wheel spacers for Massey sub compacts

[Phillip w]

My 1531 massey ferguson compact tractor is four wheel drive and has a loader. I do not have spacers, but I use the loader a lot including digging. This tractor's front end can't even handle a loader with a five foot bucket if you use it a lot. It has shelled The front front differential 3 times and also broke the steering cylinder all with in 1500 hours. My opinion is the front end are a weak point on these little massey ferguson compact tractor. Loaders add tremendous stress on the front steering axle regardless of tractor size. We used to have a 930 case ( about 80 hp ) tractor with a front end loader. We fed a lot of big round bales with it. We add dual for added rear weight and stability. Over the course of fifteen years or so we broke the front spindle twince. My allis Chalmers 185 has a loader with a 7 ft bucket. I kind of ( baby it) in attempt to not break a spindle. I have been around tractors all my life, some tractors handle a loader better than others. In my opinion the newer massey ferguson compact tractor don't do well at all, but loaders are hard on any tractor front end. Why increase the stress with spacers on the front.

 

[AxleHub]

Won't make a bit of difference there. Still have two tires (of same size) carrying the load regardless of how they are spaced. What will increase is the lever arm between the load center and tire, which improves your stability. However, the flip side to that is higher bending moment loads where the front axles mount.

I probably could have worded it better LOL. While slopes & sidehills are my biggest issues - I was just speculating that a wider stance up front would not change the weight of the loaded fel - but could widen the stability of it more when weight is lifted off the ground. But then - 1.25 inch spacers on the fronts would not be that large of a change.

I still wonder how all these spacer manufacturer's justify front spacers if no one is buying for the fronts

 

[JWR]

I probably could have worded it better LOL. While slopes & sidehills are my biggest issues - I was just speculating that a wider stance up front would not change the weight of the loaded fel - but could widen the stability of it more when weight is lifted off the ground. But then - 1.25 inch spacers on the fronts would not be that large of a change.

I still wonder how all these spacer manufacturer's justify front spacers if no one is buying for the fronts

Since the front axle is pivoted in the middle, front wheel spacing will make no difference in terms of stability on steep hills/rollover potential. Well, that is no effect until the tractor frame has tipped enough to put the front axle on it's stops, precluding any more free pivot of the axle. If it has gone that far you are probably already in roll-over. That thought sequence should tell us all that only rear wheel spacing matters for roll prevention. Thus no need for front spacers.

 

[s219]

Yeah, I agree with what JWR said and the way he said it. That's an important difference between front and rear axles. The rear is rigidly mounted to the tractor frame (well, usually the rear gear case *is* part of the frame). The front pivots, so any increase in width makes the wheel/axle unit more stable, but that can't translate to the tractor frame under normal operation because of the pivot. Whether it helps when you're tipped over on one of the stops is debatable.