L2250 Broken Spindle

[bjorn773]

I was brush mowing in the woods on my property today when my left front spindle broke. The ear for the tie rod end is not only broken off, but missing somewhere in the woods. It has MFWD and I'm guessing this isn't gonna be cheap. So I have 2 questions...
1 is it worth renting a metal detector to find the other piece and try to weld it back together? (looks like cast, so not sure how well that would work)
2 where is the best source for a replacement spindle assembly?

On a side note, in the process of trying to get back out of the woods I managed to bury it in the mud... but that's another issue entirely.

 

[TMGT]

Have you checked with kubota yet? They are pretty good about keeping some parts available for older units.

There are also tractor salvage yards, West Kentucky tractor parts is the only one I can think of at the moment.

 

[repete]

On my 2250 it is a cast part and welding is not going to cheap and may fail in the future. I have replace two of mine for other cracks and my recollection was in the neighborhood of 5-600 dollars.

Put the bucket down flat on the ground, lift the front end off the ground and back up to the shop. Turn by using the left or right brake. It works, I know.

 

[bjorn773]

On my 2250 it is a cast part and welding is not going to cheap and may fail in the future. I have replace two of mine for other cracks and my recollection was in the neighborhood of 5-600 dollars.

Put the bucket down flat on the ground, lift the front end off the ground and back up to the shop. Turn by using the left or right brake. It works, I know.

The braking technique sounds like excellent advise... I'll try that once I get it winched out of the mud(up to the axles)
As far as the welding goes, I work next to a welding department at a college... those guys can weld anything. But, I have to find the piece that broke off... assuming of course it's one piece.

 

[rbargeron]

The braking technique sounds like excellent advise... I'll try that once I get it winched out of the mud(up to the axles) As far as the welding goes, I work next to a welding department at a college... those guys can weld anything. But, I have to find the piece that broke off... assuming of course it's one piece.

Even if you find the broken piece, it's going to be hard to make a strong enough repair. It's a high-force part, and welded cast iron is usually half-strength or less unless it's reinforced somehow.

Finding the broken off ear piece may not be a must. A sure fix would be to replace the axle case - but a welded and bolted steel reinforcement bracket might be possible that provides a new hole for the tie rod end. It's exact shape and attachment points would depend on the shape at the break. Best of luck, Dick B

 

[bjorn773]

Once I can get to the serial plate I will start trying to locate a replacement.

 

[Adiredneck]

Once I can get to the serial plate I will start trying to locate a replacement. View attachment 471200
View attachment 471201

My neighbor broke the same piece on his L3450. He took it to a "really good welder" and it broke after a couple of days. He decided to try and weld it back together himself with some cast rod. That was 9 years ago. Still going strong.

I sure would try to find the part and try welding before I shelled out any money.

 

[bjorn773]

My neighbor broke the same piece on his L3450. He took it to a "really good welder" and it broke after a couple of days. He decided to try and weld it back together himself with some cast rod. That was 9 years ago. Still going strong.

I sure would try to find the part and try welding before I shelled out any money.

I agree. I have a friend bringing a metal detector over to help find it. The "really good welders" I speak of are career welders turned welding instructors. If it can be welded, these guys can do it. One of them did work for NASA in the past and is a CWI.

 

[rbargeron]

Instead of $700 for a new case (or half that for used), I'm thinking a 1/2" thick flat steel ring could be made that attaches to the 8 cover holes with new longer bolts. A steel bracket welded to the ring would have a hole for the tie rod. The tapered ball joint stem could be mounted with washers to preserve it's pivot function. The bracket would have extra material at the ring, distributing the forces. There isn't much wheel clearance so whoever makes the part will need the tractor handy for fitting.

BTW, one drawback of reversing the front wheels is increased loading on the steering linkage, possibly contributing to this breakage. As the center plane of the tire moves outward from the center of kingpin rotation, road bumps directly yank on the tie rod. The attached cutaway drawing shows the normal nearly neutral wheel position - the central plane of the tire nearly intersects the kingpin centerline at the road surface. Road roughness has little effect on the steering. But reversing the wheel moves it out to the left, increasing the twist on the steering whenever the tire hits something.

