Front left hub is a bit sad - advice needed

[Paul Allwood]

We all do, what we gotta do, to keep things running and working for us!

Some just do it with bubble gum and duct tape.
Others with a slide rule and an engineering degree.
And lets not forget the wing and a prayer group too!

I'm guilty of extremes of both of the first two, not so much the third. Often I can get so stuck in over-analysing that I never manage to start. Other times I analyse for a minute then do it anyway just to get something done. It's hard (for me) to find a happy medium.

 

[mdhughes]

I broke the front yoke on my Dodge Ram and used a network cable to tie the front drive-shaft up so I could get home. That's all I had in the truck at the time.

 

[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?

I put the wheel from the "running out of true left side" onto the right side. The right side flange runs true, as does the wheel from the left side when mounted to it - see video below.

31 January 2026

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When I raised and removed the right front wheel I did notice the the right front hub, while it runs true, moves freely in and out about 3-4 mm. So while I'm doing this I'll also pull the right side apart to see what's allowing the play and see it it's something I can fix.

Looking at the pic below of the bits I removed and disassembled from the left side, it looks like the in-out movement is limited by:
- The 2 half round pieces circled in red that locate in a groove on the shaft at the yellow arrow.
- These are held in place radially by the bore on the end of the gear circled in blue and sit against the spacer (green arrow) that slides over the shaft.

My thinking is that things that could allow the in-out movement to increase are:
- Half round pieces are worn
- The groove in the shaft is worn
- The spacer is worn (or an incorrect spacer had been fitted at some stage).

The half round pieces appear to be all the stops the shaft from coming out completely - not really something I'm keen to have happen if there's a problem I can fix first.

I'll let you all know what I see when I get to pulling the right side apart.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

that 'design' seems similar to my BX23S and I know there are shims. Pretty sure the WSM has a chart of sizes available,or maybe it's on the 'parts page', but I KNOW 'somewhere' I saw it.
ideally you want minimal movement..something 'silky smooth'......not too loose, not too tight, but just right.....

 

[GeoHorn]

.
ideally you want minimal movement..something 'silky smooth'......not too loose, not too tight, but just right.....

Are we still talking about a Tractor…??

 

[Paul Allwood]

that 'design' seems similar to my BX23S and I know there are shims. Pretty sure the WSM has a chart of sizes available,or maybe it's on the 'parts page', but I KNOW 'somewhere' I saw it.
ideally you want minimal movement..something 'silky smooth'......not too loose, not too tight, but just right.....

At the moment it feels like too much movement - mostly I'd like to have a look at why.

 

[Paul Allwood]

So here's the finish of the (hopefully) fixed left front hub. I machined the JB Weld epoxy and ended up with the face being out by a maximum of about 0.002". I'm hoping the epoxy survives and it stays like this.

New wheel studs made from class 8.8 bolts.

Where the wheel runout was about 3/4", it now runs nice and true.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I thought the left side was bad....

The in-out play on the right front had me worried enough to want to pull it apart to have a look at what was causing it. Given the amount of dirt caked on the outer surfaces, and the slightly muddy oil, I wouldn't be surprised if a seal is leaking too.

1 February 2026

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The insides weren't quite what I expected.

The spline on the inside of the large driven gear is gone and the gear has been pretty roughly "keyed" to the shaft using four round pins. I can't tell how good or bad the holes were when this was first done, but the holes and the pins all look pretty rough now. Also have no idea how long it has been like this and how much 4WD use it has with this "fix" in place. I did notice a fair bit of backlash before pulling it apart but didn't measure it.

The in-out play is now starting to look pretty minor.

I'm open to suggestions for what to do next.

One option is to put it back together as is and keep using it and hope for the best.

Another option is to "scotch key" it properly (maybe with plain pins, maybe with grub screws that also follow the line of the shaft) by making a sleeve to fit over the plain end of the shaft, re-drill the holes and fit new pins to eliminate the current play. My guess is that this would help it last longer.

What do you think. What would you do ?

PS - I'm planning on using it in 4WD with the loader.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I thought the left side was bad....

The in-out play on the right front had me worried enough to want to pull it apart to have a look at what was causing it. Given the amount of dirt caked on the outer surfaces, and the slightly muddy oil, I wouldn't be surprised if a seal is leaking too.

1 February 2026

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The insides weren't quite what I expected.

The spline on the inside of the large driven gear is gone and the gear has been pretty roughly "keyed" to the shaft using four round pins. I can't tell how good or bad the holes were when this was first done, but the holes and the pins all look pretty rough now. Also have no idea how long it has been like this and how much 4WD use it has with this "fix" in place. I did notice a fair bit of backlash before pulling it apart but didn't measure it.

View attachment 169166

View attachment 169167

View attachment 169169

View attachment 169170

View attachment 169171

The in-out play is now starting to look pretty minor.

I'm open to suggestions for what to do next.

I've option is to put it back together as is and keep using it and hope for the best.

Another option is to "scotch key" it properly (maybe with plain pins, maybe with grub screws that also follow the line of the shaft) by making a sleeve to fit over the plain end of the shaft, re-drill the holes and for new pins to eliminate the current play. My guess is that this would help it last longer.

What do you think. What would you do ?

PS - I'm planning on using it in 4WD with the loader.

Grub screws only as a temp fix until you can source new / used parts to replace the damaged parts.

 

[Paul Allwood]

Grub screws only as a temp fix until you can source new / used parts to replace the damaged parts.

I was thinking of using the grub screws as a Scotch key. Holes drilled axially along the shaft - half in the shaft, half in the bore - then tap for the grub screws. I used the same method to attach a large worm wheel to a shaft on a winch I made for our old 60 series LC years ago, but that's the only time I've ever done it.

I guess I'm preparing for the parts not being available here or being really expensive, but I have already emailed the local Kubota dealer.

Like this but with 4 grub screws to make it tight but still allow easy disassembly. One problem I'll have is that for this to work well the shaft and bore need to be a good fit - I don't have that with the worn splines.

 

[Paul Allwood]

I've just found these parts with the ruined splines on Messicks - approx $2,400 Australian without postage. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. I'll either need to find a much cheaper source of parts or I'll be trying the scotch key approach - doesn't seem like I've got much to lose.

 

[Paul Allwood]

There's a tractor wrecker not far from me that had a B8200 in the yard when I was last there a few months ago. On the Messicks site the parts look the same in the exploded views, but the part numbers, while similar, aren't exactly the same. I wonder if they use generic exploded views for these old tractors.

Anyway, it will be worth a look if I can get there with a couple of spanners tomorrow.

 

[Yooper]

I agree with wolfman that any repair is temporary but it will buy you time to source some used parts.

Great job on the repair of the other side!

 

[Russell King]

@Paul Allwood

There is a way on Messicks to see what other models a part number was used on.

when looking at the parts list the part number is a hyperlink to the price and availability. When on that page there is a button at the bottom that says something like ”see all models used on”. Push that and you get a list like this

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

There's a tractor wrecker not far from me that had a B8200 in the yard when I was last there a few months ago. On the Messicks site the parts look the same in the exploded views, but the part numbers, while similar, aren't exactly the same. I wonder if they use generic exploded views for these old tractors.

Anyway, it will be worth a look if I can get there with a couple of spanners tomorrow.

Send a mesage to @Mountainman, if anyone has those parts it would be him.
His prices are very reasonable and I'm sure he could work out shipping.

 

[Dustyx2]

Having spent nearly 50 years in a machine shop I've done several repairs like that. We called it "staking" it.
I don't recall any of them failing but some may have and never heard about it. I have even seen original equipment manufacturers use that method in some instances. Most recently in Okuma CNC lathes. In your instance the challenge is going to be working around the other repair and the limited space for drilling and tapping. I would agree the best is to replace but I believe a working fix is possible.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

B8200 parts will NOT fit that axle.
Newer B7100HST will work.

Front gear link

 

[Paul Allwood]

@Paul Allwood

There is a way on Messicks to see what other models a part number was used on.

when looking at the parts list the part number is a hyperlink to the price and availability. When on that page there is a button at the bottom that says something like ”see all models used on”. Push that and you get a list like this
View attachment 169181

Excellent, thanks Russell

 

[TheOldHokie]

I was thinking of using the grub screws as a Scotch key. Holes drilled axially along the shaft - half in the shaft, half in the bore - then tap for the grub screws. I used the same method to attach a large worm wheel to a shaft on a winch I made for our old 60 series LC years ago, but that's the only time I've ever done it.

I guess I'm preparing for the parts not being available here or being really expensive, but I have already emailed the local Kubota dealer.

Like this but with 4 grub screws to make it tight but still allow easy disassembly. One problem I'll have is that for this to work well the shaft and bore need to be a good fit - I don't have that with the worn splines.

View attachment 169172

OUCH!!!

Scotch keys work fine but will never produce the torque carrying capacity of the OEM splines. We already know the splines failed so....

Dan

 

[Paul Allwood]

B8200 parts will NOT fit that axle.
Newer B7100HST will work.

Front gear link

Ok, thanks.

Here's what I got when I tried the link in your reply....