Front Driveshaft Rubbing on Frame Bolt ???

[splotkin]

I was pulling my tractor out of the shed and my 6 year old daughter pointed to the left front tire and said the bottom was flat.

I raised the front tires off the ground with the loader bucket to see were the leak was. To be able to see better I pulled the tire off the ground on the left side and as the front axle pivoted, I noticed that the drive shaft was rubbing on the frame bolt.

I knew there was a worn groove in the drive shaft and there was a bolt on the frame which was also worn down. I showed this to the Kubota Mechanic last week when he changed out the fuel tank sending unit under warranty. He first looked at the mower deck to see if it was rubbing anywhere but all looked OK.

His comment was he had seen round rocks get stuck between the frame and front drive shaft and tumble around causing the wear I saw.

I was a bit Leary about the explanation but had nothing better to explain it.

Now that the axle was off the ground and fully pivoted up toward the frame on the right side, it was obvious what happened. To be truthful, when the tractor was on the ground it did not look like it was possible for the drive shaft to contact the frame bolt.

My question is? Has anyone else seen this and why is the axle able to pivot this much to cause the interference? Is there a stop that is missing or out of adjustment? There is a bit of a groove in the drive shaft as you can see in the pictures. Do you think it should be replaced? Is this a warranty issue? Also, you can see a picture of my little helper in the background.

Any ideas about what I should do next would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[kevinj]

I was pulling my tractor out of the shed and my 6 year old daughter pointed to the left front tire and said the bottom was flat.

I raised the front tires off the ground with the loader bucket to see were the leak was. To be able to see better I pulled the tire off the ground on the left side and as the front axle pivoted, I noticed that the drive shaft was rubbing on the frame bolt.

I knew there was a worn groove in the drive shaft and there was a bolt on the frame which was also worn down. I showed this to the Kubota Mechanic last week when he changed out the fuel tank sending unit under warranty. He first looked at the mower deck to see if it was rubbing anywhere but all looked OK.

His comment was he had seen round rocks get stuck between the frame and front drive shaft and tumble around causing the wear I saw.

I was a bit Leary about the explanation but had nothing better to explain it.

Now that the axle was off the ground and fully pivoted up toward the frame on the right side, it was obvious what happened. To be truthful, when the tractor was on the ground it did not look like it was possible for the drive shaft to contact the frame bolt.

My question is? Has anyone else seen this and why is the axle able to pivot this much to cause the interference? Is there a stop that is missing or out of adjustment? There is a bit of a groove in the drive shaft as you can see in the pictures. Do you think it should be replaced? Is this a warranty issue? Also, you can see a picture of my little helper in the background.

Any ideas about what I should do next would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Scott

If that bolt is from a loader bracket, it is in backwards. One bolt on the loader frame has the threads out for clearance as I recall.

 

[wushaw]

You could ask your dealer to fix it under warranty if it is or if they were the ones to do the FEL install. That bolt is installed backwards.
If not then turn bolt around and keep running it if you feel ok with it or replace drive shaft if you want.

 

[kevinj]

That bolt is installed backwards.
If not then turn bolt around and keep running it if you feel ok with it or replace drive shaft if you want.

I looked at my manual, it clearly says to install threads out to avoid drive line interference. Your dealer messed up.