DK45 crippled in the woods

[rd_macgregor]

I managed to do a couple of sessions of woods work without damaging the tractor, so I guess my time was due. Last night I heard a big clunk and some grinding and found the RF wheel splayed out and the axle housing end pouring oil onto the ground. I had my mechanic out this am and we can get a truck within about 60-80 ft of the tractor and he is willing to work on it in situ (which is good, because it definitely isn't going anywhere until is is fixed!). We pulled the wheel off and the bevel gear shaft is sheared right off...no way to tell yet what other damage may have been done (eg to the bevel gears themselves).
I hope I'm wrong, but I keep imagining the mechanic $hopping for a new BMW for hi$ wife as $oon as thi$ repair job i$ done.

Bob

 

[k0ua]

I managed to do a couple of sessions of woods work without damaging the tractor, so I guess my time was due. Last night I heard a big clunk and some grinding and found the RF wheel splayed out and the axle housing end pouring oil onto the ground. I had my mechanic out this am and we can get a truck within about 60-80 ft of the tractor and he is willing to work on it in situ (which is good, because it definitely isn't going anywhere until is is fixed!). We pulled the wheel off and the bevel gear shaft is sheared right off...no way to tell yet what other damage may have been done (eg to the bevel gears themselves).
I hope I'm wrong, but I keep imagining the mechanic $hopping for a new BMW for hi$ wife as $oon as thi$ repair job i$ done.

Bob

Can you not skid it out on the bucket in reverse? Drop the bucket down mostly flat and raise the remaining front tire slightly off of the ground, Unlock your split brakes and drive in reverse steering with the split brakes.

 

[Trails End]

I seem to recall a thread describing an identical problem with a wheel falling off. He attached a lifting strap (or chain)
from the FEL arm to the side of the front axle with the broken wheel and lifted the FEL until the axle was level, and
then drove the tractor out of the woods on three wheels. Haven't been able to locate the thread again. Maybe
another TBN member will remember the thread.

 

[Msamt]

Ouch, title alone made me cringe. Good luck, I hope its only a Chevy he shops for!

 

[Trails End]

I found the thread that I mentioned in my last post. I quote

" Re: B2910 front wheel snapped off!

Well in 10 days it will be 3 years since I broke off the RF wheel. Today, I broke off the LF wheel Thankfully, I detailed my experience here, because I had completely forgotten what I did to repair the other one. It happened not far from where I broke the first one, way down in the woods. I remembered a suggestion here to lift the axle off the ground with the bucket and chain it to the frame and 3-wheel it out. It worked like a charm! I was back at my garage in 10 minutes."

 

[newbury]

A link would be nice
Search Results - TractorByNet.com
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/kubota-owning-operating/214500-b2910-front-wheel-snapped-off.html

 

[MinnesotaEric]

This sounds like a bad country-western song.

Got a tractor busted down in the woods,
She ain't moving, ain't no good.

The mechanic, he tells me, its gonna cost,
triple, triple, triple, you see.

Sing it with me:

My tractor is stuck down in the woods,
where the bears and the beavers done it no good,
Mechanic says after he fixes mine, he's buying a new truck,
All options, dinner and wine.

Anyway, all to say, good luck. I cannot help you from MN.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I did briefly think about trying to skid out steering with the brakes, but the trail is really rough, twisty and seriously tilted in places and I don't think my tractor skill is up to that effort...also, I didn't want to risk doing even more damage. Yesterday, the mechanic and I dismantled the RF bevel case assembly. It looks like the bevel gears themselves aren't damaged and the only real solid parts (apart from gaskets and shims) that need replacing are the bevel gear shaft (which is sheared off just below the splines) and the bevel gear case itself (the casting is snapped). I suspect that labour will be the biggest part of the bill; still, I am grateful that the mechanic is willing to 4-wheel back into the woods, hike in to the tractor and sit in the dirt to work on it...not the best of "shop" conditions (though he claims he's seen worse!).
I might post a pic or two, but have to remember to bring my camera in to the office for the upload.
Thanks for the suggestions and sympathy...and a special big thanks to Michigan Iron and Equipment for having the exploded parts diagrams on their web site; it was really helpful to be able to see what to expect when dismantling the broken pieces.
Bob

 

[k0ua]

Let us know how it turns out..

