JD2210 upper driveshaft service/grease

[megotatractor]

Jim; Well, all I can say in my experience is "congratulations!" on greasing the u-joints at all! I don't know if your 2210 is different from mine but from underneath I can't even see my rear u joint!! I expect to either cut a hole in the rear platform as someone else did or just suck it up and dismantle the platform every year. After what I went through to replace the u-joint spider bearings last year, HOLY SH**! Lot of work in a 95 degree heat wave!

As to the vibration... you should probably operate above 1700 rpm anyway. I have 735 hours on my 2210 now and , well, it's a diesel. I had some rather noticeable vibration in the wheel as the ujoints were failing but that occured at higher rpms and more pronounced under a load. All I can say is I notice the diesel vibrations are less severe when the motor is warmed up.

 

[megotatractor]

I read somewhere on TBN that a Kubota unjoint would work on the JD driveshaft. I took a pic of the part number --#

37410-13722. And sells on Amazon for $33. Just curious if anyone has used this unjoint on the JD 2305 ?

Why would you use a Kubota u-joint when you can get a JD ujoint "spider" for the same price???? Apparently some JD dealers had trouble looking up the spider bearings for the driveshaft in the past and were telling guys they could only replace the entire driveshaft at $600 a pop so someone found that Kubota bearings were similar.

My dealer had no trouble looking up the bearings , sorry I don't have the part number handy , I beieve the price was competetive with Kubota bearing but are OEM . I wrote extensively about my joys of changing those spiders just because JD engineers had their heads up their butts when they made it IMPOSSIBLE to regularly lube the driveshaft bearings.

 

[Wvanatti]

I read on another post that they weren't able to change them and had to replace the whole shaft. Guess I should have researched it before I posted. I dropped my shaft a few months ago but was so happy to get it down, I didn't look at it much other than the wonderful grease coming out.... Your right. There has to be a better way. I've tried moving the zerk with a screw driver to gain better access - ground fittings and purchased 3 different types of needle adapters. No rhyme or reason for this design.

 

[megotatractor]

They thought they could get rich selling complete driveshafts???? Baffling, no thought to maintenance .

 

[jim2210]

megotatractor: Thanks for the info. I forgot about the vibrations until I took off the loader yesterday & they were still there. Also still became smooth after the RPMs were revved up. The only time I run below 1700+ is when I get off for a minute & set the idle down. You're right about keeping it above 1700, as where it's usually at anyways. I have to change the hydraulic fluid the next chance I get, so I'll give the u-joints another shot. I'll try to get some pics.

 

[megotatractor]

UPDATE; Now have 50 hours on my new spider bearings and spent some time this morning trying to access the zerks, here's the story. Cannot see/access front spider at all. Left side access plug only shows some cables right in the way of getting at the spider. Solution; disassembled console/kick panel. Now I was able to tweek the zerk and lube it. Also while there on the left side I moved some of the cables blocking access. Future access; possible! via access plug. Bad/sad part; I pumped a lot of grease in and it all came out ONE of the spider bearings!!! so the rest? of them?? who knows?
Rear spider access; impossible! Found a small slot underneath the tractor to access the back of the spider... but the zerk is on the front!!! :scratchchin:
Solution; drilled with a 21/8" hole saw an access hole on the floor. Access now possible but will require modification to grease gun. Note to self; in the future when I overhaul this shaft, place the damned spider so that the zerk is more accessible!!! ullinghair: I should be able to find some sort of plug to cover the hole in the floor.

 

[Wvanatti]

Is that on the JD2210 ?

 

[megotatractor]

Is that on the JD2210 ?

it is

yes.

 

[ovrszd]

I should be able to find some sort of plug to cover the hole in the floor.

That's why I cut a rectangular hole to match the front one. Bought a plug from JD to cover it.

Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble.

 

[Wvanatti]

Thanks, I'm waiting for the first ( brave ) person to cut a hole in a 2305 and find that it's so incredibly easy to grease both joints- --- ah, if only ....

 

[ovrszd]

Thanks, I'm waiting for the first ( brave ) person to cut a hole in a 2305 and find that it's so incredibly easy to grease both joints- --- ah, if only ....

Yeah, from what I understand you don't have this problem with the 2305 due to changes in the frame construction.

 

[Wvanatti]

I not only can't grease either u-joint while the driveshaft is installed, I can't see cutting a hole, dont think it would be a benefit to get at the zerks either. I'm waiting on the JD engineers to come up with a canvas tube that will screw in and hang out long enough to grease this section effortlessly ! And then I woke up of course.

