L3410 front end rebuild

[llbooher]

I recently purchased a 2000 L3410 with about 2k hours. I knew the front wheel drive wasn't working but I took a chance. I did some research on here and took the advice and sure enough the problem was the front drive shaft coupling on the pinion end was stripped. Changed it and now I have 4 wheel drive. Now my question: The end of the pinion shaft is showing some pretty good wear due to the fact the coupling shaft continued spinning on it(Didn't take it out of 4 wheel) The new coupling does engage the pinion shaft and seems to be working fine but I know that's it only a matter of time until the pinion shaft wears completely out, So is changing the pinion and ring gear something that I can do? I am pretty mechanically inclined but I didn't know about special tools or equipment that is needed. I talked to the local Kubota dealer and the gave me a price of $349 for the ring and pinion but no spiders.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

It's all a matter of how comfortable and competent you are.
I think that's about a 3 on the scale of complexity.
But then again I think completely disassembling and rebuilding a damaged GST a walk in the park.

 

[Fedup]

Replacing the ring and pinion may not be necessary just yet. You should first concentrate on the cause of the spline damage/wear. The front axle pivots and bushings. Many Kubotas, particularly among the smaller ones, have no provision for greasing this area, thus they are often neglected. I've seen a number of them with this same problem. You need to jack up the tractor enough to take the weight off the front tires, then see how much movement there is in the pivot bushings. Ideally, there will be none, but I'll bet yours have plenty. If you can correct this, your pinion splines may last longer than you think. This is probably something you can do with a little help, even if your skill level doesn't match some of the contributors here.

 

[llbooher]

I jacked up the front end and both wheels seem to have very little free movement in them, the right side may have slightly more than the left but neither is extreme by any means. Then again I'm not really sure where the Pivot bushings are but I assumed it was where the axle transitions down to the wheels. Is that correct or am I out to lunch? I thought it was either there or where the front axle pivots up and down on the center of the frame. Am I close at all?

 

[1970cs]

Nope this what fedup is referring to:

May not be what you have but very similar.

If the splines are worn on the pinion shaft, you have little choice but to replace the pinion and ring gear. Just get a Kubota WSM.

And I also would check for wear in the axle trunnions.

Pat

 

[Fedup]

I'm referring to the entire front axle assembly where it pivots under the front casting. Jack the tractor front(not the axle, the tractor) up until the tires almost clear the ground but not quite. When you reach the right point, you can roll either front tire forward and backward and tell if there is excessive wear by how much the axle assembly moves in any direction. You may have to play with the jack for a bit to get just the right amount of weight off the tires. Ideally, it will not move at all, but if that were the case, you wouldn't be experiencing the spline and coupler wear.

 

[llbooher]

I understand, I jacked it up and relieved most of the weight, tried to roll the axle housing with the tires and there is just a little bit of movement(Roll) to it. Mine does have grease fittings on it so I added grease. They seemed to be greased up because it only took a pump or two for the grease to start pushing out. Is, that just a Pin type connection or is there actually bearings or something in there? This is my first 4 wheel drive tractor so I really appreciate the help.

 

[Fedup]

I believe there are replaceable bushings in the mounting flanges, but they ride on solid parts, The front wear surface is a stub that's part of the center housing and the rear wear surface is part of the differential support housing. Doesn't take much movement in this are to cause the spline/coupler wear.

 

[Tooljunkie]

Having a workshop manual will answer all your questions. Its more a matter of tools available to you to go with the skills you possess.

As wolfman mentioned, its not like a transmission rebuild.