Ford 3000 axle leak

[jshwhite]

A friend of mine wants me to fix their Ford 3000 tractor. They said the right brake wasn't working. I looked at it and pulled the little observation plug in the brake drum and quickly saw the problem - all oily in there. They should be dry.
So, my question is, what is causing the leak? I'm thinking an inner axle seal?
If so, is there anything else I will need to replace when I pull the axle. What about the outer seal? Any tips on pulling the axle?
I'm the type to usually just tear into something and figure out what's wrong, but in this case I need to have everything ready before I go pick it up because they are using it a lot so it needs to be a quick repair.
Any help appreciated - thanks in advance!

 

[Soundguy]

got a service manual? if not.. I'd get one.. even if it is the thin I&T manual.

I'd do all seals, and put new shoes on. some people try to clean the shoes.. if you are real low on money, and the shoews are still thick, and you got the time to do so.. may be ok..

always check the bearings and repack if you have it down that far.

cherry picker helps with the weight.. especially if you have a load levler for that trumpet

wedge the front axle supports for more stability as you will need to jack and support her well to work on that trumpet and brake..

check the other side brake while you are at it..

soundguy

 

[jshwhite]

got a service manual? if not.. I'd get one.. even if it is the thin I&T manual.

I'd do all seals, and put new shoes on. some people try to clean the shoes.. if you are real low on money, and the shoews are still thick, and you got the time to do so.. may be ok..

always check the bearings and repack if you have it down that far.

cherry picker helps with the weight.. especially if you have a load levler for that trumpet

wedge the front axle supports for more stability as you will need to jack and support her well to work on that trumpet and brake..

check the other side brake while you are at it..

soundguy

Thanks soundguy.
Yeah, if it was my tractor I'd be going through everything, but my friend wants to save $$. You know the saying - whatever makes the customer happy I was going to see if the dealership would at least print me some parts diagrams for it. If not I may have to get the service manual.

The tractor is used on steep hills continually, so I'm guessing the pads are probably getting thin. I'm replacing both sides.

I've got cherry picker, jacks, stands, etc. - should be good to go there. Hopefully Hadn't thought of wedging the front axle - thanks for the tip.

Bearings - yes, thanks for the reminder. Will definitely check and repack if needed.

I was only planning on replacing the inner seal, but you think I should do them all? If it was mine I would... Perhaps I should just tell them they need to. At least on the leaking side.

Not having seen a manual or even parts diagram, is the axle fairly easy to remove? Any tips or tricks/things to keep in mind there?

Thanks again.

 

[whodat526]

you dont need to pull the trumpet housing to change the seals you need to remove the fender, wheel and brakes, then there is a row of bolt out on the end of the trumpet housing i believe its 8 bolts remove them and you can slide the axle out. Some of the axles have a nut on them or a collar (if it has the collar you will have to bust it off) that you remove to get to the bearing and outer seal the inner seal you just pull out of the the trumpet housing after you remove the axle

 

[jshwhite]

you dont need to pull the trumpet housing to change the seals you need to remove the fender, wheel and brakes, then there is a row of bolt out on the end of the trumpet housing i believe its 8 bolts remove them and you can slide the axle out. Some of the axles have a nut on them or a collar (if it has the collar you will have to bust it off) that you remove to get to the bearing and outer seal the inner seal you just pull out of the the trumpet housing after you remove the axle

Thanks, that is helpful information. I saw the 8 bolt you describe - pull those and the axle slides out? Any realignment issues with getting it back in?

Sorry if this is a dumb question - I'm not familiar with these Fords, but is there a fluid I'll need to put back in once I'm done? If so, what type?

Thanks

 

[whodat526]

Thanks, that is helpful information. I saw the 8 bolt you describe - pull those and the axle slides out? Any realignment issues with getting it back in?

Sorry if this is a dumb question - I'm not familiar with these Fords, but is there a fluid I'll need to put back in once I'm done? If so, what type?

Thanks

yea when you pull those bolts the axle will slide out and there shouldn't be any realignment issues.

as far as the oil goes it just takes utf hyd fluid it needs nothing special

 

[jshwhite]

yea when you pull those bolts the axle will slide out and there shouldn't be any realignment issues.

as far as the oil goes it just takes utf hyd fluid it needs nothing special

Thanks. Doesn't sound like too complicated of a project - I'm starting to get a little more confident about it

 

[Soundguy]

m2c134 is the fluid spec for the rear end and hyds.. most stores like farm stores and some walmarts.. etc carry a generic utf that meets those specs.

if you only want parts diagrams.. they are free online.. hit the NH website, parts, then with the model # ( 3000 ) it will pull up system by system parts lists and diagrams.

me? I'd do all seals and whatnot.. what your buddy wants to pay for may not be what I'd do..

thus said.. you do what ya gotta do!

 

[jshwhite]

Soundguy, thanks so much. I had no idea I could get those diagrams on the NH website. That will help a lot.

