TC40A Front Axle and FWD questions

[billybonds]

As I have attempted to dive into my FWD problems, I have realized that my uneducated use of vocabulary has done a poor job of articulating the problem I am experiencing, and possibly limiting the response I have seen.

I began experiencing problems with my FWD last year, almost like there is debris getting into the gears or something is loose enough that the gears are able to get caught and even lock up. I am not sure if this is coming from the FWD drop box or the front axle. From the seat it feel like it is coming from underneath me, but I guess it could be traveling down the FWD axle and I only feel it below me. Since the problem began, I have been able to operate the tractor in 2WD with no issues, noise, or any indication that anything is wrong. I removed the 4WD shaft and drove the tractor in 4WD and everything felt and sounded 100% fine. The shaft coming out of the FWD drop box seems tight, spins freely when not in 4wd, and holds firm when engaged with little to no play at all. The front axle is a different situation entirely. The shaft coming out of the front axle has a lot of play, both in and out and all around(I dont know if this is normal). I flushed the fluid from the front axle(Stupidly I didnt think to screen it, and I let it dump into a dirty oil pan so I cant tell if any metal found was there or came from the axle), refilled it with 80w gear oil, reassembled the 4wd shaft, then took it for a ride. The 4WD engaged normally and I was able to drive around without any crunching or locking up. There was however a little vibration and audible sound difference when driving in 4WD. It again sounds like it is coming from right below me, but could easily be vibration traveling down the shaft, or could have even been vibration/rubbing on the reinstalled shaft cover.

I dont want to simply drive it around until it implodes again, so I would like to dig a little deeper into my problem, but I have not been able to find any real info or videos on either this front axle or the FWD drop box. So my questions are this:

Front axle: Once I drain it again and remove the wheels, can I simply separate the left side of the front axle from the right, or do I have to remove the ends where the wheels attach(I dont know what to call this) and or drop the axle entirely from the frame?

FWD Drop Box: There is a drain plug on the front, will that drain the hydroulic fluid from the entire transmission, or is that segregated with it own fluid/oil?

Any general info, advice, or links to known resources would be greatly appreciated .

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I write about this a lot. Has tractor been used on good ground in 4x4 when it is not needed? That is usually what makes them give. It isn't all wheel drive. It is four wheel drive.

 

[billybonds]

Tractor was used on a small horse boarding farm....drag the arena, move snow, and load manure. I just inheritted it when I purchased the farm. The tractor was poorly maintained and abused. I assume it spent little time out of 4wd by the fact that the front industrial tires are almost bald and the bushings in the front tie rod ends were completely gone. The front axle was virtually bone dry from a slight leak. After experiencing a little crunchiness, the front wheels completely locked up. It was difficult to get the 4wd lever out of gear....I dont know if this helps point to whether the problem is coming from the front axle or the transmission side. I have no experience with this sort of thing, but I am mechanicly enclined. I am hoping there is a way I can isolate the actual failure and required parts quickly without having to tear the thing apart and take up a garage bay waiting on parts to arrive. @ROUSTABOUT

 

[chris.benjamin1]

I have a T1110. Front wheel drive made a clicking sound. Where the front drive shaft exits the transfer case there was a coupler there about 1” diameter and the front shaft was rounded off. Not a terrible repair other than the expense. I was advised this is the weak part to protect the internals. I would start there

Good luck

 

[billybonds]

Bump Can anyone help me with this problem?

 

[crashz]

I have zero experience with NH tractors, so take it for what its worth, but sounds like you have some severe wear and damage on the front axle components. You performed a very logical first step in your diagnosis: remove the drive shaft and isolate the problem. From what you say, the drive side (drop box or transfer case) seems normal. The driven side (front axle pinion) should be as tight and rotate freely when the front wheels are lifted. Sounds to me like the pinion bearings are destroyed, probably taking the seals and possibly other components with them.

Unfortunately, the parts are always turning when the tractor moves, regardless of when the 4wd is selected. They many not be getting power, but the turning gears will still create more and more damage when moving. I'd stop using it until you can get it repaired. It will be a good time to rebuild the entire front axle, as any debris could have be washed down to the outer hubs and causing damage there too.

