OK...I've been noticing that the right front wheel looks wet. It seems pretty oily/slimey. I would guess there is some kind of seal in the drive shaft that I need to replace. Anyone have any suggestions on how to go about troubleshooting this problem and/or fixing it. Thanks Allen
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JD4440
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Sounds like when the axle seals went out in our S185
skidsteer.ca
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Allen
Jack it up and see if you can slide the axel in and out. The spec for side movement is .010"
If the end movement is close to this spec then the bearings are fine. If it slides in and out .100" or so your seal is gone because the bearings are bad and the job just got much bigger.
If its just the seal, loosen the bolt i the center of the wheel hub, put a bottle jack between the frame and the hub on each side to press the hub off the axel. It won't come easy and you may need to slap the center bolt with a hammer to break the taper free. DO NOT remove the center bolt entirely as the hub will fly acroos the shop if not retained by the bolt.
Then you can get at the seal to change it. There is also speedy sleeves available to fix the axel if its rough where the sleeve runs.
Hopefully a seal and you are up and running again.
Ken
Thanks for the info...are you talking about pulling and pushing on the axle with the wheel attached?? Is the exact measurement you quoted measured in a certain way or should I just go by feel?? Is the oil that is leaking out the same hydraulic oil in the reservoir behind the cab or is this coming from a different place. Basically wanting to make sure I don't run dry and how to check how much I have. This machine is for a hobby farm so it gets used lightly...I do want to get it fixed but not sure how fast I can get to it...tons of other projects and things that need fixing. Thanks Allen
If you can get your hands on a dial indicator with a magnetic base, you can measure the end play very accurately. Don't rely on feel for this.
OK...so when we are talking about play in the axle are we talking about pulling it in and out...as in straight out and pushing straight in or... Are we talking about putting your hands on the top and bottom of the wheel...as in hand on top furthest away from ground and hand on bottom closest to the bottom and seeing how much play there is in the vertical axis. Any ideas where to get a dial indicator with a magnetic base?? Thanks again. Allen
If you want to buy one you can look at MSC, or Enco, or on the cheapy end- harbor fright.
So the way I used it to check the end play on my 630 was to line up the indicator so that it can measure the motion as you pull and push in and out on the hub. This gives you a direct measurement that lets you know what size shims to use to tighten the gap. Or if your bearings are just plain worn out.
Good luck!
Is the wheel/tire on or off while doing this?? From reading what others have posted it looks like the measurement is pulling straight out and pushing straight in...anyone shed any more light on this. Thanks Allen
skidsteer.ca
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Yes straight in and out with or without tire. If you can feel it move its is too much acording to the manual.
The .010" is from the manual and imo is on the fussy or ideal side of the coin.
If it moves anywhere close to the .100" its definitely time for bearings as you will also have up down movement that will ruin the new seal and the bearings must be getting pretty worn.
They are a tapered bearing on each end so end play will also result in up down play.
.100" is more my opinion fwiw.
Ken
OK...thanks for the info. I will jack it up and try it out today. just by feel. If I don't get anywhere with that I will try to get one of those magnetic deals and see if I can measure anything. Thanks again for all the help...and here's hoping I don't get any movement and it's "just" a seal.
With the wheel off, try grabbing the hub with both hands and yank on it (straight out) as hard as you can. Then push in on the hub harshly- you'll feel and hear a definite clunk - it's just the shaft sliding in and out. When it's all brand new it has about .010" play. Feels like nothing. .100 is almost an eighth of an inch.
