Front Axle Pumpkin Vent

[Rob-D]

Those hard steel bushings are going to be very tough to drill, and
I will bet a high-speed steel (HSS) bit won't touch it. Even cobalt
bits will be getting dull really fast.

I do not think much grease is put in there on the assembly line. I would
like my axle pivots to be greasable, and this is the only tractor I have
had where they are not.

Here are some pix of the pivot from my 955. The two sleeves are very
hard steel, and the shaft is much softer. The plate that holds the shaft
in is right behind the battery, and gets very rusty. I had to cut the
bolt heads off with my plasma cutter and do a lot of sledgehammer
pounding to get it out. The all-new parts were reasonable. This, the
battery tray, and the front grille are the 3 biggest problems with the
x55s, IMO.

I'd start the hole with a 1/4" carbide drill and then the sizing drill. We're only talking an 'R' drill (.339") for a 1/8-27 pipe thread. You should be able to do that without much trouble.

DF, How many hours do you have on those bushings?

The other thing is now Deere has corrected the battery problem so acids won't be creating the mess they used to so parts should come apart easier.

I just checked the manual on the new 3320 and they don't show any fittings on those bushings. Probably I'll check them every couple of years or so and relube them.

Rob

 

[dfkrug]

DF, How many hours do you have on those bushings?

That repair to my last 955 was the last one I did to it before I sold it,
about 5 years ago. It had something like 1700 hrs on it, mostly rental
hours. The void created between the two bushings needs to be full of
grease before any of it gets forced between the bushings and the shaft.
I think that most owners don't completely fill the void as it takes many
many pumps of the grease gun.

If one were to add a zerk to the front and rear 4x00 axle pivots, the fitting
would only have to thread into the outer soft casting, and the inner
hard bushing would need only the tiniest hole in it.

 

[arrabil]

If one were to add a zerk to the front and rear 4x00 axle pivots, the fitting would only have to thread into the outer soft casting, and the inner hard bushing would need only the tiniest hole in it.

That is the exact plan. Though I intend to use a bit big enough to sharpen easily. Should have some results by the end of the day... (late, gotta replace the neighbor's fuel pump first).

 

[Rob-D]

That repair to my last 955 was the last one I did to it before I sold it,
about 5 years ago. It had something like 1700 hrs on it, mostly rental
hours. The void created between the two bushings needs to be full of
grease before any of it gets forced between the bushings and the shaft.
I think that most owners don't completely fill the void as it takes many
many pumps of the grease gun.

From what I'm hearing it sounds like there's a lot of grease behind the bearings. Usually the way it works is the grease migrates down from vibration and as heat build up, this keeps the joints lubed. Of course nothing works better than pushing clean grease from a fitting.

 

[dfkrug]

From what I'm hearing it sounds like there's a lot of grease behind the bearings. Usually the way it works is the grease migrates down from vibration and as heat build up, this keeps the joints lubed. Of course nothing works better than pushing clean grease from a fitting.

There was a lot of petrified grease in there, but the only way to know if
there was enough to get those bushings to get force-lubed was if some
got squeezed out. Most folks (this writer included) don't have the patience
to wait 50 squeezes on the lube gun.

 

[dcyrilc]

There was a lot of petrified grease in there, but the only way to know if
there was enough to get those bushings to get force-lubed was if some
got squeezed out. Most folks (this writer included) don't have the patience
to wait 50 squeezes on the lube gun.

That's why I have a pnumatic grease gun. I bought some bearing buddies for a three axle trailer I have access to which hadn't been used in about ten years. The bearing buddies were easier than pulling and packing the bearings, but I wasn't about to grease all six of them by hand.:laughing: It took 3 tubes of grease to get them all full.

 

[Rob-D]

That's why I have a pnumatic grease gun. I bought some bearing buddies for a three axle trailer I have access to which hadn't been used in about ten years. The bearing buddies were easier than pulling and packing the bearings, but I wasn't about to grease all six of them by hand.:laughing: It took 3 tubes of grease to get them all full.

Cyril,
What's a bearing buddy?

Rob

 

[JD755]

Cyril,
What's a bearing buddy?

Rob

I put Bearing Buddy on my trailer many years ago. It provides a grease fitting to the axle. Replaces the bearing cap and eliminates regularly repacking the bearings. A plate and spring keep the grease under pressure to keep out water.

Genuine Bearing Buddy Web Site

 

[Rob-D]

I put Bearing Buddy on my trailer many years ago. It provides a grease fitting to the axle. Replaces the bearing cap and eliminates regularly repacking the bearings. A plate and spring keep the grease under pressure to keep out water.

Genuine Bearing Buddy Web Site

That's cool. Thanks for the info.

 

[jenkinsph]

I am well satisfied with Bearing Buddiy too, use them on my boat trailer and when I have time will put them on my equipment trailers too.