Wheel spacers and broken axles?

DaveFromMi

Well-known member

Equipment
L3901, 5' Bush Hog
Apr 14, 2021
542
450
63
Indiana
The bigger issue for the axle is fatigue failure. You are repetitively bending the axles back and forth around the circumference. Same type of stress as adding side force to a rotating drill bit or bending a wire back and forth many times. The father the distance between the tire mount and where the axle goes into the differential housing, the larger the force on the bearing and axle (next to diff housing), which means more stress in that area which means earlier fatigue failure.
That being said, I am going to add 1.5" spacers to mine.
 
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GreensvilleJay

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BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
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re: SFSG...
what tractor and what sized spacers and who is using or abusing it ? So many factors to consider and the right( wrong ? ) combination can result in busted things....

I remember the 60minutes segment on the MI U ''J-test' for JEEPS. 'rolling deathtraps', 'will kill everyone'...
Meanwhile I drove 7 CJ-5s for decades, 100s of 1,000s of miles on and off road and never broke them (or me..)

One thing(kinda important) is that manufacturers design/build to meet the 'just good enough' spec for parts for their equipment,they don't puposely design for 'addons or mods'. By keeping within their spec, they can keep the cost down,make an affordable product that you'll b
 

NHSleddog

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B2650
Dec 19, 2019
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....
How does one determine, without a sample greater than one, if this is a manufacturing fluke or a real issue?......
This is simple Henro and you won't want to hear the answer. Use math.

Millions of tractors sold through the years, tens of thousands of them with the ability to widen the track. How many stories have you heard of "normal spacers" (within the manufacturers spec) causing damage? I don't think the story above counts because 3" would exceed any tire/spacer spec on the BX.
 

SDT

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multiple and various
Apr 15, 2018
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re: SFSG...
what tractor and what sized spacers and who is using or abusing it ? So many factors to consider and the right( wrong ? ) combination can result in busted things....

I remember the 60minutes segment on the MI U ''J-test' for JEEPS. 'rolling deathtraps', 'will kill everyone'...
Meanwhile I drove 7 CJ-5s for decades, 100s of 1,000s of miles on and off road and never broke them (or me..)

One thing(kinda important) is that manufacturers design/build to meet the 'just good enough' spec for parts for their equipment,they don't puposely design for 'addons or mods'. By keeping within their spec, they can keep the cost down,make an affordable product that you'll b
Bingo.

Things changed in the 80s as CAD, FEA, etc., became mainstream.

Back in the slide rule days it was routine for (pick a component) to be overdesigned, but such is no longer practice.

Though it was once possible to swap a SHP engine into a 6 cylinder Biscayne and go drag racing without having things break, such is no longer likely as everything is now designed much more closely to design criteria.

Stick with the manufacturer's recommendations to remain within design criteria (and warranty) or do as you like.

I do not care what others do with their equipment but choose to adhere to manufacturer's recommendations for multiple reasons.

SDT
 

jimh406

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Kubota L2501 with R4 tires
Jan 29, 2021
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There is no way for us know why the axle broke. Some people are just really hard on vehicles/equipment. He could have pushed it really hard. It was a very small tractor. The spacers may or may not have been a factor.

One of my brothers seemed to blow up more than his fair share of engines. He literally blew up more engines than every person I know combined. It didn’t matter what brand it was. I rode with him quite a bit and can’t put a “cause” on why his engines regularly blew up, but they did.
 

lugbolt

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ZG127S-54
Oct 15, 2015
4,807
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I saw some axles broken when I worked on Deere's

almost every time there were spacers involved or the wheels were moved as far out as possible, and/or turned around. Similar, lots of front axle (MFWD) seal and bearing failures.

Many things can be involved. Y'all have addressed some of them already so I won't go into that part of it. But a question. Look at why spacers are installed in the first place. Do you think it's possible that the tractor is being used for something it wasn't designed for? I saw this often when I worked at the kubota place. Guys would buy a BX when they needed a D6, and they used their BX for a D6 and then pitch a fit because it wasn't built tough enough. If you look at how the BX is built, it is really nothing more than a glorified lawn mower which has all of the features of a full-sized tractor but in a VERY compact package. To get everything small enough, it had to be downsized which means compromises in "strength". So Billy Bob jumps on his BX23S and runs out onto his inherited farm (5 acres) to pull stumps with it. Guess what? The little tractor is unstable. So what's he gonna do? Spacers. More stable. Better yet load the tires and spacers. Now we can dig stumps with a bucket the size of a teaspoon. Breaks a 1/4" hose and then shows up at the dealer and wants a warranty hose. Or--should I say DEMANDS a hose under warranty. Then Billy Bob don't get his way because hoses are specific exclusions from warrantable repairs, so he posts all over the interwebs, and social media, that his tractor is a piece of junk, don't ever buy one and certainly don't buy one from the dealer.

