Bearing failure on front of 4x4 tractor

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by TnAndy, Oct 8, 2019.


  1. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Yanmar 2011 LX410 with 1850hrs

    Went to use the tractor Monday and noticed a puddle of lube on the floor, had run down the right side tire inside. Removed wheel/tire and checked to make sure the ring of bolts was tight around the plate that hold the hub....hoping maybe they had come loose enough to allow leakage there. (BTW.....that hub housing has a big O ring, not a flat gasket....the hub housing can be pulled out 1/4-3/8" and still won't leak until you get it out enough to clear that O ring....then fluid gushes out) Refilled with 80-90w gear oil, and drove around the farm a bit. Pulled back in shop, fluid pouring out.

    Got out my flash drive that has the parts manual on it, looked it up...looked like it much be a seal on the inside where the hub shaft comes out. Called the place I buy part from (1 1/2 drive from here), ordered the seal, and added the bearing + big O ring on the hub housing....figuring as long as I was in there, that bearing would be easy to stick on. Turns out, that was the correct move....because that bearing was falling apart, and the ring on the inside of the bearing that holds the balls in place had come apart, and that cut the seal, causing it to leak. Good thing it did leak I guess, if the bearing had come on apart, might have caused other stuff to mess up.

    Parts supposed to drop ship to me today or tomorrow....fairly easy fix and I should be back in business. Interesting to note.....the inner bearing, which was fine, was Japanese.....NACHI brand. The outer bearing which failed was Korean....KBC brand.

    [​IMG]

    Hub housing & O ring:

    [​IMG]

    Hub, outer bearing (left), seal, inner bearing (right) and split keeper ring that holds the outer bearing in place.

    [​IMG]

    Closeup of failed bearing....you can see why it carved up the seal.

    [​IMG]

    Page out of parts manual I printed. Parts manuals are SO handy.....and makes it very easy to order parts on the phone when you have the part number.


    [​IMG]
     
  2. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    My Dad used Sears equipment and tools when they were still good. He kept every manual on everything. Used to be a Sears warehouse a few miles away, and we'd go there with manual in hand, and get the needed part.
    That warehouse closed a few decades back, and Sears went to crap.
     
  3. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    Good catch! I can see that causing major issues if you hadn't caught it.
     
    Gator 45/70 and sec_monkey like this.
  4. Ura-Ki

    Ura-Ki Grampa Monkey

    Wish my Kubota was that easy!
    And try getting parts for a Bolins! NOT
    Nice work BTW!
     
    Gator 45/70 and sec_monkey like this.
  5. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member


    Didn't catch it until the bearing holder clip thing failed enough to rip the seal and let fluid pour out. IF the seal had not failed, I could imagine some serious damage from the bearing falling completely apart.....like letting that big, expensive looking ring gear tear up....or the pinion gear still in the vertical part...stuff like that.....so I'm happy the seal went first as an indicator !
     
  6. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    I'd be surprised if it's not almost the same design.

    Bearings/seals/etc are pretty standard stuff. Had I not been able to get it from Yanmar, I'd have gone to a local bearing/seal place, and they most likely could have crossed the numbers off the old parts. Where you get in a hurt is machine specific stuff, like the housing, or the gear inside.....if you need them and the manufacturer is gone, you are really screwed.
     
    Gator 45/70, sec_monkey and Ura-Ki like this.
  7. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    @TnAndy "Parts manuals are SO handy.....and makes it very easy to order parts on the phone when you have the part number."

    Ain't that the truth! I finally found the Service Manual (800 pages) and the Part Manual for my old New Holland Skid Steer...$264 for the Service manual and $140 for the Parts Manual... I know I got to buy them someday but...….Ouch!
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  8. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Well, tell yourself it's cheaper than one major service job.

    I happened to luck into the parts manual for my tractor....guy at the parts counter said "bring a flash drive, and I'll burn you a copy"....went immediately to Walmart and got one, and was back in 1/2hour ! Now got it copied to a 2nd flash drive in case the first one dies. Actually better on a drive as I can easily print off a page when doing something and have it right there to make note on, etc.

