2210 Plastic Hydrostatic Cooling Fan Replacement

mhalla · Jan 7, 2006

I should have known better and taken the time to build a guard or skid plate... but while using my new LX4 rotary cutter for the first time today a stick went up under the tractor and tore the blades off the plastic cooling fan for the hydrostatic transmission.

It has been three years since I bought the tractor so I guess I went longer than most before tearing up the fan.

It looks like it requires completely removing the hydrostatic transmission from the tractor in order to replace the fan according to what I saw in the technical manual.

I still can't believe JD engineers came up with a such a vulnerable means for cooling the hydrostatic transmission. I understand it is much less costly to replace the similarly used fan on a Kubota BX2200.

Any good news out there about a redesigned replacement fan that can be installed without splitting the tractor?

Anyone added a hydraulic cooler up front of the radiator on their 2210 using parts from a 4010 for example?

Mike

GregAndSon · Jan 7, 2006

This is a "for what it is worth" but when the mechanic was putting our tractor together a year ago, and I could not wait to get it and would stop by, he told me to watch out for the plastic blade. He said that he had to replace two of them for people who used brush hogs. He also said that the first one he tore the tractor apart, just like you are talking about. On the second, he said he looked at the blade and thought he could cut the blade into halfs and then glue it into place. He said that it had worked for some time like this but I did not think to ask how long some time was. It did however encourage me to make a protector to hang under mine when the mower deck is not installed.

mhalla · Jan 7, 2006

( On the second, he said he looked at the blade and thought he could cut the blade into halfs and then glue it into place.)

You may be on to something here with the idea of sawing the fan into two parts. The fan bolts on with four bolts so each half of the cut fan would have two bolts holding it on. The fan however has seven blades so the arrangement of the seven blades and four bolt holes may be such that the cuts through the fan may not be in a straight line.

Certainly worth trying. I would just as soon take a chance on wasting $21 for a new fan by cutting it in half than spend $50 to have the tractor hauled to the dealer along with the additional labor cost to replace the fan by removing the transmission.

I'm assuming you have to slide the transmission out the rear of the tractor frame but maybe the master driveshaft can be removed without removing the transmission?????

Mike

megotatractor · Jan 8, 2006

I wondered too if anyone had mounted a cooler near the radiator? and why Deere didn't?

mhalla · Jan 8, 2006

Removed what was left of the fan by uncrewing the four bolts holding it in place followed by using the hot tip of a small soldering iron to melt through the plastic to make two pieces of what was left of the fan. I could have used a saw but with limited clearance I thought melting through the plastic to "cut" it would be easier.

It took just the right combinations of 10mm sockets, extensions, rachets, and bars to remove the four bolts. The challenge was getting the tools around the yoke of the universal joint on the main driveshaft. At times I had to cycle the starter to rotate the driveshaft to obtain better access to the bolts.

I thought about removing the operator's platform and work from above until I learned that doing so requires removing the ROPS, seat, fender, and pedals. More than I wanted to tackle.

Off to the dealer tomorrow to purchase a new fan and take the approach of cutting it in half to install it in two pieces. I'll use the remains of the old fan to experiment with a variety of glues and solvents to see what will join the plastic to itself.

I am still wondering if there is a way to remove the main driveshaft without removing the transmission????

The parts catalog shows a coupling on the engine side of the driveshaft. If that coupling can be removed while leaving the engine and transmission as is, it might be possible to pull the driveshaft off the transmission. I haven't seen the part on the tractor so I don't know if it is possible.

All the time I spent under the tractor this afternoon gave me some good ideas about fabricating and mounting a skid plate. One tore up fan is enough for me.

Mike

b1877 · Mar 27, 2006

Mike,
Any luck on replacing the fan, or any ideas on a better cooling method?
-Eric

mhalla · Mar 27, 2006

Eric,

I'll be getting around to replacing the fan soon. I have been using my time on weekends to tear down an old horse barn on my property. I needed to get the demolition done before the paper wasps started building their nests. Me and paper wasps don't get along well particularly when they are in a stinging mood!

I figured until the weather warmed up I was okay using the tractor without the transmission cooling fan replaced.

I'll write again to share my experience after replacing the fan using the "cut it in half method".

In preparation for replacing the fan I picked up a magnetic nut driver that is meant to be used with electric drills. There isn't a whole lot of clearance to remove or replace the four fan bolts. Using a socket with a universal and the right length extension worked to remove the bolts but getting them back on that way seemed like it would be a challenge when replacing the second half of the fan.

I plan to use the magnetic nut driver without the drill and turn it with an open end wrench. I believe that will solve my clearance issues and make reinstallation less frustrating. A short length of square steel bar stock stuck into a socket should work just like the nut driver. I went the nut driver route due to the higher cost of buying a much longer piece of steel than the 2 inches or so that I needed.

Mike

megotatractor · Mar 27, 2006

Cutting/bolting sounds better than tractor disassembly. How big a job would it be to move the engine instead of the tranny??

Hydraman · Mar 27, 2006

I put a pic on a while back about the guard that I built just for this purpose. It does interfere with the MMM, but it is easy to put on and take off. So when I am bushhogging or doing loader work or anything else-- it is up there. The pic that I posted was with it in place, so it is hard to see just exactly how it is built; but when I take it off to put on the MMM, I will then take some more pics so ya can see how it is built. Don

thatguy · Mar 27, 2006

I was at a local JD dealer last friday and was looking at a 2305 and 2210 he had on the yard.. BOTH tractors had a shield that was underneath the fan.. Did he add a shield to the 2210 or was I looking at the wrong shield? I thought the 2305 was the only one that had a fan shield

just wondering

brian