Yeah I saw this stuff happen. And--one of the many reasons I used this forum, was because I had actually done a web search (from work at the time) regarding a customer's complaint of "this problem is all over the internet" (and by the way this was the only place I found reference to it), so I joined this and another forum. Here is the kicker. At the time I was actually working on a customer's tractor that had suffered engine failure due to overheat (radiator was plugged but the screen was clean)-and it was barely out of warranty not that it matters because plugged screens aren't warranty anyway. But on the other forum, I found the tractor's owner pitching a total fit about how the dealer (where I was working at the time) and the tractor manufacturer didn't stand behind their equipment, didn't honor their warranty, and were over priced-saying he could change an engine in his pickup truck in 3 to 4 hours. And just as I said, what he posted over there was not fully the truth which is extremely common in forums. So that in itself begs another question, how much of the BX axle breakage post was 100% truthful?
 
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Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
5,116
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North of Pittsburgh PA
This is simple Henro and you won't want to hear the answer. Use math.

Millions of tractors sold through the years, tens of thousands of them with the ability to widen the track. How many stories have you heard of "normal spacers" (within the manufacturers spec) causing damage? I don't think the story above counts because 3" would exceed any tire/spacer spec on the BX.
It was a rhetorical question…LOL

Was actually trying to ask if anyone had broken a rear axle on a BX.

I probably should have asked without including wheel spacers as part of the equation. And followed up with a question about possible suspected causes if broken axle reports came in…

After 17 years of BX ownership and reading tractor forums, the report above is the first I have heard of a broken BX axle…
 

Motronic

Member

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B2650, Z421
Jun 3, 2021
60
44
18
PA
There is no way for us know why the axle broke. Some people are just really hard on vehicles/equipment. He could have pushed it really hard. It was a very small tractor. The spacers may or may not have been a factor.

One of my brothers seemed to blow up more than his fair share of engines. He literally blew up more engines than every person I know combined. It didn’t matter what brand it was. I rode with him quite a bit and can’t put a “cause” on why his engines regularly blew up, but they did.
Motors typically "blow up" due to improper/no maintenance, not usage.
 

GreensvilleJay

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Equipment
BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
9,676
3,926
113
Greensville,Ontario,Canada
'how' the axle shaft failed is easy to determine, simple 'metalugical analysis' is needed, did that decades ago....now 'why' it failed gets complicated, as you'd have to know the history and configuration of the tractor as well as daily use.
 

thirdroc17

Active member
Dec 25, 2013
185
35
28
Michigan
Spacers will add stress. Kubota recommends to NOT add spacers to a BX. That's pretty simple really. If you add them, you're doing so at your own risk. Conversely, you can always find someone who broke an axle without spacers.

I have 50 year old garden tractors with the same size rear axles, that are shorter, and are housed in a cast iron transaxle. Those tractors weigh a third as much, and make half the horsepower. So for you guys who say the BX is really heavy duty, they are not.
 

Henro

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B2910, BX2200, KX41-2V mini Ex.
May 24, 2019
5,116
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North of Pittsburgh PA
And here we are worried about adding a couple inches of spacers to our BX tractors!

Picture from a TBN thread started by Milkman 15 years ago. I think he ended up removing the duals, but not because something broke. For another reason that eludes me...

1627234361863.png
 
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OrangeKrush

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BX2680, LA344 with Piranha tooth bar, LP PF 1242, LP Rear Blade, KK 60" BB
Nov 15, 2020
1,047
514
113
Indy
And here we are worried about adding a couple inches of spacers to our BX tractors!

Picture from a TBN thread started by Milkman 15 years ago. I think he ended up removing the duals, but not because something broke. For another reason that eludes me...

View attachment 63612
Pretty Wicked looking!
 

SDT

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multiple and various
Apr 15, 2018
3,084
923
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SE, IN
And here we are worried about adding a couple inches of spacers to our BX tractors!

Picture from a TBN thread started by Milkman 15 years ago. I think he ended up removing the duals, but not because something broke. For another reason that eludes me...

View attachment 63612
Something would have broken.

SDT
 
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