2006 4320 front wheel seals leaking

[logcabin]

What are the odds? The left front tire where you drain the front axel fluid, I noticed a fluid leak. Brownish colored on the snow. Tractor hadn't moved in a few days. The day before there was nothing on the ground. Well ok, must be a seal under the housing. Next day there was a lot bigger spot. Two days after the left side, on the right side was the same thing!! Tractor still had not moved! 18 years old both front sides leaking within a couple of days apart. Anyone seen anything like this?

 

[super55]

It's pretty common on JD. The front axle isn't vented which can create issues. The bottom plug is just pressed in and sometimes pressure changes can cause it to start leaking. Also if there is water in the fluid it typically will eventually settle to the bottom of the front axle as shown in the pic. If it freezes it has the ability to push out the plug.

On my 4400 after snowblowing the next day I had the cap laying right on the ground along with a puddle of gear lube. Only thing I could think of was that I had water at the bottom of the axle because I vented my check plug. Now every year before winter I will go and remove the drain plugs on each side just to confirm that the gear lube isn't contaminated.

 

[logcabin]

Your explanation makes perfect sense. In your case the press in plug pushed out. My fluid isn't coming from the drain plug, rather the bottom of the housing on each side. If you look real close you can see a slight stream of the fluid. I have not crawled underneath to look at the housing. I am thinking there is a snap ring there. I will verify later for certain. There must be a seal of some sort under that housing possibly?

 

[super55]

That bottom cap is just beveled with a thin rubber gasket around it and held in place by friction. Sometimes they will slightly work their way out and can be tapped in lightly with a brass punch. I have 3 tractors that all have that same setup and I know two of my tractors instead of replacing that bottom cap I just cleaned it up real good with brake cleaner and applied a silicone or gasket maker over the top and it resolved the issue instead of removing and replacing. They can be tricky to install sometimes because they are so big they don't want to go in straight.

 

[5030]

Isn't there an aftermarket supplier than offers a vented fill cap with a hose you attach to the frame rail?

 

[super55]

Isn't there an aftermarket supplier than offers a vented fill cap with a hose you attach to the frame rail?

They do. I actually vented mine myself. I just drilled a hole in the plastic fill plug. In the middle of the fill plug there's an indentation. I just drilled a 1/16 hole in it at an angle it works for me. Eventually I might buy some of those vented fill plugs but they are kind of pricey for what they are but are definitely worth it to keep you axle seals from blowing out and leaking.

 

[5030]

Go to a hardware or box store and buy yourself a threaded brass hose barb and screw it in the drilled plug, add a length of aquarium hose and you are in business for about 4 bucks.

 

[oldtimer 66]

I have a 4320 compact JD with the MFWD. The parts list for the front axle shows a breather,

42 -Breather, Oil Breather Plug​

Part Number
SU52604
Qty Req
1
I haven't looked at my front axle to verify yet. But I thing it is probably there.

I also looked at the 4300 and the 4310. I could not find a front axle breather on those models. Strange eh!

 

[beenthere]

Might be the breather was found to be a good upgrade on the 4320 axle after seals leaking without a breather.

 

[logcabin]

It's pretty common on JD. The front axle isn't vented which can create issues. The bottom plug is just pressed in and sometimes pressure changes can cause it to start leaking. Also if there is water in the fluid it typically will eventually settle to the bottom of the front axle as shown in the pic. If it freezes it has the ability to push out the plug.

On my 4400 after snowblowing the next day I had the cap laying right on the ground along with a puddle of gear lube. Only thing I could think of was that I had water at the bottom of the axle because I vented my check plug. Now every year before winter I will go and remove the drain plugs on each side just to confirm that the gear lube isn't contaminated.

That bottom cap is just beveled with a thin rubber gasket around it and held in place by friction. Sometimes they will slightly work their way out and can be tapped in lightly with a brass punch. I have 3 tractors that all have that same setup and I know two of my tractors instead of replacing that bottom cap I just cleaned it up real good with brake cleaner and applied a silicone or gasket maker over the top and it resolved the issue instead of removing and replacing. They can be tricky to install sometimes because they are so big they don't want to go in straight.