Diff Lock Difficulty

[OrangeKrush]

I have the BX2680 and whenever I try to lock the rear axle it doesn’t want to engage most of the time. I was moving snow tonight and was trying to back up on a slick snowy curb and tried and tried, finally gave up! This has happened numerous times, I don’t try when the wheel is spinning .. I always stop and try to engage, then if it doesn’t go I’ll crepe forward or backwards slightly and still no luck. Never had a problem with my B7510, what am I doing wrong? I only have 14 hours on!

 

[85Hokie]

My first thought is to rock the tractor a bit - you did that, it should slide in!!

I would press on the peddle and move constantly forward (or reverse) slowly while pushing on the lever......more distance than you have done in the past.... spin a while longer!


Has it worked before - and NOW messing up? OR never worked as it should?

 

[07wingnut]

Just a guess here, but I presume if the pins that lock the differential are not lined up correctly, it won't engage. To vary the alignment you may have to press the locking pedal while moving and turning slightly in one direction or the other. At some point, it should engage, but when engaged, don't try to make any sharp turns, cause you will be dragging one of your rear wheels.

 

[mcfarmall]

Maintain pressure on the pedal while moving forward or back and it will eventually drop in. Your foot and the pedal will drop another inch or so when it meshes.

 

[GeoHorn]

I wonder if the pins aren’t stripped if you‘ve tried engagement while moving slowly and still no joy.

 

[OrangeKrush]

My first thought is to rock the tractor a bit - you did that, it should slide in!!

I would press on the peddle and move constantly forward (or reverse) slowly while pushing on the lever......more distance than you have done in the past.... roll 10 feet!


Has it worked before - and NOW messing up? OR never worked as it should?

I don’t think it’s ever worked as it should but I have been able to put it in a couple times.. had to work with it then. I’ll be plowing again here in a little bit as we got a lot of drifting with new snow.. wind finally died down.

I wonder if the pins aren’t stripped if you‘ve tried engagement while moving slowly and still no joy.

I’ve never really tried locking it in while moving except for just that little movement back and forth. I have moved forward or backwards a few feet and then tried again with usually no luck. I’m very careful when meshing gears together and try to do as the manual says.

I do remember it saying not to try locking it in while the tire was spinning.. thats been stuck in my head from my other tractor.

I really dislike the little lever they put on this BX.. it’s hard to find without looking for it.
Thanks for trying to help guys.. if it continues to be a pain I’ll let them know when I take it in for other adjustments.

 

[BigG]

OrangeKrush

I am wondering if you are being too literal about the "Do not spin." rule. You need one tire to spin in order to get the locking pin to line up with the hole. You must spin the wheels at a very slow rate. The caution about spinning is due to people spinning the tires at a high rate of speed and trying to force the pin to lock.

Go slow with one tire spinning and it will lock together.

 

[xrocketengineer]

OrangeKrush

I am wondering if you are being too literal about the "Do not spin." rule. You need one tire to spin in order to get the locking pin to line up with the hole. You must spin the wheels at a very slow rate. The caution about spinning is due to people spinning the tires at a high rate of speed and trying to force the pin to lock.

Go slow with one tire spinning and it will lock together.

Either that or make a slow turn so that the rear wheels will be going at different speeds.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Ok.. I’ll try these ideas, ready to go play in the snow and I’m sure I might need it here and there. Thanks guys!

 

[pokey1416]

Ok.. I’ll try these ideas, ready to go play in the snow and I’m sure I might need it here and there. Thanks guys!

You need this. Check here for it https://www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com/kubota-bx-dif-extension-3

 

[OrangeKrush]

You need this. Check here for it https://www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com/kubota-bx-dif-extension-3

View attachment 54970

I remember seeing this on their YouTube channel and thought about it.. I thought it was a little pricey so I thought I could live without it. Come to find out this may be exactly what I need! I tried normally pressing down on the lever with some decent amount of pressure. I’m pretty good about knowing the limits of mechanical items and I was having to put a LOT of pressure on this as I was slowly going forward. I could almost feel it trying to do something so I went with even more pressure and low and behold it moved, more pressure and it finally started to go and then slowly went down and locked in.
Each time I tried it, it acted this way, so now I’m thinking it just needs a little more leverage. That little lever it comes with makes it feel like you’re going to bend or break something. I guess they made it small trying to keep the platform more open.

So I guess I was being too easy on it.. Thanks again guys!

 

[OrangeKrush]

Thanks for the link pokey!

 

[Russell King]

Maybe it needs some lubricant if there is a point of rotation or movement?

