spun bearing in front axle

[grsthegreat]

cra*..... was out moving some simple logs and i felt a grinding up front end. immediately shut it down and went to look. oil pouring out of left front axle.

pulled wheel and removed axle housing. broken bearing took out outer cover and axle itself. no damage to bevel gear or anything on the inner axle thank goodness. inner bearing looked fine.

had no inclination anything was amiss. no leaking or anything. have 1400 hours on machine.

oh well, to parts house. heres where it begins to suck

1. bearings and seals all in stock
2. axle parts have not been seen from dealer for months
3. called to find out axle cover is also back ordered from factory... for month
4. of course, they all blame covid


i ordered bearing and seals for both front axles, then i scoured the internet for rest of parts. after 2 days of phone calls i found a cover in Nebraska and an axle in Illinois. all are being shipped to me as i speak.

i also ordered a complete set from my dealer so i can have a spare on the shelf. no way i can be caught like this come winter. man, id have to close up shop and head to arizona if i lost tractor in the winter cause no one has parts.

after looking online, i see lots of people saying tractors with heavy front end use should think about changing bearings every 1,000 hours just to be safe. if i did that, i wouldnt be out $1,000 in parts and shipping. and this tractor has done lots of heavy lifting back when i was installing generators. pallets of concrete, heavy generators, etc. Who knew.

 

[5030]

I have over 6000 meter hours on one of my Kubota's and 3000 on the other and I've never had a bearing failure in the front drive axle and they both haul heavy loads (as in round bales) moving across fields and loading trucks.

The only thing I did replace on the 6K hour machine was the through axle insert bearings because they got worn and sloppy. That is it First thing I always do is drain out the factory fill and replaced it with 85-140 Spirax GL5 hypoid oil.

Having said that I rarely use FWA unless required for a traction issue. Always in 2wd.

I do believe Kioti and Kubota FWA units are very similar machanically.

 

[Diggin It]

Neighbor has a very large Massey something. Don't know the model but the rear duals are close to 6 foot tall. Uses it for all sorts of Ag stuff, hundreds of acres. No loader though.

Blew a front bearing out while he was coming in from some task. Wasn't too far off the road, but still out in the field. Nothing around here to tow it, so he had to do all the work on the spot. That was before the troubles, so it only took a couple of weeks for parts.

 

[grsthegreat]

not really sure what happened. judging by the amount of 90 weight that spilled out, it wasnt low on fluid. i changed fluids last summer. when parts come ill split the other side and take a look. it could jut be a freak occurrence, but im not taking a chance with other axle. im replacing bearings and seals. ive owned this unit for 11 years now, and this is the worst thing that has happened. no other bad issues. guess im just glad it didnt happen in middle of winter.

its not an issue with the axle or cover, it was a bearing failing. i have no idea who manufactures the bearings kioti uses.

i had my JD870 do the same thing as happened to this tractor at about the 700 hour mark. dealer told me it was just a freak occurrence. now i wonder. that repair cost me close to 2 grand.

here are some pics of the kioti

 

[KWentling]

not really sure what happened. judging by the amount of 90 weight that spilled out, it wasnt low on fluid. i changed fluids last summer. when parts come ill split the other side and take a look. it could jut be a freak occurrence, but im not taking a chance with other axle. im replacing bearings and seals. ive owned this unit for 11 years now, and this is the worst thing that has happened. no other bad issues. guess im just glad it didnt happen in middle of winter.

its not an issue with the axle or cover, it was a bearing failing. i have no idea who manufactures the bearings kioti uses.

i had my JD870 do the same thing as happened to this tractor at about the 700 hour mark. dealer told me it was just a freak occurrence. now i wonder. that repair cost me close to 2 grand.

here are some pics of the kioti
View attachment 758205

View attachment 758206View attachment 758207View attachment 758208View attachment 758209View attachment 758210

There is some damage to your bevel gears. I'd look closely for cracked teeth. If you find no cracks, take a file or grinder and dress off any high spots and burrs. I trust you are replacing all of the bearings on that side as they are likely contaminated with metal.

 

[grsthegreat]

Planning on touching up gear. Replacing ALL bearings and seals both sides. the large gear has no cracks, very minor blemish. Service tech said he wouldnt replace it.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Planning on touching up gear. Replacing ALL bearings and seals both sides. the large gear has no cracks, very minor blemish. Service tech said he wouldnt replace it.

another thing I see is damage to the seal fit area. If you don’t get that dressed up (or perhaps you are replacing that completely) you will have leaks down the road.

 

[5030]

not really sure what happened. judging by the amount of 90 weight that spilled out, it wasnt low on fluid. i changed fluids last summer. when parts come ill split the other side and take a look. it could jut be a freak occurrence, but im not taking a chance with other axle. im replacing bearings and seals. ive owned this unit for 11 years now, and this is the worst thing that has happened. no other bad issues. guess im just glad it didnt happen in middle of winter.

its not an issue with the axle or cover, it was a bearing failing. i have no idea who manufactures the bearings kioti uses.

i had my JD870 do the same thing as happened to this tractor at about the 700 hour mark. dealer told me it was just a freak occurrence. now i wonder. that repair cost me close to 2 grand.

here are some pics of the kioti
View attachment 758205

View attachment 758206View attachment 758207View attachment 758208View attachment 758209View attachment 758210

Well, you have some mildly chewed up gears and the bearing loos like it's seen much better days.

I don't know why Kioti and Kubota (and I assume other builder as well) use ball bearings in the outboards instead of tapered roller bearings. Tapered rollers can withstand higher loading much better than ball bearings as the contact surface is much greater. Big ag tractors all use tapered rollers.

I worry about mine all the time but so far no issue. I personally believe the use of ball bearings in the outboards is a ticking time bomb.

 

[grsthegreat]

another thing I see is damage to the seal fit area. If you don’t get that dressed up (or perhaps you are replacing that completely) you will have leaks down the road.

Thats being replaced.

 

[Beeenvenue]

Well, you have some mildly chewed up gears and the bearing loos like it's seen much better days.

I don't know why Kioti and Kubota (and I assume other builder as well) use ball bearings in the outboards instead of tapered roller bearings. Tapered rollers can withstand higher loading much better than ball bearings as the contact surface is much greater. Big ag tractors all use tapered rollers.

I worry about mine all the time but so far no issue. I personally believe the use of ball bearings in the outboards is a ticking time bomb.

Tapered or spherical rollers are definitely superior. Tapered should be able to handle thrust loads like ball bearings but not sure that should be an issue - can handle that with a boss fit on the machining

However either type of roller bearing requires a wider bearing housing and inner race landing area. That would make the entire assembly wider - both inboard and outboard. Assuming there is room to do so without interfering with steering, that’s still more metal x4 (inboard+ outboard x left + right). When you think about all the other corners that OEMs have to cut to make a CUT reasonably affordable, you can’t overdesign everything.

I’m sorry for the OP but haven’t heard that this is a a widespread issue so if not then the design is likely a reasonable compromise of cost vs performance for a sub $30k machine.