Lost drive to rear wheels

itsmertc · May 7, 2015

Any advice on how to handle this problem?
I lost the drive to my rear wheels. They still turn freely when front wheels are engaged and pulling the tractor. I did notice a couple of loud clunks before this happened.

Harry in Ky · May 7, 2015

A broken rear axle shaft can give that effect. Engaging the dif lock will often gain enough traction to get you to the barn.

itsmertc · May 8, 2015

Harry in Ky said:
A broken rear axle shaft can give that effect. Engaging the dif lock will often gain enough traction to get you to the barn.

thank you. Is there a way to visually confirm this.

SPYDERLK · May 8, 2015

itsmertc said:
thank you. Is there a way to visually confirm this.

1st see if it will power ahead with diff locked and w/o front wheel assist.

rbargeron · May 8, 2015

itsmertc said:
thank you. Is there a way to visually confirm this.

Assuming it's the BX22 in your profile, each rear axle is held in by a spring clip on the inner end. A broken axle may start moving out of the housing (probably leak oil as it moves past the outer seal).

Confirm that hi-lo range selector still functions normally - even if only front drive works. The problem might be in the rear pinion or differential or axles. If not a broken axle, it would be hard to pinpoint from the outside. Can you add some details about the tractor hours and what was it doing when it happened? BTW, welcome to TBN - sorry about the occasion.

itsmertc · May 13, 2015

rbargeron said:
Assuming it's the BX22 in your profile, each rear axle is held in by a spring clip on the inner end. A broken axle may start moving out of the housing (probably leak oil as it moves past the outer seal).

Confirm that hi-lo range selector still functions normally - even if only front drive works. The problem might be in the rear pinion or differential or axles. If not a broken axle, it would be hard to pinpoint from the outside. Can you add some details about the tractor hours and what was it doing when it happened? BTW, welcome to TBN - sorry about the occasion.

Hello and thanks for your reply. Yes it is a BX22 . To give a quick description, I lifted the tractor up and looked under. There doesn't seam to be any obvious parts broken. The front wheels drive. No clunking noises. The rear wheels spin freely, no noises, but the right side takes some muscle while the left side is very easy to turn. Breaks work on rear wheels. PTOs seam to spin fine.

SPYDERLK · May 13, 2015

The one that spins easy is not connected to the drive.

ovrszd · May 13, 2015

SPYDERLK said:
The one that spins easy is not connected to the drive.

Agreed. If so, engaging the diff lock will provide pull to one rear wheel. If engaging the diff lock still leaves both rear wheels free wheeling, then it's further in the differential.

itsmertc · May 13, 2015

Engaging the diff doesn't engage either wheel.

ovrszd · May 13, 2015

Bummer.

I can't think of anything other than the main drive to the rear axle, such as the differential, spider gears, etc.

It's unusual for the ring/pinion gears to go out without having some crunching, occasional drive, etc. Same with spider gears.

Try going to Kubota's website and search for rear axle parts. You should be able to get a schematic of the rear axle assembly. Maybe by looking at that you can educate yourself as to how it works and also look for what could be causing the freewheel.

Hopefully someone will find this thread soon that has experience with this drive system and help you out.