My front Axle almost came off!!

[RobJ]

With pics of course.

So I'm backing up the L to the FM this weekend and there is a little rut where I start backing up. I notice the front axle (2wd) shift front to back a little. WTH?? Upon inspection this is what I found, welds totally broken on the back side, actually the square beam is folded in where it has been hitting. On the front side about half is broken and the weld is popping upon the other half. This would have been a fun ride.

Some damage pics...

 

[RobJ]

So I jack up the tractor and pull the axle. Only 4 bolts and a steering control arm. It's sorta heavy, I'll have to get some help on the install or put the front wheels back on and raise the tractor the the proper height.

Interesting no greese fittings on the bushing cups.

 

[RobJ]

Since we were heading home and I had to pull the axle to fix it, I loaded it up and took it to the other house to fix. I also need to get my 220 extension cord up at the weekend place to run my 220v welder there.

WARNING!!!

If you looking for clean and spotless welding....you should exit now.

I was able tp pry it back into the original position and lay some metal on it. I started with a 7014 rod and then went to a 7018. Lays prettier but produces a lot of slag. Several passes on the back side to fill in the 1/4" wide gap there. Then a little weld along a crack.

 

[RobJ]

Then a little expensive grey paint and yall will be the only ones to know or see this...unless you are under my tractor sometime.

So perhaps an area to check on from time to time on an L or any small tractor.

Thanks for looking,
Rob

 

[MikeD74T]

I think your bumper/grill guard may have done you in !!!!
Did you include grease fittings or at least grease in the reassembly????
MikeD74T

 

[RobJ]

I think your bumper/grill guard may have done you in !!!!
Did you include grease fittings or at least grease in the reassembly????
MikeD74T

Hey man, my bumper has feeling you know!! It's not that heavy..less that a FEL!

There is what looks to be an 1/8" plug on the back side that I could maybe put a zerk in. On the front there is no fitting, no spot, just the adjustment bolt and lock nut to adjust the end play. I'l give it a good greasing upon reassembly. I think you can see from the pics it was a little in the dry side.

 

[wushaw]

Hey man, my bumper has feeling you know!! It's not that heavy..less that a FEL!

There is what looks to be an 1/8" plug on the back side that I could maybe put a zerk in. On the front there is no fitting, no spot, just the adjustment bolt and lock nut to adjust the end play. I'l give it a good greasing upon reassembly. I think you can see from the pics it was a little in the dry side.

Rob, they obviously updated that part....at least on 4wd models, there are grease fittings to lube the pin. My 05 L2800 and my previous 03 B7500 had grease fittings.

You should be able to drill and install a grease fitting in the bottom side or on the side of the pivot while you have it apart.

If you don't do the grease fitting it will just dry out again and more than likely cause this again.

The lack of grease is what caused the welds to break in the first place.
If you look at how the axle is a big arm rotating on a small pin and without lubrication it grabs the pin and rotates it causing the welds to break.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

OUCH! I like gorilla welds too. Big and ugly.

Good thing you caught it before you twisted your steering arms.

I thought only green paint was expensive, doesn't the navy sell gray paint cheap (leftover battleship paint)?

 

[RobJ]

The lack of grease is what caused the welds to break in the first place.
If you look at how the axle is a big arm rotating on a small pin and without lubrication it grabs the pin and rotates it causing the welds to break.

I can't say 100% it was lack of grease. There was some in there and it was moving freely. There was no gualding on the pin either.

If I say this right..the side to side spinning motion (the way the pin moves), shouldn't put much pressure on the welds, but the way they cracked it looks like the twisting (fronts being pushed back) put to much pressure on them. My guess why the back welds broke first...more leverage on them. I promise I don't jump that many curbs. My L is a 1999 model with 1300 hours on it.

Adding some zerks is a great idea I agree.

 

[RobJ]

OUCH! I like gorilla welds too. Big and ugly.

Hey I gave fair warning!! Big and ugly but very deep. They will not fail.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[Double Orange]

Thanks for posting the pictures! Glad you where able to skip the dealer expense! Nice job, glad your up and working again.

 

[redlevel]

They will not fail.

Rob

Yeah, that's what they said about that plating on the Titanic.

I don't believe the failure was caused by lack of grease, either. I tend to agree with you about the cause. With anything close to normal use, though, that failure should not happen at 1300 hours. If I had a similar tractor with a loader, I would be very concerned. I'd get me a grinder with a brush and start looking real hard. It could be dangerous for that section to fail with a load of dirt in the bucket, maybe headed down a little slope . . .

I have often thought to myself that the front-ends on some of those tractors looked a little spindly.

 

[Willl]

Nice job Rob.





Just a small safety note.
That cinder block will kill you.

 

[BTDT]

Nice job on the repair. Only thing, be careful with this setup http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...y-front-axle-almost-came-front-end-fix-5-.jpg

If that block that your floor jack is sitting on breaks, you will have a mess on your hands (and maybe elsewhere). I realize you also have jack stands in place, but please be careful.

edit: oops! I guess Willl and I posted the same thing at about the same time, sorry.

 

[Leejohn]

Hi,
I also looked at your picture and I thank you did a nice job. I also looked at the parts manual and it shows a seal in each housing and a thrust washer at each end of the shaft, but no grease fitting.

Lee

 

[Stand-up Dave]

I have a question about the crack shooting off to the right in picture 13. The repair in picture 16 shows weld over the entire cracked area. I am wondering if you drilled a small hole at the end of that crack to effectively 'dead-end' the crack?

I have had a few experiences where I repaired a crack after cutting a groove in the crack with an angle grinder, filled in the groove with weld, only to have the crack re-appear at the end of the repair. A friend told me about drilling a hole at the end to 'relieve the stress', and then fill with weld.

I am self-taught, so by no means an expert. I am just wondering what experiences others have had with similar types of repairs. Thanks!

 

[RobJ]

Hi,
I also looked at your picture and I thank you did a nice job. I also looked at the parts manual and it shows a seal in each housing and a thrust washer at each end of the shaft, but no grease fitting.

Lee

Good catch Lee. There is a hard plastic looking seal in the cups. I dodn't bring them home so I can't look closer at them. No thrust washers in there unless they are stuck to the cups. I might have missed them, I was mainly looking at the damage. I'll check my parts and shop manual today. Good reminder.

 

[RobJ]

Nice job Rob.

Just a small safety note.
That cinder block will kill you.

Guilty, sometimes you have to work with what you have. I was never under it until I had the stands in place. And I had to shift the block a couple times to get the position right. This weekend i'll bring up my larger jack for better support. It would have been easier to lift on the front guard, but i don't think that is as solid as the frame itself.

Rob

 

[wushaw]

I can see how and why you need the extra lift on the little floor jack, I see no reason why you need the bigger jack since you were just getting clearance for the jack stands and not using the cinder block for holding the tractor while you were under it.

If the cinder block would have gave way then the tractor would have rested back on it's tires and not on you.

 

[dfkrug]

Nice repair job, Rob.

That is a surprising failure. I had a 99 L2500, too, but the DT version.
It did have zerks for the front pivot on a heavier axle.

What is the diameter of your pivot pin? I had to replace one on my
JD and I was surprised it was only 1 inch. Grease is hard to get in
there even WITH zerks.