Looking for 2003 dk45 front end 4wd parts

leboeuf · Sep 8, 2023

Hi there! I'll preface this response with the acknowledgement that I'm not a real machinist, not really even a fake one.

I would say anything over 0.005 or so would be well outside of manufacturing tolerance. That's just the size of that gear, a new one will be the same dimensions.
I'm not a gear expert... but with a bevel gear, if you can keep the meshing of the gears within spec I would think things would be ok. 100+ thou over diameter would move that new gear a lot higher in mesh with the mating gear than the old one. I can think of positives and negatives from doing so, but if the gear is still fully meshed.... I would probably run it

For the OD of that gear, again if everything meshes I wouldn't be too concerned with grinding 0.050 off the edge.

The 0.060 thicker could present a challenge. I ended up using ~0.060 in shims to set the gear backlash. Which means you could get lucky? A surface grinder could take 0.010 off of that gear face without any issue.

Out of morbid curiosity, what killed your old gear? I bought mine without knowing that the gears and shafts had been removed. I also didn't have the old gears to compare to.

Vegasthemole · Sep 8, 2023

Honestly, just moving dirt. I’m relatively delicate with this unit and I was scooping base coarse from a pile to move to a drive way. The fact that the new gears are much stouter is maybe an indication that there was an issue with the older gears. The main problem I’m having is that this gear won’t fit through the openings of the hub casting. I’ll have to mic the hub openings tonight to see how much would need to be removed from the new gear od to fit. @leboeuf just realized you and I are in the same state. I’d be willing to bet yours came from the same dealer. I’m not the original owner but mine has a tag from J&r if I remember correctly

leboeuf · Sep 8, 2023

Interesting. I'll check to see if I saved my part number anywhere. I'm pretty sure the numbers matched the expectation. I think the shaft had been updated. The diagram showed a circlip to capture the gear and the new shaft just has a machined shoulder.
Mine was bought at a J&J auction in Springer (and later sold to me). There is a Kioti dealer on the north end of Espanola that I have no experience with.

The loadings and angles in these tractor portal axles are hard to think about coming from cars/trucks. How is the bearing associated with that gear? One thing that bothers me is the bearing is mostly above the recommended oil level. I overfilled mine on reassembly so some of the bearing was in the bath.

Vegasthemole · Sep 8, 2023

Well… I’m no machinist either but I do have a lathe…
Tried turning the new gear down to fit in the hub,

Machining went slow as to not heat it up and ruin the hardening. Reassembly went ok but that gear is just not close enough to the first to jive. I don’t know much about gear mesh but I do know that this set up locked that wheel up solid. So back to 3x4 mode(only my left side is damaged) and back to the drawing board. Maybe Monday I’ll run this by a real machine shop and see if they could cut the teeth down to match the old gear ?

Vegasthemole · Sep 8, 2023

Well… I’m no machinist either but I do have a lathe…
Tried turning the new gear down to fit in the hub, View attachment 820273
Machining went slow as to not heat it up and ruin the hardening. Reassembly went ok but that gear is just not close enough to the first to jive. I don’t know much about gear mesh but I do know that this set up locked that wheel up solid. So back to 3x4 mode(only my left side is damaged) and back to the drawing board. Maybe Monday I’ll run this by a real machine shop and see if they could cut the teeth down to match the old gear

Vegasthemole · Sep 9, 2023

New idea, maybe there is a new part number for the gear that this meshes with for the half shaft that would better match the angle and cut of this gear? Not sure nolts is open today but I guess I’ll start there.

leboeuf · Sep 11, 2023

I was able to find my packaging and confirmed the part number was the expected value.
It is possible there's a pair, but the bore of the axle/knuckle is going to still be an issue. I think there was some clearance around the horizontal gear. Your picture certainly brings some perspective to the size issues. Is the bore of the gear the same?
Were you able to get the bearing/gear on the shaft and put the lid/bearing retainer on? These are all probably terrible ideas, but if you got it installed and closed up, it would mean you're maybe in the ballpark. Since you're already all in on that gear, what if you spaced the cover out? Could try some washers for proof of concept. I wouldn't drive it around, but you could at least see if any backlash can be developed. If that were to work, then I would want to check the mesh and make sure your modified gear isn't riding on some small percentage of the mating gear.

Also, how different is the minor diameter of the gears? Your picture makes it look like they may be close. I would think that dimension is probably more important under these hmmmm lacking circumstances.

cstephens · Sep 18, 2023

Following this thread. I'm in the same boat with my 2006 model. On my end, I was trying to find T4682-43441, which was discontinued, and then we tried to find T4682-43442, which was not in stock any where. I did reach out to Kioti and actually got an answer. They told me that 43443 was the part number that superseded 43441 and 43442, and confirmed that it would work, so I ordered it. What I received was both a larger diameter and a taller gear and wouldn't fit in the case. So now it's in the hands of a machine shop to get lathed down to size and I'm hoping it works and meshes with the 12T that feeds it.