Yanmar 1601D Front Wheels.

[frankmako]

Had the tractor for about one year and it has been a great tractor. I have observe that the rear wheels have been swap around to give it a wider stance (a good thing). But the front wheels were not. Is there any reason why I should not swap the fronts wheels to give the tractor a wider stance up front?

Frank

 

[Box]

I turned both the front and rear around on mine and it does help make it a bit more stable. If you have an FEL, the fronts may hit the supports or at least mine do so it increases your turning radius just a little. I put a bolt to act as a stop in the eye on the front axle on mine and it seems to work fine that way. I just have to stop and back up sometimes if I am in a tight area.

Box

 

[reb]

There are those who will disagree. They say the front axle is pivoted, which obviates any advantage to the wider stance in front. It also will increase the stress on the wheel bearings.

 

[California]

There are those who will disagree. They say the front axle is pivoted, which obviates any advantage to the wider stance in front. It also will increase the stress on the wheel bearings.

I'll agree with this.

Since the front axle pivots, the chassis doesn't come down and hit the top of the axle until it's probably too late.

And there is some risk of snapping a spindle if you move the stress out beyond the outer wheel bearing.

 

[frankmako]

It looks like all the information I can find shows that you should not swap the front wheels around. Good thing I asked and checked before I did the swap.

 

[Cord]

Set the fronts wider. Yes, the axle will pivot, but there are stops and when you hit the stop, the tractor will start rotating on the tire. The wider the tire is, the more stable. That extra little bit of width may save you.

Yes, the wider width will be harder on the bearings. But Yanmar would have design their axle bearings to take the load of their rim offsets. Besides, would you rather buy a bearing or a muffler?

 

[kenmac]

Set the fronts wider. Yes, the axle will pivot, but there are stops and when you hit the stop, the tractor will start rotating on the tire. The wider the tire is, the more stable. That extra little bit of width may save you.

Yes, the wider width will be harder on the bearings. But Yanmar would have design their axle bearings to take the load of their rim offsets. Besides, would you rather buy a bearing or a muffler?

There are alot of opinions on this subject. I swaped my front tires/rims to wider stance 5-6 yrs ago . Not to say I won't have any. But, haven't had any problems with bearings so far

 

[LMTC]

And that little bit of width may kill you when the spindle snaps due to excess pressure and the tractor now rolls over. I know it CAN be done, as I've seen people do it. We do not and will not turn the front tires out as we have no evidence Yanmar ever intended for that to be done.

 

[frankmako]

after reading the posts and other places on the net the front wheels are staying in the factory setting. thanks all for the infromation.

 

[lens12]

Good decision. The added width will not gain you much if any stability. Country Companies Insurance used to put on a demonstration back when wide front were just becoming popular in the midwest. They had a toy tractor with a narrow front & a wide front that they would run on an incline. They would both tip over at the same angle. I agree Yanmar has a good fwd assembly, but the biggest problem with reversing the wheels is the extra stress on the rims at the lug bolts, especially with a loader. The rims aren't made for the extra stress & will eventual crack.