 

[repete]

Instead of $700 for a new case (or half that for used), I'm thinking a 1/2" thick flat steel ring could be made that attaches to the 8 cover holes with new longer bolts. A steel bracket welded to the ring would have a hole for the tie rod. The tapered ball joint stem could be mounted with washers to preserve it's pivot function. The bracket would have extra material at the ring, distributing the forces. There isn't much wheel clearance so whoever makes the part will need the tractor handy for fitting.

BTW, one drawback of reversing the front wheels is increased loading on the steering linkage, possibly contributing to this breakage. As the center plane of the tire moves outward from the center of kingpin rotation, road bumps directly yank on the tie rod. The attached cutaway drawing shows the normal nearly neutral wheel position - the central plane of the tire nearly intersects the kingpin centerline at the road surface. Road roughness has little effect on the steering. But reversing the wheel moves it out to the left, increasing the twist on the steering whenever the tire hits something.

Good post. In addition it increases the load on the outer wheel bearing and axle housing to reverse the rim. Don't ask how I figured that out twice....

 

[bjorn773]

I bought the tractor set up that way... honestly didn't know they were reversed.

 

[bjorn773]

I'm assuming that all 4 wheels have been reversed? It measures about 65" wide currently.

 

[rbargeron]

I'm assuming that all 4 wheels have been reversed? It measures about 65" wide currently.

On most machines below 50-70 hp front wheel width spacing is generally not designed to be adjustable. (Older row-crop 2wd have adjustment)

The rear wheels on most tractors, are intended to have adjustable width. In your picture the rears do appear the be at their max width - center dish and rim ring assembled at widest. Widening the rear stance can be good for stability on slopes, loader work, etc. but widening the front has little effect because the axle pivots in the center anyway.

 

[bjorn773]

On most machines below 50-70 hp front wheel width spacing is generally not designed to be adjustable. (Older row-crop 2wd have adjustment)

The rear wheels on most tractors, are intended to have adjustable width. In your picture the rears do appear the be at their max width - center dish and rim ring assembled at widest. Widening the rear stance can be good for stability on slopes, loader work, etc. but widening the front has little effect because the axle pivots in the center anyway.

This is great info... I really appreciate it. I'll reverse the front wheels... looks like side to side to keep the tread heading the correct direction. Is there any disadvantage to the wide stance in back? I have a 60" brush mower and it doesn't quite cover the rear wheels. Does it really matter?

 

[JWR]

Agree. I like the Rbargeron approach. Cut the 1/2" plate to fit rough and then be sure it clears everything. Then trim the plate as needed and drill the holes. You did not say what exactly broke. From the picture all I could see broken was the ear for the steering knuckle. True? If that is the case there was one heck of a large force on the steering gear to break that casting. I'd be inclined to think that the muck you were down in was such that your trying to move the tractor back and forth broke off the ear rather than "normal" steering forces. I'd look around to see what else was overstressed. By the way, when you go for the longer bolts, take along one of the originals and make sure they both screw easily into a matching nut. I have found Kubota frame, mower mount, and other bolts to sometimes be "non-standard finer threads" besides being metric. Impossible to tell just looking at them.

 

[bjorn773]

I got the tractor back to the shop yesterday with the help of a winch and lots of different trees. The steering actually broke first... I was mowing thru the woods, hitting small fallen saplings occasionally. I've been out there many times in the last few days trying to find the missing piece. Nothing in the vicinity appears big enough that I would think would stress it. Obviously, I'm wrong... the extra stress from the wheels being reversed could not have helped. It is only the ear for the tie rod end that broke off. I'll try today with a metal detector, otherwise I'll cut a plate and fab one up. I ended up in the mud trying to limp it back several acres to my shop.