Front left hub is a bit sad - advice needed

[Paul Allwood]

I had noticed the front left wheel running a little out of true and yesterday heard a "squeak" that I thought might be a bearing noise.

I raised the front left and confirmed the wheel was running out by about 10 mm but when I spun it by hand the squeaky noise seemed to be coming more from the front drive shaft area - maybe a front uni joint ? I'll get back to that.

After removing the wheel I found that the hub was running out by about 4-5 mm. Looks like a section of the flange might have taken a hit before I had it. Maybe related to the missing wheel stud where a different bolt had been fitted from behind ? Need to remove it to confirm its just the flange and to try to press it straight.

I need some help. Does the housing that holds the hub and final drive stub come off with the 6 bolts removed or is there more ?

I have a copy of the 137 page WSM but can't find any reference to this or any pics.

28 January 2026

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[Paul Allwood]

Looks like it's just those 6 bolts. A few taps in the join with a sharpened screwdriver and it came apart nicely.

Gears and bearings look and feel ok. Doesn't look like this is the source of the squeaky noise, but I will check and try and straighten the wheel flange.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Here's the final drive shaft and wheel flange running in the lathe. It's good that the shaft is straight but it looks like the wheel flange is out by about a quarter inch around two of the wheel studs. Next I'll take out the studs and see if I can work out a way to press the wheel flange back to straight - probably won't get it perfect but I'm hoping I can improve it a bit from where it is now. Maybe if I can get it close I'll take a small lick off the mounting face on the lathe to get it true to the shaft.

It's 44 deg C (112 deg F) here now and my shed isn't air conditioned so not sure how much of this I'll get done this afternoon.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I would be very careful, that is cast steel or cast iron and either could break very easily with the wrong pressure added to it.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

It looks to me as only a small part is bent in, towards the tractor.

I would not machine material off the hub. Try to bent it back in a press. Heat helps. Well, a bit more than 44°C

 

[Paul Allwood]

I would be very careful, that is cast steel or cast iron and either could break very easily with the wrong pressure added to it.

Understood. I've managed to bend it a little - not much more needed. Bearing @Hugo Habicht comment in mind, I won't machine anything of the hub, I'll bend it as close as I can and leave it at that. Worst case, I'll end up with a wheel that wobbles a little as it drives over rough ground and wobbles a little. Only ever driving on dirt and grass.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Is the rim straight?

I am wondering what happened to the hub.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Wow that must have been quite the impact.

Just throwing ideas out there.

I wonder if you cleaned it up real well, and used something like “JB Weld” as some sort of “liquid shim” and greased the wheel (as a parting agent) , then lightly bolted them together?

Maybe that could help/mask/solve the runout issue?

I have had very limited success "bending back” cast parts.

Just an idea….

 

[hagrid]

I think the poor girl fell off of the jack onto a concrete floor while the wheel was removed.

@Paul Allwood visually evaluate the OD of the flange and scan for signs of abrasion/impact, plz.

 

[GeoHorn]

The man owns a lathe… so I suspect he’s knowledgeable regarding castings and how brittle they are.

It’s unimaginable (to me) that hub was “bent” without fracturing.

@ Paul Allwood : You mention the “wheel” is out of “true”…. and I wonder if you need to investigate further into the questions : Is it the WHEEL? or the HUB ? or the Axle-shaft?

I cannot imagine the hub being bent without evidence such as deformation or crack.

The Wheel is steel and can be bent more easily than the hub. Can you place that wheel onto the opposite axle (purely for testing) to see if it runs true on the opposite axle?

 

[TheOldHokie]

Here's the final drive shaft and wheel flange running in the lathe. It's good that the shaft is straight but it looks like the wheel flange is out by about a quarter inch around two of the wheel studs. Next I'll take out the studs and see if I can work out a way to press the wheel flange back to straight - probably won't get it perfect but I'm hoping I can improve it a bit from where it is now. Maybe if I can get it close I'll take a small lick off the mounting face on the lathe to get it true to the shaft.

It's 44 deg C (112 deg F) here now and my shed isn't air conditioned so not sure how much of this I'll get done this afternoon.

I would indicate the hub at the pilot. If thats true some shims at the low spot(s) would pribably get the wheel running more or less true. This is a very low speed wheel. I have had tractor wheels that were bent like that and worked for many more years. One front on my B7200 was used like that for better part of 20 years.

Dan

 

[Yooper]

I would feel confident that Kubota would make this part out of cast steel and not iron. That is a plus for trying to straighten. I would not heat it with a torch, though. Too easy to warp the bearing/seal bore. Maybe some time in the oven to help relax it a bit. Good luck!

Just curious. What kind of lathe is that? Looks like good ol’ American iron.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

@ Paul Allwood : You mention the “wheel” is out of “true”…. and I wonder if you need to investigate further into the questions : Is it the WHEEL? or the HUB ? or the Axle-shaft?

Watch the video it's quite evident.

 

[Paul Allwood]

The man owns a lathe… so I suspect he’s knowledgeable regarding castings and how brittle they are.

It’s unimaginable (to me) that hub was “bent” without fracturing.

@ Paul Allwood : You mention the “wheel” is out of “true”…. and I wonder if you need to investigate further into the questions : Is it the WHEEL? or the HUB ? or the Axle-shaft?

I cannot imagine the hub being bent without evidence such as deformation or crack.

The Wheel is steel and can be bent more easily than the hub. Can you place that wheel onto the opposite axle (purely for testing) to see if it runs true on the opposite axle?

Yes, good idea.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I would feel confident that Kubota would make this part out of cast steel and not iron. That is a plus for trying to straighten. I would not heat it with a torch, though. Too easy to warp the bearing/seal bore. Maybe some time in the oven to help relax it a bit. Good luck!

Just curious. What kind of lathe is that? Looks like good ol’ American iron.

It's an old Hercus lathe. I believe they were made in Australia.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Watch the video it's quite evident.

I'll put it back in the lathe and have another look.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I think the poor girl fell off of the jack onto a concrete floor while the wheel was removed.

@Paul Allwood visually evaluate the OD of the flange and scan for signs of abrasion/impact, plz.

I'll check and let you know what I see.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I think the poor girl fell off of the jack onto a concrete floor while the wheel was removed.

@Paul Allwood visually evaluate the OD of the flange and scan for signs of abrasion/impact, plz.

I think you might be on the money - there is an indentation in the flange in the area that was deformed the most.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I had a go at pressing the flange today and managed to reduce the maximum runout from about 5mm to 1mm. This took a few goes and the last couple of attempts would help in one spot but not in another. So without lots more time in making a fancier press setup, I decided that would be good enough. Also keen to stop before anything cracked - didn't know how close I was and didn't want to push my luck.

If it still bothers me I may use some JB Weld as someone suggested above.

Given the comments and commenters so far, I haven't put anything back together yet. Always happy to receive these great comments and suggestions.

Here's a few pics and videos of what I did.

Pressing with the flange bolted to a 1" plate.

Checking runout using the graduations on the top slide on the lathe.

Final runout way better than when I started.

29 January 2026

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Checking shaft - +/- 0.004". I think this is ok.

29 January 2026

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Checking hub that located centre of wheel - +/- 0.010". I think this is ok too.

29 January 2026

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[Runs With Scissors]

Since the “top speed” is about 10mph (15kmh?), I think that should be good enough.

I think you’re smart to “stop while you are ahead” instead of "pressing your luck". (pun intended)

Nice job