 

[BigG]

I remember seeing this on their YouTube channel and thought about it.. I thought it was a little pricey so I thought I could live without it. Come to find out this may be exactly what I need! I tried normally pressing down on the lever with some decent amount of pressure. I’m pretty good about knowing the limits of mechanical items and I was having to put a LOT of pressure on this as I was slowly going forward. I could almost feel it trying to do something so I went with even more pressure and low and behold it moved, more pressure and it finally started to go and then slowly went down and locked in.
Each time I tried it, it acted this way, so now I’m thinking it just needs a little more leverage. That little lever it comes with makes it feel like you’re going to bend or break something. I guess they made it small trying to keep the platform more open.

So I guess I was being too easy on it.. Thanks again guys!

Look at Messick's parts diagrams.
F20500 DIFFERENTIAL LOCK PEDAL



You might need to lube the linkage for the dif pedal

 

[Bmyers]

You need this. Check here for it https://www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com/kubota-bx-dif-extension-3

View attachment 54970

I have one installed on my tractor. Easy to install, easy to use, and doesn't get in my way.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Maybe it needs some lubricant if there is a point of rotation or movement?

I’ll have to check that.. maybe it never got lubed if it has a place to lube.

Look at Messick's parts diagrams.
F20500 DIFFERENTIAL LOCK PEDAL



You might need to lube the linkage for the dif pedal

I’ll check Messick’s! and yes I’ll check for lube also.

 

[OrangeKrush]

Look at Messick's parts diagrams.
F20500 DIFFERENTIAL LOCK PEDAL



You might need to lube the linkage for the dif pedal

Thanks BigG, I went out and checked Messick’s site and that give me a chance to see how the linkage was configured. No grease points but I suppose I could lightly lube the linkage connections.

 

[OrangeKrush]

So I was playing around with it some more and it’s just being stubborn! I can get it to go in but sometimes takes a few minutes and a few tries, then when it does go in it doesn’t come out right away when you let off. The pedal releases but when I check to see if it is still actuated by pressing on the pedal it goes straight down with no tension. I drive a ways then check it and it’s out. Is that normal, will it hurt it if I’m driving at normal speed and it pops out?

I ask this because I was watching the YouTube video of Jim & Kathy “think that’s his name” the guy that makes the extension pedal and he said you had to be careful because when you take your foot off and you’re moving along it could damage it.
I understand how that could happen and why I was wondering if it should release within a couple feet or less??

 

[nbryan]

So I was playing around with it some more and it’s just being stubborn! I can get it to go in but sometimes takes a few minutes and a few tries, then when it does go in it doesn’t come out right away when you let off. The pedal releases but when I check to see if it is still actuated by pressing on the pedal it goes straight down with no tension. I drive a ways then check it and it’s out. Is that normal, will it hurt it if I’m driving at normal speed and it pops out?

I ask this because I was watching the YouTube video of Jim & Kathy “think that’s his name” the guy that makes the extension pedal and he said you had to be careful because when you take your foot off and you’re moving along it could damage it.
I understand how that could happen and why I was wondering if it should release within a couple feet or less??

Stop, step on the diff lock pedal, turn the steering sharp left or right, and move slowly as you turn. The diff lock will engage when one rear wheel rotates faster or slower than the other.
With good traction, going straight and trying to engage the diff lock pin won't work. One rear wheel has to rotate against the other wheels position before the pin can line up.
I discovered the turn-and-lock solution this fall while skidding trees for firewood. Before starting to pull, to the turn and lock first.
Works every time!

 

[Old_Paint]

I personally don't see much difference in steering the tractor so that one rear wheel turns faster than the other or just letting one spin slowly and engaging it, especially if on soft ground where dif-lock will actually do some good. It is difficult to engage. If I start spinning, I ease off the HST treadle to slow the differential speed of the rear tires and just rest my heel on the lever . Nary a knock, bump or any noise whatsoever from the dif when it locks. Bottom line is that the splines in the planetary must be aligned to get the dif-lock to operate. If they're not, then one wheel must turn more than the other. Sometimes, a steering maneuver isn't possible if you're in tight quarters. Spinning one wheel [SLOWLY] is nearly always possible if positive traction (locked differential) is needed. I'm not sure a dif-lock would be advantageous on a manual transmission versus HST, unless it was a lever to turn it on and leave it on until the lever was switched back to open dif mode. HST makes it too easy to slip one wheel. I sometimes use Dif Lock just to get through a mud hole rather than running 4x4 mode and making either side of the mudhole deeper. It might be shaped somewhat similar, but just remember you're not driving a top-fuel dragster.