Oil Groove advice needed!

[Lil Foot]

One of my best friends (after all, he sold me my Kubota) has purchased a poor substitute for the Kubota, a Yanmar 1500. It had a couple of missing bearings & broken gears in the left 4wd knuckle, and he thinks he has all the parts needed on order to put it back together. Now for the question:
There are two bevel gears with roller bearings in their bores that slide over a spindle. Above & below this assembly are two washers with oil grooves in them- he thinks the grooves should face away from the bearings, and I say towards them.... the rollers bearings don't bear on the washers, the washers simply locate the assembly on the spindle. When he took it apart, it was so filthy he didn't notice the grooves until he cleaned the parts. Service manual is no help, nor the parts manual, or the dealer. (it's a grey model) I think the grooves will allow oil to get to the roller bearings, he thinks the bearings need the support of the un-grooved side. (again, the rollers never touch the washers)
1st pic shows the type of washer, 2nd is the exploded view, with parts #49 & #52 being the washers in question.
Help please....

 

[Stumpy]

That tapered groove in the washer is meant to allow an oil film to form between the washer and a rotating surface. I think you have it right. I believe the idea is to allow the shaft to float on the washer a bit so it doesn't wear out even if the majority of the load isn't on it.

What is part 53 though? It looks like some sort of pin that fits in the lower washer's groove?

 

[Lil Foot]

What is part 53 though? It looks like some sort of pin that fits in the lower washer's groove?

I have no idea..... there wasn't a pin or key, or a place for one, when it was disassembled, nor in the new parts he received so far. (he has everything except the spindle)
Maybe there was a design change, without updating the drawing?

As a side note, this must be a poor design that commonly breaks..... he has spent weeks calling all over the country looking for a new or used spindle, & has found dozens of tractors, with no spindles. Virtually everyone said they had it or could get it, but no luck. He has sent money for one 4 times, only to be disappointed each time. He now supposedly has a used one on the way, fingers crossed.
The alternative will be for me to machine, sleeve, & re-machine the old spindle, extrapolating the design from the rest of the parts.

 

[Big Kahuna]

The oil groove always faces the bearing, anytime I rebuild a machine thats where they are at tear down and when it gets back together.

Big Kahuna

 

[Apogee]

As mentioned above, I too think it should face the bearing. However, if it were me I'd be taking the other side apart and checking just to be 100% sure. Far too much work (and expensive) to do it over if you get it in backwards and it sends metal shavings circulating throughout.

Just my $.02,

Steve

 

[Lil Foot]

Everyone, thanks for your replies. Now, if we can just get a spindle....

 

[Apogee]

Lil Foot,

If you do take the other side apart to confirm proper orientation, please post back here so other people know 100% for sure how it goes back together. Could be helpful to someone else down the road.

Regarding the spindle, if you can't find one here in the States, why not order one from either Canada, Japan or Australia? Just figure out where the thing was originally sold and order the part from Yanmar in that country.

Steve

 

[Lil Foot]

Will do, but it's up to the owner if he wants to tear the other side down.
As for ordering the spindle, he tried to find one out of the country, but was told all suppliers & warehouses were out of stock, and it would be 6-8 months before anyone got any. That is why I think this must be common, recurring problem. There is another 4wd axle design for the same tractor, and he found lots of parts for that one.
Hell, I'd just make a new one from scratch, but no one will sell us a blueprint. (maybe we will have to tear the other side down, just to copy the spindle)