Small leak on 422 front wheel motor

KMA · Apr 26, 2009

Is it likely that I will be able to replaces seals etc to fix a leaky wheel motor on my 2006 PT422? Better to replace? I did some searching around the forum and founds different posts, but it was difficult for me to piece all the info together. Any suggestions on where to buy parts other than direct from PT?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Clarke · Apr 26, 2009

Kevin,

I have had at least 5 wheel motors repaired by PT. Better to have repaired. PT Charges $84 to put in seals and the shaft bearings + shipping. You have to pay to ship to them. When I buy a spare motor I will try to repair myself. I have the repair instructions for my CE white motors, looks like an easy job. You can also find a local hydraulic shop to do the job.

sg

SnowRidge · Apr 26, 2009

KMA said:
Is it likely that I will be able to replaces seals etc to fix a leaky wheel motor on my 2006 PT422? Better to replace? I did some searching around the forum and founds different posts, but it was difficult for me to piece all the info together. Any suggestions on where to buy parts other than direct from PT?

Thanks in advance for your help.

So far, I have never had to send anything to Power Trac for repair.

If you know who made your wheel motors and their model number (or at least series), you can look up the name of your nearest distributor on the manufacturer's web site. I ordered a spare wheel motor and a seal kit that way.

You will need a quality hub puller and a press to do the job. I had to use a 42 inch cheater bar to get the hub nut off on my PT-425. Loosen the hub nut with the wheel still on the machine and the tires on the ground. Block all four tires or you will just move the machine.

I did not use an impact wrench.

J_J · Apr 26, 2009

Just curious if you had the wheels in the wide/reverse position?

kjm3232 · Apr 27, 2009

[If you know who made your wheel motors and their model number (or at least series), you can look up the name of your nearest distributor on the manufacturer's web site. I ordered a spare wheel motor and a seal kit that way.

You will need a quality hub puller and a press to do the job. I had to use a 42 inch cheater bar to get the hub nut off on my PT-425. Loosen the hub nut with the wheel still on the machine and the tires on the ground. Block all four tires or you will just move the machine.

I did not use an impact wrench.[/QUOTE]

if you dont know who made your wheel motors or or the series of it, what i did was send my motor down to PT and asked them to send me a spare seal kit with the returned motor. that way i then new the manufacturer and series of the wheel motor. Also get all the bearings as well as the seal kit as well. when i tried to replace the seals one of the bearings fell apart as well and i didn't have one on hand. i ended up sending it back to pt because i thought i scratched the inner working on it. i,m also trying to find a more local hydraulic repair place.
if you do it yourself i think someone said to use a impact wrench because the hub nut has to be set to a certain torque limit. someone correct me if i'm wrong on this. i dont own a impact wrench or compressor. those are on my tools to buy list someday.

ponytug · Apr 27, 2009

kjm3232 said:
...if you dont know who made your wheel motors or or the series of it, what i did was send my motor down to PT and asked them to send me a spare seal kit with the returned motor. that way i then new the manufacturer and series of the wheel motor.

This qualifies as brilliant work in my book.

kjm3232 said:
if you do it yourself i think someone said to use a impact wrench because the hub nut has to be set to a certain torque limit. someone correct me if i'm wrong on this. i dont own a impact wrench or compressor. those are on my tools to buy list someday.

Yes, hubs are very picky about torque settings. Very picky.

Out of curiosity, if you don't have a compressor, how do you clean the oil cooler?

All the best,

Peter

SnowRidge · Apr 27, 2009

kjm3232 said:
if you do it yourself i think someone said to use a impact wrench because the hub nut has to be set to a certain torque limit. someone correct me if i'm wrong on this. i dont own a impact wrench or compressor. those are on my tools to buy list someday.

You should use a torque wrench, not an impact wrench, in my opinion. It think my hubs were torqued to 450 ft lbs. It took at least 600 ft lbs to get one of them off.

MossRoad · Apr 27, 2009

SnowRidge said:
You should use a torque wrench, not an impact wrench, in my opinion. It think my hubs were torqued to 450 ft lbs. It took at least 600 ft lbs to get one of them off.

Ya! An impact wrench is good for getting stuff off, but you need a torque wrench to put it back on to the correct specs.

J_J · Apr 27, 2009

The do make those torque tubes to go on impact wrenches. The way they work is, they act like a short 1/2 in extension bar, until you get to the torque setting, and then it starts to flex, and the torque wrench will not apply any more torque.

