Front Axle Sludge

[htiek126]

I am rebuilding the front axle on a Hinomoto E2004 that is full of wet sludge on one side, and full of dry caked sluge on the other side. Where did that mud like substance come from? I find it hard to believe that much mud got past the seals, and I have found no evidence of corrosion inside the axle. And more importantly, is there an easy way to clean the dry stuff off of the gears? I scraped the big stuff off with a small file, but there is still a thin spotty layer most everywhere.

 

[normde2001]

That sounds like a job for "Gunk" and a paintbrush.

 

[jimstractors]

From what I understand, some of these tractors sit in flooded rice fields for weeks at a time. Anything is possible if held underwater for that long. I had one Yanmar 1702d I bought, that the axle was almost dry. When I removed the filler plug, a lot of air came out-- the axle was under pressure. When I filled it with gear oil, it started leaking after about an hour of use. Figure that one out with an airtight axle???
Jim

 

[EFC]

It was used in a rice patty and the front axel was under water. Muddy water gets into everything. A good amount of the greys look just like yours inside. I have torn way to many front axels open that had nice clean gear oil in them just to find out that they were packed full of some very dense hard mud.

 

[htiek126]

That is a very good point. I drained the one side, and a fair amount of mud came out. Then I took it apart, and there was many more times more mud sitting inside the axle. I do not think you could ever flush that axle clean without taking it apart...