Broken bolt

[Spud68]

This is my first post, but I've been lurking a long time. I really appreciate the expert advise and help you guys provide.

I would really appreciate any assistance anyone can provide.

Yesterday I was greasing up the Brand new MX5200 tractor (70 hrs) I bought to clear 50 acres of cut-over land. While greasing the left front knuckle, the bolt holding the top cap on sheared off??? I hope you all can picture what that is. Its the grease fitting just inside the tire on top of the knuckle. I'll try to find a pic later.

So I have 2 questions....

1. how could a few zirks of the grease gun shear the bolt? could it have been over torqued during install? or did I do something wrong? I was taught to grease all the fitting every 10 hours or so. I'm just trying to figure out why so I don't do it again.

2. Is there anything special I need to look for when replacing the bolt? tips/tricks?

Sorry for the rambling but I would have never expected the bolt to shear just from the grease gun?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Teddy

 

[aczlan]

Can you post a picture? It should not be possible to break it with just greasing it.
I would extract the broken bolt and replace it with a new one.
If you aren't comfortable doing that, your dealer should cover it under warranty.

Aaron Z

 

[s219]

Picture would help for sure -- I am not sure what you're describing. Is it the zerk itself that broke off? If so, no big deal. It may have gotten whacked with something and you didn't discover it was broke until you were doing a periodic greasing and the pressure pushed it off.

If you are working in the woods or doing land clearing, that can take a toll on a tractor. Lots of little things that can take a beating from sticks and slash laying around. I bet most of the tractor damage I read about here on TBN is from sticks poking themselves into something vulnerable on the lower half of the tractor.

 

[Spud68]

You guys are AWSOME! I wouldn't have thought it was possible either???? I'll try to attach the pic here.

1. the white circle is the horizontal bolt that sheared off. the arrow points to the zirk used to grease the knuckle.

I dont have a problem extracting the bolt and replacing. are there any tricks/tips in the procedure? It looks straight forward only 2 bolts.

Thanks again!
Teddy

 

[GMIslander]

warranty

 

[EddieWalker]

warranty

I agree. That's not a bolt that should ever give you problems.

 

[aczlan]

I agree. That's not a bolt that should ever give you problems.

Yep. I would want them to replace the other bolt as well. That way it is on the record in case there is a problem with that joint down the road.

Aaron Z

 

[Spud68]

Thanks for all the help! I agree, I will be calling the dealer as soon as they open Monday. We'll see how they respond. I still cant believe it broke so easily, I just hate to have it out of commission for that long.

Teddy

 

[bdhsfz6]

Did the grease zerk actually break off or did it just pop out of the threaded hole? I've had zerks pop out if they aren't tightened properly. A grease gun exerts a lot of pressure.
I agree with the others who recommend contacting the dealer in case of future warranty issues. If you do decide to do it yourself, it should be an easy job to remove the broken zerk with an E Z out. Use the correct size replacement zerk and make sure the threads in the hole aren't damaged.

 

[aczlan]

Did the grease zerk actually break off or did it just pop out of the threaded hole? I've had zerks pop out if they aren't tightened properly. A grease gun exerts a lot of pressure.
I agree with the others who recommend contacting the dealer in case of future warranty issues. If you do decide to do it yourself, it should be an easy job to remove the broken zerk with an E Z out. Use the correct size replacement zerk and make sure the threads in the hole aren't damaged.

The bolt broke when he was greasing the axle. The zerk is fine.

Aaron Z

 

[Spud68]

Yeah, Sorry for the delay, the Zerk is good it was the bolt holding the knuckle end cap to the hub I believe. Its a big bolt so I'm thinking it was over torqued and had a crack, or just a weak part?

Teddy

 

[Code54]

Guessing a bad bolt also - cheap fix but one worth recording with the dealer just in case.
Been running a MX5100 since 2012 and it has been great - hopefully just a little hassle, most likely you want have any further issues.
Welcome and ENJOY YOUR NEW MACHINE!!!!

 

[Spud68]

Man I love the tractor! Of course I wish had gotten a bigger one but realistically after I get the brush cleared off and have a dozer level the stumps the 5200 should be more than enough to play around with in my retirement in 10 years.

Teddy

 

[SandburRanch]

The scary part is we are driving at turnpike speeds with that same bolt quality. Possibly flying with that same quality hardware too.

 

[oosik]

Hard to believe you somehow broke the head off that bolt without causing damage to the steering arm. Could it have been that way when you got the tractor? I agree - replace this bolt on each side. Check it each time you grease the tractor.

 

[dragoneggs]

I'm guessing over-torqued from factory. Any pics of the failure?

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

Just pondering this... don't know anything about those particular mechanicals...

Is it possible for that bolt to be completely snapped and just sit there until some grease pressure pushed the broken part out? Maybe even held in place by paint? Is there enough other stuff holding things together that a broken bolt wouldn't have shown itself immediately somehow? Wheel falling off...

Z.

 

[ovrszd]

Grease has nothing to do with that bolt shearing. Look at his picture carefully. He has an arrow pointing at the grease zerk. If that joint is over greased it will simply squish out around the bottom edge of the cap. I grease mine until it does.

The large bolt that he circled is the one that is broken. That is a very serious breakdown. The tractor should not be used again until that's repaired. By used I mean don't drive it at all. Tomorrow morning you need to call your dealer or visit them with pictures. They will have to service the tractor where it's sitting.

 

[Deere Dude]

I agree, should be warrantied. However, if the bolt is easy to take out and replace I would just ask the dealer for a new one just so you wouldn't have to take the tractor in.

 

[ovrszd]

I agree, should be warrantied. However, if the bolt is easy to take out and replace I would just ask the dealer for a new one just so you wouldn't have to take the tractor in.

When I bought my Kubota new I paid a premium price for warranty coverage to get thru assembly errors just like this.

So the OP replaces the bolt himself and then tomorrow when he's running it the hub gear assembly eats itself. He calls the dealer. They come get the tractor for repair. Few hours later his phone rings and it's the dealer telling him it's not covered because he had tampered with it.........

I know,,,,, sounds ridiculous right???

No reason for the OP to take his tractor anywhere. Let the dealer do a warranty service call since the tractor obviously shouldn't be moved. And if it MUST be moved, let it be by the dealer's employees, not the OP.