Ruh roh. I guess I need to learn to never do this with my 7305 then, huh? So you were backing up and lifting, when the rear wheels lost traction, putting all the strain on your front drive? I wonder if your failure was at all related to the previous owner already failing these parts ?
Henh, I recognized your Cub from the loader joystick, Deez.
Yes, yes, and no.
When the previous owner broke it, he took it back to the his dealer,
Fly-By-Night Tractor Sales (no longer in business). Their non-mechanic got the wrong ring gear (an earlier iteration, probably for the 1991 Case IH 1140 -- same basic tractor) with 8mm ring gear bolts. They installed it with 8mm bolts through the differential case's 10mm bolt holes. Of course, they all sheared off just after I got the tractor (at the bottom of a steep four-wheel-drive hill). So, I did my first rebuild of the front drive at that time. Then later, when I killed it, and I did it in style. That catastrophe was all of my own doing.
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But right here, I will tell you about another weakness in that Cub's front drive. It is in the ball bearing outer front wheel bearings. So, I have had to replace that bearing more than once as well. If you put too much front end weight on one of the front wheels, the downward force on the bearing can blow the rivets out of the ball cage. The torn up ball cage then finds its way around to the seals and the gear oil hemorrhage will let you know something is amiss. By that time, the inner bearing will be getting some out-of-round balls and need replacing too.
Who would have known I would wind up an expert on this front drive?
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I love the fuel economy of that K3M engine, enough to buy my 7300 (plus with my dead 7274, I have a quarter million dollars in spare parts!). If you want a dead CubCadet too, then never check or tighten the engine to frame bolts (don't miss the four on the front of the engine -- two studs and two bolts -- they are hard to access, but they are there). I learned a lot with my first tractor. For one thing, I am tractor addicted. I can't go back, take the cure. Lord have mercy, I now have two tractors.