 

[ovrszd]

I not only can't grease either u-joint while the driveshaft is installed, I can't see cutting a hole, dont think it would be a benefit to get at the zerks either. I'm waiting on the JD engineers to come up with a canvas tube that will screw in and hang out long enough to grease this section effortlessly ! And then I woke up of course.

Heheheheheh. I think there are several 2305 owners that have reported being able to grease theirs without removal, relatively easy. Having never looked at one I can only assume that's correct.

 

[Wvanatti]

I have had the shaft down twice, I wrote a post on here about it. Several adapters didn't work (4) it takes 10 min to get off and 15 back up. I hate every part of this design. Guess there wouldn't be so many post on the subject if they had got it right in the first place !

 

[ovrszd]

I have had the shaft down twice, I wrote a post on here about it. Several adapters didn't work (4) it takes 10 min to get off and 15 back up. I hate every part of this design. Guess there wouldn't be so many post on the subject if they had got it right in the first place !

I totally agree. They improved the design slightly with the 2305 but still had a lot to do.

I've not heard any reports of the new 10 series?? Wonder if they fixed this problem with that model change??

 

[megotatractor]

I've heard the 1 series is more accessible from underneath but that's not very specific. I don't recall anyone saying it was EASY?


PLUG; yes I should have considered a plug before I drilled the hole. I ended up putting the original piece back in. since I used a hole saw that piece of floor was still in tact but of course too small. Wrapped some foam tape around it and popped it back in place. I have easy access to the u-joint but cannot get a grease gun on it yet. I bought a $1.oo grease needle but the u-joints are too tight to get through the seals with a needle. I found that the needle pops into the zerk but of course grease oozes all over.if only I could find like a hard plastic tube that fits really tight over the zerk...

 

[mikerind]

I too just finished installing new spiders in the u-joints on my 2210 main driveshaft. Took me & a friend about 6 hours to do the total job. Do not buy the spiders from John Deere, or Kabota. I went to NAPA Auto parts, and bought them for $26.49 Ea. NAPA number is PUJ 410. These spiders have the zerk on one of the bearing caps. This makes it much easier to grease them with a little bit of modification. I hope I can post some pictures on here. Never done it before. Wish me luck! LOL! I took a good 1" hole saw before I installed the driveshaft, and cut a portion of the steel off the plate right below the rear U-joint. Kinda half moon like. I will be able to grease the rear one from the bottom of the tractor. For the front U-Joint, I cut a 1-1/2" hole in the steel on the left side at the bottom where the voltage Reg. is mounted. Then I cut the square hole in the base plastic so I could just order another rubber plug like the one beside it. I'll have to make up an extention for my grease gun about 12" long to grease the front one. If you look on the left hand side of the tractor, just behind the engine, you will see the teeth on the flywheel. You can turn the engine to line up the grease zerks with a big screw driver, instead of using the starter. My tractor is a 2003 model, and I had 1100 hours on it. To remove my shaft. We removed the snap ring on the front U-Joint, then drove out the role pin. Then we pushed the shaft back toward the transmixer to remove the front U-joint, then pulled it forward off the transmixer. Then slid it back & out. I hope this helps some of you folks, and saves you a ton of money over paying JD their prices for something they screwed up.

 

[egeezy]

Hi Ovrszd,

I just bought a 2210 and I want to make sure the shaft is greased. So if I am reading correctly the front is easily accessible and if I cut a hole I can easily access the rear?

Once accessed just use a needle tip on my grease gun (sorry I am new to this and the 2210 is my first real tractor). Do you use polyurea grease on it or MOLY?

 

[tinkertot]

I've heard the 1 series is more accessible from underneath but that's not very specific. I don't recall anyone saying it was EASY?


PLUG; yes I should have considered a plug before I drilled the hole. I ended up putting the original piece back in. since I used a hole saw that piece of floor was still in tact but of course too small. Wrapped some foam tape around it and popped it back in place. I have easy access to the u-joint but cannot get a grease gun on it yet. I bought a $1.oo grease needle but the u-joints are too tight to get through the seals with a needle. I found that the needle pops into the zerk but of course grease oozes all over.if only I could find like a hard plastic tube that fits really tight over the zerk...

Can you show exactly where you cut the hole? Also, would you cut it in the same place again?

 

[vsteel]

Do you use polyurea grease on it or MOLY?

Polyurea