Front wheel bearings failed L5740

[Complete Turf Care]

Yesterday, I was loading sod with my front end loader and I could hear and feel a chatter. Suddenly, it got a lot worse and the left front wheel locked up. It would not roll at all.

When I looked at it, oil was pouring out.

Turns out the bearing failed. It must have been bad for a while, because there is quiet a bit of damage in there. Of course none of the local dealers have any of the parts in stock, and everyone is closed for the holiday Monday.

My point is.....check your front wheel bearings. I never had any indication that it was going bad. Everything has been greased regularly, and there was plenty of oil. I have put a lot of hours on it this spring, but had I noticed it earlier, there would have been a lot less damage.

I'll try to get pictures of everything tomorrow.

 

[SweBota]

What was the apprx FEL load and how much counterweight did you have in the 3pth ?

Br / Marcus

 

[Complete Turf Care]

What was the apprx FEL load and how much counterweight did you have in the 3pth ?

Br / Marcus

I would say the load on the FEL is about 700-800 lbs. I was on the 4th roll of sod for the day. I had to run back to my shop and get my New Holland TC45A to load the other 24 rolls. And I have my tiller on the 3ph which I would estimate to be about 1000-1200 lbs.

But, I don't think that had anything to do with the failure. It looks like the bearing had been bad for a while, but I had never noticed it. I've been using the tiller a lot lately, and my laser grading blade. Not much use of the FEL lately.

 

[KenB2920]

How many hours do you have on your machine?

 

[wmonroe]

The bearings isn't great able is it? I grease the fitting on the top of the spindle but I thought that was for the upper ball joint and the wheel bearing was either an oil bath or a sealed unit.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

How many hours do you have on your machine?

About 540. It's a 2011 machine that I bought about a year ago with about 275 hours on it.

 

[KenB2920]

About 540. It's a 2011 machine that I bought about a year ago with about 275 hours on it.

Wow, that is real low hours to have such an issue.

If you fix it yourself, please take photos of the repair. I'm also curious on the bill for this one. Thanks for posting this.

 

[MHarryE]

My L5740 failed in January but gave me warning. One day after plowing snow I noticed the left front was wet. I thought it was just that I had been working hard and it was snow melting. Next time I plowed I checked it and found the left to be wetter yet. This time I engaged my brain after putting the tractor in the garage, raised the front end using the loader and sure enough there was free play in the wheel. I had my dealer ship me both bearings and the seal. When I took it apart I found the retainer broken but the balls and races still looking good. There was light rubbing from the drive gear hitting the case. New bearings, seal, and oil and it's running fine. Having read about the number of people having front bearing failures makes me wonder if I should keep a spare set. Cost was about $90 plus shipping. That included a new o-ring housing seal. My tractor had 650 hours at failure.

 

[5030]

Koyo bearings too, not some off brand. Glad I have a large frame under my loader. That looks to be possibly expensive if it completely failed.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

There is a good bit of scars on the shaft where the bearing sits, and my mechanic (my brother) thinks that the new bearing will not seat on the old shaft, so I'll order a new shaft. Also, you can see the retaining ring is broken. I'll get pics of the gear later today. I'm thinking this is going to end up around $1000.