Broke the new Deere

[sd455dan]

No word yet? My bet is the rear u-joint worked forward, fell off, and since the shaft spins with the front wheels, it caught in the mower, stopped the front wheels until the input shaft snapped. Then you were home free except for missing FWD. that痴 why your drive shaft looks like a pretzel. Should be no problem at the rear unless the splines on the shaft show wear. Replace the front pinion, driveshaft, repair mower drive, and away you go.

MHarryE
That sounds plausible to, It would have been telling to see how tightly the front pinion splined shaft is clamped and also how far into the female end the splined piece of pinion actually is.

After looking at the pics again , It does appear the driveline may have been almost all the way forward and snapped the pinion almost flush with the diff housing and almost flush with the end of the clamp.

But I still have a problem with a missing cap. I guess it is possible the u joint hit with enough force once the driveline was free of the rear splines to have impacted hard enough to knock a cap out.

 

[searcyfarms]

they just called and asked if they could deliver it after their driver gets back from lunch - replaced front pinion shaft/ring gear matched set, set gear lash, replaced drive shaft, replaced two deck pulleys and brackets that were bent by driveshaft coming off, replaced engine oil/filter ( i had purchased that when new and sent with driver/hauler ) for its first oil change. They didn't charge me for the oil/filter change ;-) they also changed the oil in the front diff obviously since they had to tear it down. No noises observed, no whines, no clunks, no grinds, no squeals, diagnosis seems to be same that the ujoint either failed or not installed right and came apart resulting in the shaft coming loose from the rear drive shaft. The splines were not damaged to any degree on the transmission shaft and the new driveshaft slid on fine so it did not need replaced. I will watch for any leaks/noises.

 

[searcyfarms]

i suppose its possible it could have whacked something on the deck and slung the cap off, when i get it back here in a bit i will check the deck and see if there are any significant marks on it it looked like the pulleys/brackets took the brunt of things.

 

[Molalla1]

they just called and asked if they could deliver it after their driver gets back from lunch - replaced front pinion shaft/ring gear matched set, set gear lash, replaced drive shaft, replaced two deck pulleys and brackets that were bent by driveshaft coming off, replaced engine oil/filter ( i had purchased that when new and sent with driver/hauler ) for its first oil change. They didn't charge me for the oil/filter change ;-) they also changed the oil in the front diff obviously since they had to tear it down. No noises observed, no whines, no clunks, no grinds, no squeals, diagnosis seems to be same that the ujoint either failed or not installed right and came apart resulting in the shaft coming loose from the rear drive shaft. The splines were not damaged to any degree on the transmission shaft and the new driveshaft slid on fine so it did not need replaced. I will watch for any leaks/noises.

Good deal . . . all fixed up and ready to rock and roll . . . :thumbsup:

 

[searcyfarms]

mowed with it for about 20 mins, seems fine no unusual noises or anything

 

[ruffdog]

mowed with it for about 20 mins, seems fine no unusual noises or anything

Very good! Enjoy it!

 

[sd455dan]

Outstanding, That was some impressively fast service from the dealer also :thumbsup:

 

[ovrszd]

Awesome. Very lucky.

Still don't understand the engine laboring and whine just beforre destruction.

Maybe you should road it to your neighbors and back?

 

[hawkeye08]

Run it down to the neighbors at full speed and back a time or two, get over the PTSD you have making that trip.. Remember to buckle up for safety. Glad you got it fixed.

 

[Molalla1]

Run it down to the neighbors at full speed and back a time or two, get over the PTSD you have making that trip.. Remember to buckle up for safety. Glad you got it fixed.

Warm it up !! . . .

 

[Jstpssng]

they just called and asked if they could deliver it after their driver gets back from lunch - replaced front pinion shaft/ring gear matched set, set gear lash, replaced drive shaft, replaced two deck pulleys and brackets that were bent by driveshaft coming off, replaced engine oil/filter ( i had purchased that when new and sent with driver/hauler ) for its first oil change. They didn't charge me for the oil/filter change ;-) they also changed the oil in the front diff obviously since they had to tear it down. No noises observed, no whines, no clunks, no grinds, no squeals, diagnosis seems to be same that the ujoint either failed or not installed right and came apart resulting in the shaft coming loose from the rear drive shaft. The splines were not damaged to any degree on the transmission shaft and the new driveshaft slid on fine so it did not need replaced. I will watch for any leaks/noises.

It sounds like they took good care of you... and makes you wonder how it would have turned out had you gone in there all pi**ed off, ranting and raving the way that some of us might have done in our younger days.
Probably the repairs would have been the same... the difference is that you are welcome to return there.

It's good to hear that things have worked the way you would expect from a John Deere product.

 

[searcyfarms]

update - i ran it down the road to the neighbors about 3/4 throttle, nothing happened, no noises, mowed for about an hour with it to catch up on the yard in spots i had been push mowing wshooooooo - but boy a push mower does a fine job - i need the exercise of course - I didnt say anything while i was mowing and my wife says boy what did they do to it , it sounds a lot quieter - i thought it was but didnt want to predispose her perspective because she has mowed with it more than i have and so has my daughter. Anyway, it seems to be working great and quieter than it used to be. So far so good and I think it will be fine.

It was nice of them to not charge me for my oil change as well. I am grateful for their work and way they treat me.

R

 

[MHarryE]

update - i ran it down the road to the neighbors about 3/4 throttle, nothing happened, no noises, mowed for about an hour with it to catch up on the yard in spots i had been push mowing wshooooooo - but boy a push mower does a fine job - i need the exercise of course - I didnt say anything while i was mowing and my wife says boy what did they do to it , it sounds a lot quieter - i thought it was but didnt want to predispose her perspective because she has mowed with it more than i have and so has my daughter. Anyway, it seems to be working great and quieter than it used to be. So far so good and I think it will be fine.

It was nice of them to not charge me for my oil change as well. I am grateful for their work and way they treat me.

R

Glad it’s resolved. Bad things can happen and it’s how the dealer and company take care of you when they happen that counts. I still have an internal video from Deere many years ago where the CEO talked with the employees about the cost of poor quality - that Deere does not let their customers suffer for Deere’s mistakes, the reason for their reputation.

 

[Doofy]

Impressive Dealer, to be sure. Glad your tractor is home and all is well.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Thanks to the OP for the follow through and updates on the problem until it was resolved.

 

[wmonroe]

Sounds like you have a good dealer that took good care of you. Now time to use and enjoy that tractor.

 

[goeduck]

Great news !

 

[searcyfarms]

Well nutz............that didnt last long, I went to back the deere/mower out of the shop today to move it out of the way and heard a klunk so stopped - here was a brass bushing and spacer sitting on the concrete floor i noticed the deck was ALL the way down hmmmmm - so l look under the tractor and the lift motor/gear assembly was busted I looked at the outside of the case of the lift motor and it appears it might have been whacked by the drive shaft when it came apart - i would guess it was fractured/cracked it looks like cast aluminum casing around the lift unit so back to the shop it will go - bummer

 

[goeduck]

Oh no!

 

[searcyfarms]

yea but on a happy note, it will be there while i am on vacation !!!!