Did I break my little XJ?

[jdom84]

We got 16" of snow on top of existing 12" and the temperature has been around -10°f to 3°f for the last 3 days. I was out pushing some snow, making a path to my skids of firewood which I store all the way on the other side of the property because of rodent issues. well... about halfway, the snow got deeper and the tractor was having a hard time pushing it. With the diff lock in, 4 wheel assist engaged and going in reverse, both front wheels stopped spinning completely. Normally the HST will go into relief at this point but the back tires where still spinning. The entire tractor started bucking but the front wheels were still stopped. There was no grinding, popping or cracking sounds, just the shaking of the tractor.

I stopped trying to push so much snow and started to taking layers off. The tractor worked fine, the front diff would allow one or both front wheels to spin in both forward and reverse and both never stopped. There were times when the tractor would stop completely but the wheels didnt. I finished up my path got some firewood and headed back to the garage. After dumping off the wood, I backed up to a snow pile and dropped the blade, continued to reverse until the front wheels stopped and the tractor started shaking. Its really hard to get it to stop spinning just the front wheels, usually it goes into relief or the tractor just spins out on the snow.

What could this be?

 

[3Lfarms]

I am not sure why it would shake.
Did it make a loud clicking or popping noise when the front wheels stopped turning?

 

[jdom84]

I am not sure why it would shake.
Did it make a loud clicking or popping noise when the front wheels stopped turning?

nope, the thought of it being a gear shredding teeth was my first reaction but no weird noises. just the shaking. Im getting my garage cleaned up so I can pull it in and take a look and drain some fluid.

 

[tomplum]

Fingers crossed for you Mr Rig! If you need a pic from the service manual, let me know and I will try and hunt it up. You have a dealer semi near you?

 

[Avenger]

Can you post a quick video of it so we can see what is going on?

 

[jdom84]

Fingers crossed for you Mr Rig! If you need a pic from the service manual, let me know and I will try and hunt it up. You have a dealer semi near you?

I need to quit being a cheap *** as buy the manual! dealer is 1.5 hours away, he just orders what I need and I put it on, which reminds me he has some parts I need to pick.

Can you post a quick video of it so we can see what is going on?

Its to bad I wasnt recording video... because I would have really liked to see it also. It wasnt very easy to get it to happen either.



So I think I figured it out.... Im not even sure if this is possible but it appears the rim has spun in the tire. with it being -10 this morning, I woke up to my neighbor digging out his high centered truck after pulling out of his garage. I fired up the tractor and moved a bunch of snow for him and then went and parked the tractor. Few hours later I plowed my path to the wood and when returning to my driveway I noticed a blue "windshield washer fluid" spot in the snow... figured I punctured a tire. Just a bit ago, I pulled the tractor into the garage and noticed blue fluid in the snow of the other tire. got to looking at the tire closer and noticed there is bits of shredded rubber along the rim of both front tires.

I have not put a PSI gauge on them but Im guessing the subzero cold has dropped the pressure to almost nothing, allowing the rims to spin in the tire. Had no idea that could even happen... if thats what happened

 

[s219]

Yeah, that is fairly common thing to read about on the forums here. Sounds like the right explanation given all the evidence.

 

[ruffdog]

I cant believe it would be worth the trouble putting ballast in tires that small. If the tires are damaged and they wont hold air, pull the tires and get them dry, put a light coat of 100% silicone caulk between the wheel and tire, and inflate before it dries.

 

[jdom84]

I cant believe it would be worth the trouble putting ballast in tires that small. If the tires are damaged and they wont hold air, pull the tires and get them dry, put a light coat of 100% silicone caulk between the wheel and tire, and inflate before it dries.

yeah, not much extra weight in the 12 gallons but every bit adds up... eventually. Wasnt about to return the extra from filling the rears so I just filled the fronts. They seem to be holding air for now... but they are forecasting more snow and more sub zero temps... -19f

Thanks for the silicone trick, Ill keep it in mind.

 

[Doofy]

yeah, not much extra weight in the 12 gallons but every bit adds up... eventually. Wasnt about to return the extra from filling the rears so I just filled the fronts. They seem to be holding air for now... but they are forecasting more snow and more sub zero temps... -19f

Thanks for the silicone trick, Ill keep it in mind.

Good Lord man, move to Alaska! We are not that cold and there is no snow in our forecasts.