B2400 Front Differential Case Broke...

[Bigc4]

Hello to everyone, I'm new to this forum and this is my first time posting here so I apologize if this is in the wrong place.

I have just recently acquired a 1998 B2400 4wd FEL, it has a belly mower and some other random implements. I mainly bought it to mow my yard, it has some decent hills and was difficult to do with a push mower or a regular riding. Just yesterday I was out mowing and while driving it I heard a big pop noise but I couldn't tell what it was because everything seemed to function correctly until I needed 4wd... Basically long story longer I broke the case for the front differential where the front diff pivots or rocks side to side. I can get some pictures but I don't have any now.

A few questions:

1). Although I can't find anything here (yet) is this common?

2). The axle has an outer left case, an outer right case, the inner or center case which is what I need. Where can I get one of these? I haven't tried a dealer but I know from past quotes our local one is 3 x what I have found parts for on the inter webs although I'd rather have somebody local for this kind of thing.

3). Is there a salvage yard where I could find other parts? I have some plastic parts that were drilled into and I'd like to get those back to normal, some tail lights and some bypassed safety switches.

Thanks in advance

 

[Lil Foot]

1) Never heard of a break there; wear, yes, but not broken.

2) Sounds like my local stealer.

3) I have not dealt with these:
http://wkytpstore.com
http://www.crosscreektractor.com/de...r/customerpages/used-kubota-tractor-parts.htm

I have bought lots of new parts from these guys, service & prices were always great:
http://www.colemanequip.com/Kubota_Parts.asp

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Yea pictures of the damage would be great.

 

[Bigc4]

I finally made it back to upload some photos, some good news and some bad news. I didn't damage any teeth on the input gear but it did shear off the shaft so same results. I took the whole assembly off of the tractor, took it apart and then re-welded the housing. I found out that there was an issue with this style housing and the newer models/fix uses a cast housing.

http://www.ssbtractor.com/wwwboard/view_all.cgi?bd=kubota&msg=31579

Here's a picture of the axle still in the tractor:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30163&d=1499566714

I'm having a hard time attaching multiple photos so I will post those separately.

Thanks,
Trevor

 

[Bigc4]

Here's a picture of the fractured axle housing out of the tractor:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30164&d=1499568747

 

[Bigc4]

Here's another picture:
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30165&d=1499569087

The axle housing pivots on the two pins perpendicular to the axle. The pivot on the front is open so axle lubricant is able to leak out. That pivot rests in the front mount that has a solid washer that works like a thrust bearing. It is adjustable to account for wear. On the outside of the pivot there is an o-ring to keep fluid in. The rear pivot is the same but larger and it's thrust washer has a hole in the middle for the driveshaft to pass through with a seal that keeps the fluid from leaking by the shaft. There is a tube that inserts into the mount with an o-ring. I mention all of this because I have run across lots of questions about where these can leak from.

Enjoy!

 

[Lil Foot]

Wow. Not how I would have designed that. How about a pic of the shaft, if you get a chance?

 

[Bigc4]

Here's a picture of the pinion gear with the broken shaft:http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30187&d=1499620483

 

[Tooljunkie]

Here is how i would approach it,order new stub shaft,make up a dummy plug to align broken parts on axle housing and fit and weld back together. Keep in mind it isnt the better cast housing and it will likely break without some substantial rienforcement.

The cast housing will likely use different mounts, best to check if you are getting a replacement.

 

[OrangeColoredTractor]

Here is how i would approach it,order new stub shaft,make up a dummy plug to align broken parts on axle housing and fit and weld back together...

Bingo, exactly how I would tackle it too. I bet it could be made stronger than prior too. I see a few parts welded onto the housing now, so its easily weldable.

 

[Yooper]

Is the axle tube machined to accept the ring gear? (Stupid question on my part looking at it. It has to be.) That is the wild card when reinforcing the pivot. It will be hard to not warp that by welding on it. Will cause bearing failure on the ring gear unit. Maybe alignment issues between the gears.

Don't mean to be such a black cloud on this. Just don't want to see your situation go from bad to worse.

 

[Bigc4]

The original welds are/were all garbage. They looked like earthworms crawling across the tubing. Very little penetration. I've already welded one of them and ground it down, I ground it done because I'm going to make a reinforcement piece out of steel, lay over the weld and weld it in place to for extra strength. It will look like a thick washer with holes in it. I will weld all the way around it inside and out and then weld the holes.

Yes the tube has a weird kink in it, when I first saw it I thought the tube was dented but when I looked down inside you can see that it is machined for the ring gear assembly. It is far away from the weld though.

 

[Yooper]

Good deal. Post some pictures when you're done.

 

[Bigc4]

I heard that the newer design of axle is made as a cast piece as opposed to welded steel, has anyone seen one of these for a B2400?

 

[edkajo]

I understand this thread is old but having a similar issue developing in our 1996 B1700.
Hasn't snapped off yet, but the welds are giving up the fight.
Been searching and can't seem to find a housing new or used.
Anyone have any suggestions on who or where better luck might be found?
Thanks.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I understand this thread is old but having a similar issue developing in our 1996 B1700.
Hasn't snapped off yet, but the welds are giving up the fight.
Been searching and can't seem to find a housing new or used.
Anyone have any suggestions on who or where better luck might be found?
Thanks.

Get it out and reweld or have a welder reweld the joints, far cheaper than a replacement that could just do the same thing.

 

[edkajo]

Get it out and reweld or have a welder reweld the joints, far cheaper than a replacement that could just do the same thing.

Thanks for the input.

Was thinking of that but some say that there's an issue welding it there and it won't work right /last on this style housing??
IMHO I would rather just have it welded but don't want to be doing something that shouldn't be tried.

Would you know if any of that is true or not?
Thanks again.