Kubota BX front axle pivot bolt leaking oil

[twisted_pair]

So the front axle pivot bolt on my BX1500 has gone from a few drops of oil on the floor to a puddle after each use. I got a new set of rubber O ring seals and the buckup washer that hold them in place.

I noticed that the head of the pivot bolt is wearing into the axle casting. On the opposite side the axle is wearing against the bracket. There are no flat washers on the pivot bolt to provide some wear points. There is about 1/4" of clearance between the brackets and the axle so there is plenty of room to install a couple washers.

Has anyone added washers to their pivot bolts?

 

[94BULLITT]

If you add washers you may want to use something soft like copper or aluminum. Something like an oil drain plug gasket would work.

 

[twisted_pair]

If you add washers you may want to use something soft like copper or aluminum. Something like an oil drain plug gasket would work.

I could not find anything other than flat steel washers and the snow was piling up! I replaced the seals and put a washer on each side.. well ****.. the power steering cylinder is right against the front axle bracket and now the head of the pivot bolt was sticking out a bit. So I found some 1/2" fender washers and drilled them out to 13/16" which fit nicely on the metric pivot bolt. I still had to grind the top of the pivot bolt down so it was flush with the bracket to accommodate the power steering cylinder.

The first washers were 0.15" thick while the fender washers were ~0.050 thick. We shall see how it works. At least it should reduce the wear on the axle housing a bit.

 

[msb1766]

You can get copper and aluminum crush washers at an auto parts store they will be near the oil and filters.
Or on Amazon:
Amazon.com: copper crush washer

 

[twisted_pair]

You can get copper and aluminum crush washers at an auto parts store they will be near the oil and filters.
Or on Amazon:
Amazon.com: copper crush washer

Actually I don't think I want something soft, I'm trying to lessen the wear on the axle housing. The head of the pivot bolt is milled flat on each side making a flattened oval shape. The head slides through the front axle mounting bracket and bears directly on the axle housing, (see my photo above, it is shot looking at the axle from the front.) The flattened portion of the head is milled down to the diameter of the bolt leaving only the rounded sides of the head to wear against the axle. I don't think anything soft will last.

The pivot bolt tightens against the rear side mounting bracket pulling the axle against that bracket and a wear point there as well. (15ftlbs is the spec I found) Any flexing of the rear mounting bracket causes the pivot bolt head to slide in and out of the front mounting bracket.

Hopefully this helps and my axle leak is gone.

Thanks

 

[check]

My BX25 right front axle is leaking as well. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[twisted_pair]

My BX25 right front axle is leaking as well. Does anyone else have this problem?

I actually found more people with your problem than with the pivot bolt leak. There are several YouTube videos of guys fixing the problem you have. Just do a search on YouTube for them.

 

[twisted_pair]

I actually found more people with your problem than with the pivot bolt leak. There are several YouTube videos of guys fixing the problem you have. Just do a search on YouTube for them.

Update on my front axle pivot bolt oil leak.

I thought I had fixed it last winter with new seals and 80/90 weight oil. But as the summer came and the weather got warmer, it started leaking as bad as ever.

So about a month ago I pulled it apart again. I got a couple of new seals and a set of bushings. The new bushings seemed to have more play than the old ones so I left the originals. I measured the o-ring seals OD while on the pivot bolt vs the ID where they sit in the axle. I measured about 0.010 difference, so not much seal "squeeze" there and there was alot of lateral space in there. Enough that I could put 2 seals side by side. I reduced the size of the plastic retainer and it fit perfectly in the shoulder.

So far, no leaks after a month and it sits in a heated shop.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

At how many hours did this occur? I have 1500 hard hours on mine, a lot on rough terrain with max loads, and no play or leaks in that joint. What does the WSM say? Mine is still boxed up from my move.

Ron

 

[twisted_pair]

It now has about 675hrs so maybe 575 hrs when it first started leaking.