check the broken Bolts (# on Head) added when you serviced it last. There are a lot of counterfeits out there now. A friend bought High Tensile bolts to attach a Trailer Receiver on his RV ...300mi later they all snapped off ...they were counterfeit

 

[NYlumberman]

you may also want to check the broken Bolts (# on Head) added when you serviced it last. There are a lot of counterfeits out there now. A friend bought High Tensile bolts to attach a Trailer Receiver on his RV ...300mi later they all snapped off ...they were counterfeit

Maybe, I have had some disappointing experiences with Grade 8 bolts. They are strong on tensile strength, but tend to be brittle. The sawmill where I worked converted a big log carriage to 3 piece wheels on the guide rail. Inner and outer steel “rims” sandwiched polyurethane “tires” . The objective was to eliminate track wear. Each assembly had 12-1/2” Grade 8 bolts holding the sandwich together. Every time we checked the carriage we found some of the bolts had broken. We replaced all of them with new bolts and torqued each one, ran it and retorqued them. Still kept finding broken bolts. They all broke at the first thread. We thought it might be due to the shock from loading and turning big logs, so we tried changing them to Grade 5 bolts and never had another problem.

 

[ding beep]

If I decide I need to take it to the dealer, how do I go about getting the tractor on my trailer when it is missing the front wheel.

Any tip would be appreciated.

Hope this helps.