I suggested doing all the seals and told them it would probably save in the long run since I'll already have things torn apart - I think they're going to.

Thanks again

 

[whodat526]

Thanks. Doesn't sound like too complicated of a project - I'm starting to get a little more confident about it

the only hard part is if the bearing and outer seal is held on with a collar instead of a nut i can be hard to get the collar off and you will need to replace the collar also

 

[Soundguy]

i would agree.. tearing it down a 2nd time to do another set of seals? and in which case I'd do the other seals AGAIN.. who wants to put an assembly back together with old seals?

 

[jshwhite]

the only hard part is if the bearing and outer seal is held on with a collar instead of a nut i can be hard to get the collar off and you will need to replace the collar also

OK, good to know. Thanks

 

[jshwhite]

So, finally tearing into the tractor today and I've got a question about the axle lock nuts. The owner of the tractor agreed to do all the seals, so I've got to take the axle lock nut off to get at the outer seal.
Firstly, I can't get them off without a special tool it seems. I'm going to check with a tractor repair shop down the road from me and see if I can borrow a tool
Secondly, what is the proper procedure for putting them back on? I'm thinking that probably there is a certain torque and then you back them off a certain amount. Anyone done this before that can shed some light on the subject?

Thanks

 

[jshwhite]

I know it's been a while and I hate those people that resurrect old threads , but just thought I would post how the job went - for the benefit of those who might do a search and come up with this thread.

Everything went well. The tires were filled, so I used a hoist to remove them. Once they were off I removed the "ring" of bolts and slid the axle right out. Getting to the inner seal was no problem.

However, getting to the outer seal required removing the axle lock nut. They were torqued to almost 250ft/lbs. I tried every tool I could think of, but it just couldn't be done without the special tool from Ford - it's like a very long socket that fits over the axle. I talked to the dealer about borrowing theirs, but it required a 3/4" drive impactor and all I have is 1/2". So, I broke down and took both axles/hubs in to the dealer - they charged 2 hrs labor @ $68.50/hr. to change the outer seals and repack the bearings. I wasn't all that happy, but I guess it wasn't that bad.

After that it was just a matter of sliding the axles back in and bolting things back together. Also did fluid changes, and other misc maintenance, but overall everything went smoothly.

Thanks again TBN for the great help!

 

[whodat526]

I know it's been a while and I hate those people that resurrect old threads , but just thought I would post how the job went - for the benefit of those who might do a search and come up with this thread.

Everything went well. The tires were filled, so I used a hoist to remove them. Once they were off I removed the "ring" of bolts and slid the axle right out. Getting to the inner seal was no problem.

However, getting to the outer seal required removing the axle lock nut. They were torqued to almost 250ft/lbs. I tried every tool I could think of, but it just couldn't be done without the special tool from Ford - it's like a very long socket that fits over the axle. I talked to the dealer about borrowing theirs, but it required a 3/4" drive impactor and all I have is 1/2". So, I broke down and took both axles/hubs in to the dealer - they charged 2 hrs labor @ $68.50/hr. to change the outer seals and repack the bearings. I wasn't all that happy, but I guess it wasn't that bad.

After that it was just a matter of sliding the axles back in and bolting things back together. Also did fluid changes, and other misc maintenance, but overall everything went smoothly.

Thanks again TBN for the great help!

good to know all went well

but for the axle nut i bought a shocket from a big truck parts store that the use in trucks it tighten the yoke on to the pinion shaft and cut the center out of it and welded a piece of pipe to it and when puting it back together just got a beg cheater pipe it has worked so far with no trouble i have done quite a few

 

[Soundguy]

i love zombie threads! good to hear back!

 

[jshwhite]

good to know all went well

but for the axle nut i bought a shocket from a big truck parts store that the use in trucks it tighten the yoke on to the pinion shaft and cut the center out of it and welded a piece of pipe to it and when puting it back together just got a beg cheater pipe it has worked so far with no trouble i have done quite a few

That's a good idea. I wish I had known - I would have done that. Oh well, next time.

 

[jshwhite]

i love zombie threads! good to hear back!

Thanks soundguy. I really like how helpful and friendly this site is (generally speaking, of course.) At only 23 yrs old, I'm still young and inexperienced, but I can always count on getting some good help here from those wiser than me Seems you can always find someone here who has done it before!

Thanks again

 

[Soundguy]

That's a good idea. I wish I had known - I would have done that. Oh well, next time.

yep.. them spanner sockets are good like that. many of us weld them up like that. just plain smart as whodat points out.

 

[Soundguy]

Thanks soundguy. I really like how helpful and friendly this site is (generally speaking, of course.) At only 23 yrs old, I'm still young and inexperienced, but I can always count on getting some good help here from those wiser than me Seems you can always find someone here who has done it before!

Thanks again

yep.. not much new under the sun.. especially on 40+ year old machines!