To answer a couple of your questions - one & all. My front tires are the Titan 10-ply, 12-16.5 NHS (skid steer tires). The rears are Titan 17.5-24, 8 ply R4. I don't know the actual ratios of the diffs. - the rear would be impossible for me to determine not being able to measure input shaft rotation and I've already reassembled my tractor and the cover tube is over the front driveshaft so I can't check it without taking that bugger back off. I've got work stacked-up I need to do. The test drive this afternoon went well - front drive ready to work, thanks to Galen's quick response time on my parts !!
I don't think the weight of loader work is causing the axle problem, originally my tractor came with a standard 5' bucket and then 2 years ago I bought the QA adapter and the new 6' bucket the 4110's have - increased weight up there considerably but didn't cause any quicker frequency of axle breaks. I'm just wondering if these studs in the ring gear have always had some play in them and the shock of the slack taking up at just the right time is snapping these axles at that hardened spot where the diameter of the axle is turned-down to spline diameter - this is where they break everytime and it's a torsional break (twisted). It's not a break that is maybe cracked at one time then finally breaks at another time, it pops all at one time.
I do use my tractor - I didn't buy a lawn ornament. Quite a few times I've pushed it pretty hard but not what I would call total abuse. I used it commercially for 2 years down in Florida - alot of loader work, boxblade & bushogging but I only broke 2 axles in that 2 year period. I don't tear-up implements or buckets, my loader is fine, no bent cylinders etc., so I don't cal l how I work with it abuse, just good solid work and excepting for the axles the tractor has handled it all just fine - it has amazed me at times what this thing can do for it's size. I cut my homesite here this time last year with it - cut & moved about 1/4 acre down 5' deep and dressed it all up. Used my subsoiler to bust some of the chert rock layers and kept on diggin'. Never broke an axle the whole time. The diff. went when I was covering over my septic field lines last summer, dragging a box of loose dirt. That subsoiler would stop the tractor when it hit a good chunk of rock, of course I was in 2nd gear going very slowly, but never did snap an axle. Then do it hauling a box of dirt.
As far as changing an axle in 15 minutes - pick front wheels up with loader. Remove wheel, pop tie-rod off with pickle fork, remove 6 bolts - a very heavy final drive comes off in your hands. Remove broken axle (broken spline tip in final drive comes out with a magnet easily). Reverse procedure, add maybe a qt. of 90w that you lost. I think that axle is around $42 on mine, newer models may be different. Mahindra replaced the first axle that broke for me, well, they sent me the axle to put in. I talked to people there off & on for the first couple years but no real help, obviously. Nothing that can be done about it now, maybe I'll accidently figure what's happening and solve the problem. If not I'll just have to keep an axle ready. Thanks for everyone's interest and I wouldn't worry too much if you own a later model 4110 - they seem to be doing excellent. If I do ever pin this one down for sure, I'll post it.