SnowRidge · Apr 27, 2009

J_J said:
The do make those torque tubes to go on impact wrenches. The way they work is, they act like a short 1/2 in extension bar, until you get to the torque setting, and then it starts to flex, and the torque wrench will not apply any more torque.

Sounds interesting. Can you provide a link? I can't find anything like that using Google.

Bob999 · Apr 27, 2009

SnowRidge said:
Sounds interesting. Can you provide a link? I can't find anything like that using Google.

Search for torque stick.

Here is one link: Professional torque sticks, sockets, multipliers and extension bars

Clarke · Apr 27, 2009

JJ

Two with the wheels set normal. Three with the wheels set wide.

I'm pretty sure if you have the CE White motors you will also need a internal bearing puller.

sg

J_J · Apr 27, 2009

Clarke said:
JJ

Two with the wheels set normal. Three with the wheels set wide.

I'm pretty sure if you have the CE White motors you will also need a internal bearing puller.

sg

Steve

I don't understand what you are saying about the wheels. Were they set narrow or wide when the motor started leaking, or have you ran them in the wide position.

SnowRidge · Apr 27, 2009

Bob999 said:
Search for torque stick.

Here is one link: Professional torque sticks, sockets, multipliers and extension bars

OK, I searched on "torque tube." Lots of hits, but of the wrong kind.

I just used my cheater bar and weight, which gave a calculated torque within the range given in the spec. Fortunately I work cheap, which saved a few bucks.

Bob999 · Apr 27, 2009

SnowRidge said:
OK, I searched on "torque tube." Lots of hits, but of the wrong kind.

I just used my cheater bar and weight, which gave a calculated torque within the range given in the spec. Fortunately I work cheap, which saved a few bucks.

Harbor Freight carries them
Harbor Freight Tools
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92890

J_J · Apr 27, 2009

Bob999 said:
Harbor Freight carries them
Harbor Freight Tools
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Bob,I believe those are for the lug nuts on cars and trucks. Probably no more torque than around 120 lbs. Those will torque most all cars and trucks lug nuts.

I saw one for 475 lbs, and the price was $120.

AccuTorq Torque Socket & Sockets

KMA · Apr 27, 2009

J_J said:
Just curious if you had the wheels in the wide/reverse position?

JJ,

Mine are in the stock position. I will try to get the wheel off when I get some time and try to see what model it is. Thanks for all the input guys. Regarding the tools (e.g. hub puller) needed to service the motor, can anyone provide a link to examples so I know what to buy? (sorry for all the questions, but it's a huge help)

I'm considering buying a replacement motor and a rebuild kit, so I can swap out the bad one and fix it as a back up.

Thanks again!

Bob999 · Apr 27, 2009

J_J said:
Bob,I believe those are for the lug nuts on cars and trucks. Probably no more torque than around 120 lbs. Those will torque most all cars and trucks lug nuts.

I saw one for 475 lbs, and the price was $120.

AccuTorq Torque Socket & Sockets

JJ--The 1/2" torque stick set from Harbor Freight ranges from 65 t0 150 ft/lbs.

Of course a torque wrench that works in the 475 lb range will also be expensive.

SnowRidge · Apr 28, 2009

KMA said:
JJ,

Mine are in the stock position. I will try to get the wheel off when I get some time and try to see what model it is. Thanks for all the input guys. Regarding the tools (e.g. hub puller) needed to service the motor, can anyone provide a link to examples so I know what to buy? (sorry for all the questions, but it's a huge help)

I'm considering buying a replacement motor and a rebuild kit, so I can swap out the bad one and fix it as a back up.

Thanks again!

Here are a couple of pullers that should work.

OTC-7394

OTC-1037

I didn't check to see if those are good prices.

Mine is similar to the OTC-1037, if it isn't the exact model. I initially tried the biggest puller that Harbor Freight had. It literally exploded on me. I even broke one leg of the OTC puller the second time I pulled a hub. You need to use lots of heat to get these things off. Whoever puts them on at Power Trac plainly doesn't want them to come off accidentally.

Rather than use a torque wrench, which is an expensive item in the size required, you can just use your body weight and a little math. The formula is

Torque = BW x CBL

where BW is body weight in pounds and CBL is cheater bar length in feet measured from the center of the motor shaft to the center of your grip.

I torqued my hubs to 450 ft lbs.