M5950DT front wheel intermittently locking up

[Luckystars]

I've had this tractor running for 63 hours now. I had to overhaul the engine when I got it. I had no idea how much I needed a tractor until I got this one.
Yesterday The right front wheel started acting like it was going to seize. It would stop for a second and as soon as it got the pressure from moving forward it would free and roll. It rolls good and straight. When off the ground and spun it feels pretty smooth. The axle seal is leaking but it seems like no play in the berings.
I pulled the tire and axle hub today. The case has some metal shavings in it but no pieces like chipped or broken teeth.
The previous owner was saying how he just put wheel seals in this side before I bought it. I'm thinking now that may have been the problem. There are 3 shims spacing the wheel hub from the pinion.
After pressing bearings in and out for the seal could it be spaced too far apart and need less shimes to ride deeper in the teeth?

 

[mikester]

I wouldnt drive it until you find the problem. Take a good look at the ring and pinion on the front diff as well as the bevel gears on the front axel. You likely have a chipped tooth or foreign matter, i.e. metal shavings, getting in between the gears causing the lock up. If you keep operating the machine without resolving the problem you are in for very expensive repairs.

 

[Luckystars]

Yes, it is parked and torn down.
I added pictures.
I think I should go into the knuckle part to see those gears also. The edges of the bevel gear and ring gear I see are sharp on the upper edges on one side. It's like they are not meshing deep enough but why? Has the bevel fear lowered or was this not shimmed properly when the seals were replaced?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

The bearing are not press fitted, every bearing on a kubota is a fine tolerance fit.

You have something seriously misaligned as you can see xtreme wear on the teeth.

Get the WSM and it will explain how to set it up properly to get the teeth to mesh like they are supposed to.

 

[Lil Foot]

I am not familiar with your tractor at all, but this sounds a lot like a buddy's problem with a Yanmar. He bought the tractor in pieces from a guy who had disassembled the hub for some reason. He reassembled it. Neither apparently knew what they were doing, and the hub failed almost immediately, breaking the gears. He bought new parts, and A MANUAL, and we assembled it, and it worked. (and it is still working) Turns out either the first or second owner reversed the order of assembly of a gear & a spacer, which drastically reduced the engagement of the teeth.
Your 4th & 5th pic show an almost identical setup to this scenario. In the Yanmar, that ring should have been located behind the gear, not in front of it.
Again, I know nothing of this hub setup, and this maybe totally off base, I only offer it as a possibility. Your results may vary.

 

[Luckystars]

The bearing are not press fitted, every bearing on a kubota is a fine tolerance fit.

You have something seriously misaligned as you can see xtreme wear on the teeth.

Get the WSM and it will explain how to set it up properly to get the teeth to mesh like they are supposed to.

I do have the WSM however we are in the process of moving and it is in a storage container, somewhere. Mama's got a project for tomorrow.

Today i looked it over more closely and when I stand it up as it would be on the machine with just the casting sitting on the bench the unit spins free but when shaken the outer bearing does have some play. Maybe 3/16" at the ring gear.

I think the bearing is bad and perhaps from improper assembly last time. I'll order a bearing and seals while we look for the WSM.

Thanks everyone. I need this thing running. I'll get back and let you know how it turns out.

 

[Luckystars]

As advised I dug in a little further and I also found the WSM.
The king pin bearing appears to have let loose. The balls fell into the bevel gears and that what I felt. Teeth snapping with ball bearings rolling around in there.
2 bevel gears, 6 bearings, several cir clips and snap rings and all the seals $1,100 or so.
The 2 berings at the end of the axle shaft look good and feel smooth but with 14,500 hours it might be best to just replace them and the seal at this time. They did see some polluted oil for some time.

 

[Luckystars]

One more picture.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Wow!

 

[Lil Foot]

Brings back memories:

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

but with 14,500 hours

Is this a typo?

 

[Luckystars]

North Idaho Wolfman. No it's not. It's my best guess. The hour meter shows 4,500 but I think it's rolled over. I could be wrong. It was bought at an auction in 2003 by a friend of mine. He never looked at the meter or can't remember. He's almost 80.
This had low compression on 2 of three cylinders when I got it. When I tore it down I found the rods were 10 under and the head had marks of eating a valve at some point.
The FEL is so worn out I had to make bushings for it where they had worn through.
Once I got it running the hydraulics were slow and you advised me about replacing the brakes.
It has a bearing noise in the rear end now that goes away completely when you press in the clutch. Who know???
I need it to finish building a house then I'll get into the noise.
If it's 4,500 hours it has been a very long and bad road.

 

[Magicman]

Thank you for seeking information on and posting the front end pictures. They may help me or someone else.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

North Idaho Wolfman. No it's not. It's my best guess. The hour meter shows 4,500 but I think it's rolled over. I could be wrong. It was bought at an auction in 2003 by a friend of mine. He never looked at the meter or can't remember. He's almost 80.
This had low compression on 2 of three cylinders when I got it. When I tore it down I found the rods were 10 under and the head had marks of eating a valve at some point.
The FEL is so worn out I had to make bushings for it where they had worn through.
Once I got it running the hydraulics were slow and you advised me about replacing the brakes.
It has a bearing noise in the rear end now that goes away completely when you press in the clutch. Who know???
I need it to finish building a house then I'll get into the noise.
If it's 4,500 hours it has been a very long and bad road.

I would say 4,500 hard hours, but being a 27 to 37 year old tractor it's possible.

 

[Luckystars]

The gears and bearings and seals are all back in and after 2 weeks of using it there are no leaks and no noises. Thank you Lord.


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