    I got one from my IHI excavator from the main place that distributes parts by simply asking....they emailed me a PDF of it......you might try asking around !

    You might try this place too.....didn't know your skid steer model, but the service manual for an L325 is only 40 bucks.
    Service & Repair Manuals for Owners | Cheap Haynes & Clymer Books

    Another place has 20 buck version for
    New Holland L180, L185, L190, C185, C190 Skid Steer Loader
    New Holland L180, L185, L190, C185, C190 Skid Steer Loader /Compact Track Loader Service Manual – Service Manual Download
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2019
    Bandit99, Seawolf1090 and Gator 45/70 like this.
  9. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    There's a company near me , Bearing Distributors , I would have gone to someone like that and maybe found a better quality bearing for it , and possibly bought the parts to do both sides , that way you know the other side wasn't failing as well . Good luck with it . I'm glad you found it before more serious damage happened .
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  10. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    That's interesting.
    Is that Yanmar one of those "Grey Market" tractors that you can get sometimes for a fairly good price?
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  11. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    Yeah, we have a Dixie bearing place not too far from me I would have gone to if getting one from Yanmar would have been a problem....got the number off the old bearing. The seal might have been little more of an issue....couldn't find a number on it, so would have to go with dimensions. Parts came today UPS, and I noted the new bearing was a Japanese brand, not Korean like the original.
     
    Seawolf1090, Gator 45/70 and SB21 like this.
  12. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member

    There are a lot of grey market Yanmars out there, but mine was built in Adairsville, Georgia where there is a Yanmar plant. Yanmar has had an interesting history of tractor marketing. My first one was a 22hp 4x4 I bought new from a local dealer in 1984. Not long after that, Yanmar quit selling them under their own name in the US and started building the small John Deere tractors...the 750, 850, 950 series. Then sometime in the 2000 era, they starting building them for Cub Cadet.....my 2011 still has the yellow/black Cub color, but was the first year Yanmar went back to selling them with the Yanmar name on them. Then couple years later, they went back to their traditional red paint scheme and sell them today that way. The plant they build in Georgia was a major commitment to stay in the US market of small tractors, so I guess.....maybe...they will be around a while.

    BTW, Yanmar has been building diesel engines since the 1920's.....they are used in a lot of boat and construction equipment apps.
     
  13. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Thanks. I was doing some research on tractors for my BOL awhile back as I will need one some day. Just read a blog that said one should avoid grey market tractors as they aren't built to US safety standards (basically no ROPS) and service manuals are written in Japanese.

    I knew Yanmar had been around for awhile. Looks as if you've had good luck with yours up until this happened. Fortunately you caught it early.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  14. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    You know,I do remember seeing Yanmars in sailboats,I'm wanting to say I've see them and ran a few in Offshore Survival Capsules.
     
  15. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    I have found bearings and seals for some things on Amazon and usually at 1/3-1/2 the price. I generally check there first now-a-days.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2019
    Seawolf1090 likes this.
  16. Wildbilly

    Wildbilly Monkey+++

    I just started working at Rural King as a Tractor Salesman and our tractors all have Yanmar diesel engines, except for the largest which is German made. The smaller John Deere tractors use Yanmar engines and cost $5000 more that the Rural Kings. Five thousand dollars will buy a lot of green paint, or equipment for that tractor. I was raised on a cotton farm in NW Alabama and I still have one of my Daddy's John Deere tractors, but for most people any tractor of any color will do the job. That being said, " Can I interest anyone in a brand new shiny red tractor?".;)
     
    Gator 45/70 and oldawg like this.
  17. BenP

    BenP Monkey++

    The front hubs seep oil past the seals on my old Ford 8210, (6500 hours I think) but they call for hydraulic oil. I have been topping them off with axle grease and heavy gear oil for the past 2 years and it seems to keep them in check.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
survivalmonkey SSL seal        survivalmonkey.com warrant canary
17282WuJHksJ9798f34razfKbPATqTq9E7