3-Point Hitch 336D with GREASE in the front axle. What should I check for?

[777funk]

I just picked up my first Yanmar, a 336D and before I purchased, I checked the axle oil and it's grease. I assume it leaked and the owner decided to just grease them instead of using oil that would leak out. Will this cause damage? as far as I can tell it drives just fine. I will probably flush it out, get new seals and add oil.

Also, How do I tell if the 4wd is working? I think it's a lever on the left. I don't really feel or hear anything when I flip it.

 

[rScotty]

I just picked up my first Yanmar, a 336D and before I purchased, I checked the axle oil and it's grease. I assume it leaked and the owner decided to just grease them instead of using oil that would leak out. Will this cause damage? as far as I can tell it drives just fine. I will probably flush it out, get new seals and add oil.

Also, How do I tell if the 4wd is working? I think it's a lever on the left. I don't really feel or hear anything when I flip it.

The YM336D has got to be one of the best small tractors ever designed. They sold a lot of them back in the day. And those sales were in spite of Yanmar - and particularly the 336 - being quite a bit more expensive that the competition. I hope you got the matching loader as well.

Yes, filling that front end with grease is a common trick to cover up for a leaky axle seal on a lot of early Yanmars. I doubt it will hurt anywhere that gets grease, but it may hurt where the grease can't get. All those original Yanmar front axles are essentially the same, so if you look at an exploded diagram of any of them you can see that the axle can be divided into the center section that carries the differential and the outer ends where the tower bevel gears and wheel mounting stub axles live.

The problem with the grease is that those outer gears and axles are designed to be lubricated by oil which gets from the center section out to the axle ends by passing through the unshielded bearing spaces which separate those outer areas from the inner section of the axle where the oil is added. Grease is too thick to flow through those bearing spaces. Hopefully there was still still some oil out there, and of course most of us use 4wd only rarely anyway.

That's interesting about not being able to tell if it is in 4wd. I converted our old YM336D to turf tires and in the process matched the tire sizes so perfectly that not only could I not tell if it was in 4wd, it could be shifted into and out of 4wd on the fly. I finally put a spring on the lever, because a bumpy road would shift the 4wd lever just from it's own weight.
And I don't know a real good test for whether it is in 4wd or not. I would usually push the loader down enough to raise the front end and then see if the front wheels were rotatiing as I drove forward sliding on the bucket. But there has to be a better way. Someone here is bound to know.
rScotty

 

[777funk]

No loader unfortunately... really would like one! This was a good enough deal and runs and drives that I was happy to have it vs the 8N I almost bought for around the same price. I don't really want (or have time) to take those axles apart, but I probably better sooner than later. I'm a little afraid of what I will find.

 

[California]

...And I don't know a real good test for whether it is in 4wd or not.

Maybe a very sharp turn on soft ground with one brake locked will cause the outer front tire to dig cleat marks into the soil if in 4wd, but not if in 2wd.

I make enough marks like that in the yard that I really should shift to 2wd when I get back to the house.

(In a sharp turn that outer tire has to go a much longer path than the other 3 tires so there has to be some slip there or at some other tire).

 

[winston1]

If you jack up one front wheel, engage the 4 wheel drive, then you should not be able to turn that front wheel. Disengage 4 wheel drive and you should be able to turn that front wheel.

 

[rScotty]

No loader unfortunately... really would like one! This was a good enough deal and runs and drives that I was happy to have it vs the 8N I almost bought for around the same price. I don't really want (or have time) to take those axles apart, but I probably better sooner than later. I'm a little afraid of what I will find.

Well, if you like the 8N you are going to love the 336D. Both are classics, but the 336 has about the same capability but with the big tractor features that the 8N lacked. Real power steering, power shift, big hydraulics, 4wd, creeper gears.... and built to the highest standard of quality.
I'd put some oil into the front axle and put up with the leaking for now. Replace the spin on hydraulic filter and clean out the cleanable sump filter. Cover the steering wheel, gas gauge, and the shifters with a tarp against rain.
Matching implements and the loader when you find them.
You were lucky to find one.
rScotty.

 

[FleetMan]

If you want a lubricant heavier than gear oil but more fluid than chassis grease, consider a semi-fluid grease like Mobil SHC 007.. Many truck operators use it in place of gear oil. It does “flow” to some extent and does not leak through the seals and contaminate the brake shoes.

 

[Jtullis13]

If you jack up one front wheel, engage the 4 wheel drive, then you should not be able to turn that front wheel. Disengage 4 wheel drive and you should be able to turn that front wheel.

You beat me to this Winston.