Left Front Axle Gear Case Leak

[Phil]

Recently My Kubota L3130 started leaking oil from left front gear case pivot seal. At first I though of replacing the seal. but when the steering is turned all the way the the right or left the bevel gear case moves up on the upper gear case about 0.040" (1.06 mm) to 0.050"(1.27 mm). This is pivot where the oil seal is located.
My question … where is the slack coming from?
Is it in the upper gear case or the lower bevel gear case ?

The shop manual shows disassembly and reassembly but no shimming procedure.
If it becomes necessary to re-shim either assembly, does anyone have a shimming procedure or the established or official way of doing this ?

 

[Phil]

Thanks for the quick reply Vic.
Unfortunately, we are in the process of preparing the base gravel for the new garage. Absolutely necessary to have the tractor on site to move gravel and to excavate the foundation for the house. The seal leak is minor but I'll monitor the oil level and top up as needed and repair as soon as possible. As always mechanical repairs never come at a convenient time.

 

[Phil]

After the garage was finished, the tractor was brought home for service and repair.
The left gear case was disassembled and inspected to find out where the slack was coming from and what was causing the leak.
Apparently, the lower bearing was not shimmed properly, for there was no shim. This allowed the gear case to float up and down and the movement damaged the lower bearing fit and the seal.
A new gear case was installed along with new bearings and new seal.
Caution: When a new gear case is purchased, the bearing must be shimmed to suit the new casting. Shimming is fairly straight forward, after the bearings are in place, measure the distance between the bearing and the snap ring groove and purchase and install the appropriate shims.
Although the right side was not leaking it disassembled and inspected as well.