 

[MotorSeven]

You must post some pictures of this :thumbsup:

 

[Coyote machine]

Remember, not every mechanic aspires to BMW level; some aspire to Aston Martin!
Pics of disassembly/reassembly, please.
What year is your DK, and how many hours? What do you attribute the failure/cracked gearcase to?

 

[rd_macgregor]

Here is what it looked like after we took the wheel off. You can see the sheared off end of the bevel gear shaft with a bit of spline still intact. Also, the gear case itself just broke in half.
My DK45SC is a 2006 and has nearly 960 hrs now. Obviously I managed to do something a little too rough with it in the woods; my mechanic says this failure may have been the culmination of many lesser insults over time and also thought the casing likely broke which then essentially forced the shaft to shear off. Sorry that I didn't take pics of the dismantling process itself. Accessing some of the nuts on the back side of the bevel gear case was challenging, as was applying enough torque once we finally got a thin enough box wrench to go onto the nut (not much clearance between the nut and the axle casing).
Bob

 

[rd_macgregor]

Here's one backed off a little bit. I'm thinking of hauling my metal detector up there to see if I can uncover the top part of the spline, which should be in the dirt somewhere.
I'll also try to get a shot of the tractor in situ, so you can see the kind of trail work I do with this poor, abused beast.
Bob

 

[MotorSeven]

Thanks rd, I almost at 1K hours now and have a suspicion that I will be into that front end because I use front wheel assist all the time and usually with heavy loads. Looks pretty straight forward though...nothing to be "escared of" eh?

 

[rd_macgregor]

Here is a picture of the trail I was working on:


And in this picture, you can see the tree that defeated me (a maple; the bole is now standing/leaning off to the left and the remaining stump [I sawed off the leaner in revenge!] is just behind the dog):


I have only about 20 meters to go to reach a road on a neighboring property...but you can bet I'll be working more gingerly, and with my fingers crossed,... for the first little while, anyway. I hope to have it all put back together in a week or two, depending on how long it takes to get the parts in.

I want to reiterate how helpful it was to have found the blow-up parts listing on MIE's web site. The whole mechanism isn't all that complicated, but there are quite a number of gaskets, shims, etc., so it is nice to have a diagram and be able to keep track of it all (so there aren't any pesky left-over parts after its all back together!). It looks like it will take a lot of gear oil to replenish the front axle; I'll have to check the manual and see if it lists the fluid capacity for that.

I'm a bit more hopeful about the cost of this, too. Maybe the mechanic will only be getting the price of a new set of wheels and tires for his truck rather than a whole new truck!

Bob

 

[GManBart]

Here is a picture of the trail I was working on:

I want to reiterate how helpful it was to have found the blow-up parts listing on MIE's web site. The whole mechanism isn't all that complicated, but there are quite a number of gaskets, shims, etc., so it is nice to have a diagram and be able to keep track of it all (so there aren't any pesky left-over parts after its all back together!).

That is why everybody who's serious about owning a machine should buy the parts book and shop manual when they buy the machine. I've seen where a newer version of the parts book doesn't show something you need for an older machine, and nobody has them available. Many years down the road you will either be thanking yourself, or someone else will be thanking you, for having thought ahead. It's also a lot easier to hold a parts book next to the machine compared to a computer

Good luck with the rest of the fix.

 

[aginn]

You must post some pictures of this :thumbsup:

Good luck, although it sounds fairly quick and simple, other than the location. We would appreciate some pictures though. It helps us all when the world drops on our own heads to know we are not alone.:thumbsup:

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Here is a picture of the trail I was working on:

Bob, it sure is pretty setting to be broken down in.

Hope it all goes together well.

 

[o2batsea]

Boy I struggled with that lower o -ring seal for hours until I just said f it and sorta just let the weight of the tractor come down on it and BINGO it went right in all by itself. That and the giant snap rings are the hardest part.

 

[bullbreaker]

Boy I struggled with that lower o -ring seal for hours until I just said f it and sorta just let the weight of the tractor come down on it and BINGO it went right in all by itself. That and the giant snap rings are the hardest part.

For those out there that don't know what you mean I'd like to interpret that for You if it's OK. Folks he said "FORCE IT". :laughing: