That dreaded "Pop" sound

[dogbreath108]

Ok, I'm dropping in this a little late. But since you guys are on the subject, I'm wondering if those of you with 4wd would try something and get back to post your answer. Maybe I should have started a new thread for this, but you are on the subject...

If you put your tractor on pavement, cement or hard pack ground. Then shift your shifter into 4wd (this would assume that you have the conventional collar gear shift, not some fancy push button or shift on the fly setup). and then approximate about how far you can travel before not being able to pull the shifter out of 4wd back into 2wd.

My one tractor goes about 10 or 12 feet. My other tractor with worn tread and slightly (????) the wrong size on the fronts goes about 1.5 feet, indicating in my case that the front is out running the rear by a large amount. (I wish the guy who had the tractor before me dealt with the problem so I wouldn't have to). Just my luck, the front drive probably has a lot of wear on it... What I'm wondering is about what everone else has. I'm thinking that my tractor that goes about 10 feet must have about a 1 or 2% lead... 1 to 5% being posted as normal factory spec...
On the high end of the scale its more damaging on hard surfaces.
I'd really like to know about how far a new tractor with factory wheels will do.

Joe

 

[jinman]

My one tractor goes about 10 or 12 feet. My other tractor with worn tread and slightly (????) the wrong size on the fronts goes about 1.5 feet, indicating in my case that the front is out running the rear by a large amount. (I wish the guy who had the tractor before me dealt with the problem so I wouldn't have to). Just my luck, the front drive probably has a lot of wear on it... What I'm wondering is about what everone else has. I'm thinking that my tractor that goes about 10 feet must have about a 1 or 2% lead... 1 to 5% being posted as normal factory spec...

Joe, my tractor is not new, but I'll check it and see what it does in the next couple of days. Normally when I engage 4WD or disengage it, I go several minutes before changing. I'm actually guilty of leaving my tractor in 4WD much of the time when I don't need it. I never operate on pavement though.

Your worn-tire tractor sure seems severe. I think I would try to never use that tractor on pavement or any hard surface with 4WD engaged. If it winds up in 1-1/2 ft, does it unwind in 1-1/2 ft if you immediately go into reverse? With driveline windup that severe, I think I'd use 4WD on that tractor only in loose dirt or pea gravel. Your driveline components must be straining continuously.

 

[Egon]

After

 

[have_blue]

I'd really like to know about how far a new tractor with factory wheels will do.

Joe

Both of my small NH tractors would bind up right away when new and after a few hundred hours.

On the 4wd tractors I've driven at length, the front wheels seem to be geared slightly higher than the rears. I have always assumed this was an intentional design feature. I am guessing that they are compensating for the front tires wearing faster than the rears, and when the front tires are 50% worn out, the front and rear gearing is equal. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that.

Back to the broken tractor: I'm guessing it's a sheared pin or key. Otherwise there would be serious crunching. I guess it's very hard to design for all conditions. If a little 4wd tractors in a very low gear catches high traction, the forces can be absolutely monstrous. One can't predict when the front tires will suddenly get very high traction for a moment. I guess they're built to not fail under 99.999% of conditions they will encounter. If the case, gears, and shafts were built 100% bullet proof, I don't think some of us could afford it.

 

[horse7]

Both of my small NH tractors would bind up right away when new and after a few hundred hours.

On the 4wd tractors I've driven at length, the front wheels seem to be geared slightly higher than the rears. I have always assumed this was an intentional design feature. I am guessing that they are compensating for the front tires wearing faster than the rears, and when the front tires are 50% worn out, the front and rear gearing is equal. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that.
...

I recall, perhaps incorrectly, that the fronts need to slightly pull in order to assist steering especially in slippery conditions-- or at least to keep the front in front in slippery conditions (i.e., keep the back from fishtailing).

The MF I have has an exploded right front reduction gear because MF used 'unobtainium' tires in front, and the previous owner replaced the worn out tires with car tires. Evidently the hired help used 4WD when they shouldn't have (minimum wagers, get what you pay for I guess) and something had to give-- in this case, reduction gears. Since there are about zero 4WD MF1040s around for scrap, getting the parts is hard. So hard, I bought a real tractor

 

[Soundguy]

Both of my small NH tractors would bind up right away when new and after a few hundred hours.

On the 4wd tractors I've driven at length, the front wheels seem to be geared slightly higher than the rears. I have always assumed this was an intentional design feature. I am guessing that they are compensating for the front tires wearing faster than the rears, and when the front tires are 50% worn out, the front and rear gearing is equal. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that.

Remember that when a tire wear it gets smaller. IE.. less circumference

soundugy

 

[dogbreath108]

I'm looking to open up the 4wd drop box under the transmission on that tractor in a few weeks, and check the bearings and gears. My guess is that they are highly worn or damaged from the wrong size front tires. When the driveshaft is out, I will attempt to check wear on the front axle without tearing it apart for now... I'm not so sure how well I will be able to check without a teardown... I wish it was posted on the dashboard of 4wd tractors instructing the owners not to switch tire size without more information. Seems that a lot of the 4wd's, have had this happen to them. As soon as the trouble starts to happen, they end up being sold to some unsuspecting person.

horse7- was the bevel gear on your 1040 too expensive? Or couldn't you locate a replacement one.

Joe

 

[Mike058]

This site is really pertinent to the discussion here http://tinyurl.com/2mfqn5 - At the end, he discusses the importance of maintaining proper weight distribution using a sufficiently heavy rear weight when using the loader. Interesting stuff.

 

[WeedHopper]

Buy or rent a Cat 943 for popping out stumps, and just about anything else that gets in your way, and you won't have to worry about popping front axles. Compact tractors, or any tractor with less than 200 hp for that matter, is not heavy iron.

 

[dogbreath108]

As far as mine goes, I just emptied the tranny hydraulic fluid and oppened the 4wd drop down gear box under the tranny on mine. So far, pretty happy, all looks snug and good. The only noticable wear was on the splines of the pinion (this is the main rear drive ring and pinion) where the slide gear (that is actuated by the 4wd/2wd lever) slides over the top gear in the 4wd drop down gear box to provide power. Only a VERY slight difference in tolerance (how snug the gear is on the pinion splines), when compared to its position on the shaft where its located in 2wd. My guess is that this probably normal with 1500 hrs on this tractor. Ordered a new external driveshaft seal and while I am waiting, I'm wondering if I should open up the front axle to check it out also (also a lot more work)... The front axle does "feel" fine when turning each front wheel or just turning the front pinion shaft, so I'm not sure if any damage has occured other than higher than normal wear and tear...
I'm stating all this in thinking that all the 4WD CUT NH front axles are built in a similar manner. Posting any failed or weak link part will help everyone in the future...


Housemasters, did you ever find out what was wrong with yours?