 

[billybonds]

I purchased a repair manual for this tractor, and it certainly leaves much to be desired. There is no mention if different components can be removed or disassembled separately or on their own. Do I need to drop the entire axle in order to inspect/rebuild the differential and drive pinions? Do I have to remove the "Gear Reduction Drop Boxes"(the ends where the wheels attach) before I remove the left side of the axle from the right to expose the differentials? Can I simply remove the drive pinion as a first step since we know for certain the bearing is probably shot, and that play is more than likely causing my issues?

 

[dlctcg]

@billybonds - A couple of things...

I flushed the fluid from the front axle(Stupidly I didnt think to screen it, and I let it dump into a dirty oil pan so I cant tell if any metal found was there or came from the axle), refilled it with 80w gear oil,

NH uses Hydraulic fluid that meets Ambra Multi-G 134 spec. pretty much for everything, front axle, front wheel gear reduction, tranny, HST. I don't think your filling it with 80w gear oil will hurt anything but just a heads up.

The front axle is a different situation entirely. The shaft coming out of the front axle has a lot of play, both in and out and all around(I dont know if this is normal).

As @crashz said above - there should be no play in the front pinion shaft; I would also guess that the pinion bearings are toast.

The front axle was virtually bone dry from a slight leak.

This ^^^ will cause bearing to toast themselves so you could have a lot more going on in that axles. Again as crahz said... it is probably a good time to do a tear down of the front axle to see what it needs... you don't really want to go through this twice.

Front axle: Once I drain it again and remove the wheels, can I simply separate the left side of the front axle from the right, or do I have to remove the ends where the wheels attach(I dont know what to call this) and or drop the axle entirely from the frame?

Where the wheels attach are called the FINAL REDUCTION GEARS... and I don't believe you need to remove them to split the axle (don't hold me to this part... but "I don't think"), but it may make it easier to do. You will still need to disconnect the tie rod & the steering cylinder, so again might just be easier to remove.

You do not have to take the entire axle out of the frame; though depending on where you have to work on it, it might be easier.

FWD Drop Box: There is a drain plug on the front, will that drain the hydraulic fluid from the entire transmission, or is that segregated with it own fluid/oil?

The TC's have a common hydraulic sump... it is not segregated. It has multiple drain plugs but uses a common fill on the back.


I've attached a few pages from my service / repair manual to give you an idea... but this manual DO NOT cover your exact model to the TC. I would highly recommend getting a copy for your TC40A if you are going to do this project, it will show the breakdown procedure for you.

 

[billybonds]

@billybonds - A couple of things...


I've attached a few pages from my service / repair manual to give you an idea... but this manual DO NOT cover your exact model to the TC. I would highly recommend getting a copy for your TC40A if you are going to do this project, it will show the breakdown procedure for you.

Thank you, I did purchase a pdf copy of the repair manual for my tractor. It definitely seems more likely to be my front end, so I am going to start there. If I'm reading this manual correctly, the drive pinion has 2 bearings, one on the inside of the diff housing and one on the outside, so I would need to crack the axle in half anyway to pull the pinion out from inside the housing. From the looks of the manual, I definietly dont want anything to do with disassembling those final reduction gears, but it is not clear whether I can simply remove the entire assembly which is only bolted to axle housing with 4 bolts. Honestly, the manual just runs though complete disassembly of everything and doesnt mention whether you can just remove entire assemblies to get to the desired parts. All I really want to do is crack the axle in half so I can inspect the differential and drive pinion, and pull the pinion out so I can replace the bearings. Can I do that, or do I need to worry about axle shafts and bearings and shims falling out and being difficult to line back up for reassembly? If I could just crack it in half, I think it would be easier to just do without dropping the whole axle. But If I do need to do all this other disassembly, then it would be easier to drop the axle and bring the axle indoors before taking it apart.

On a second note, anyone have a good resource for ordering the replacement parts? My dealer quoted me north of $1k for just the ring gear and pinion if they need to be replaced, but they dont even stock it, so no real benefit for me allowing them to order it for me if there are more reasonable outlets for parts.

 

[thclimer]

If you are looking for parts I'd definitely check out Messick's, they are a huge dealership and they will show prices and if they have it in stock and can be helpful on the phone.

I just searched under parts lookup for TC40D for the link below, you should however confirm all the specifics about your tractor

New Holland TC40D - 4 CYL COMPACT TRACTOR - NORTH AMERICA(11/98 - 12/05) Parts Diagrams

New Holland Parts Catalog Lookup. Buy New Holland Parts Online & Save!

www.messicks.com