Tractor front axle calamity; crisis averted?

[Hay Dude]

No redi-mix trucks in your area?

Got 2 in college. Know what I mean?
Its one of my customers barns. I wanted to bring it home, but couldn’t

 

[fried1765]

Got 2 in college. Know what I mean?
Its one of my customers barns. I wanted to bring it home, but couldn’t

Just pullin yo chain!

 

[Hay Dude]

Just pullin yo chain!

klinkle klinkle!

 

[BeezFun]

Gears are a bit chewed up from shrapnel flowing through them. Dang. But, they are intact, and really not too bad. Should I file them all smooth, or just leave it alone?

The culprit: the "hats" on the outer bearing, that hold the 6 ball bearings evenly spaced, somehow wriggled out and then got chewed up. The bearing doesn't support anything too well when the balls are all on one side of the bearing housing.

Any tips for me? words of caution/advice?

I just did some damage to teeth on the ring gear on back axle, I took a hand stone and polished the edges smooth. I couldn't remove the gear without a ton of work, so I saturated paper towels with WD40 and laid them around the teeth to catch any grit. Looks like you can do the work off the tractor so I'd definitely stone the edges smooth and then clean the grit really good off the gear.

The other thing I do in a situation like yours when there's shrapnel in the gear case, I take a spray bottle of WD40 and hose everything out really good to wash the walls clean and hopefully flush little cooties out. I think that cage is stainless, so a magnet won't help, but running a magnet around can help pick up little pieces of debris. Then use the best method you can to try to recoat everything with gear lube before you close it up to get rid of the WD40.

The cage probably failed from stress, could have been going bad for a long time. In a low speed application like a front axle, submerged in gear oil, the most likely cause is stress on the bearing or contamination in the lube. Front axles take a real beating, just part of the cost of doing business. As someone else mentioned, every year when I do service, I raise each wheel and turn it both ways and listen for weird sounds. Same with PTO shaft. Sometimes you get lucky and hear bad stuff before it gets expensive.

 

[Gord Baker]

Don't lend your Equipment or Girlfriend to your Buddy.
Well done on the repair.

 

[deezler]

^ well I didn't quite repair it yet, Gord! Working it now. Just had to ask for help to go find a special "blind-hole bearing puller" to get the outer bearing race to come out of the hub cover.

Thanks for the tips, Beez. I left my drain plug open and hosed everything inside the housing off with brake cleaner for a while, let that dry, and then did it again with WD40. Should be pretty thorough. Thankfully my gears are looking good.

 

[deezler]

Do you know that circlips (spring clips) both internal and external need to be installed in one direction?

Installed the wrong way and there is a good chance they will come off.

View attachment 709216



This issue is so important all Kubota manuals include this info.

Dave M7040

Dave, just to follow up on this point, both my inner and outer circlips were symmetrical; no sharper edges or directionality that I could see. That said, I was able to discern which way they had been facing due to the wear marks or certain diameters, and reinstall them the same way.

 

[deezler]

Final gear is in good enough shape to avoid messing with; I'll check the tractor side tonight also:



Reassembled!



Looking forward to a couple cold ones in the garage tonight after the kids are in bed, to get the tractor driving again.

 

[deezler]

I usually like a good project to justify buying new tools, but I don't have space in my shop for a 20-ton press yet. DO want.

Might have to nab a bearing puller set though. Such as:

Slide Hammer and Bearing Puller Set, 5 Piece

Amazing deals on this 5Pc Slide Hammer And Puller Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

[fried1765]

I usually like a good project to justify buying new tools, but I don't have space in my shop for a 20-ton press yet. DO want.

Might have to nab a bearing puller set though. Such as:

Slide Hammer and Bearing Puller Set, 5 Piece

Amazing deals on this 5Pc Slide Hammer And Puller Set at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

A 20 ton press is not that big, and it is cheap.
Just put it along a wall, or in a corner, and stack other stuff around it.
It is not an item you will use every day, but when you need it there is nothing else that will do the job.