Trevor4440
Member
I have a nice 5000 hour 4440 with a hydraulic leak on the cab door side where the rear end and axle meet. The tractor is a first year 4440 and I assume has the smaller rear axles. There had been an oil build up and barely noticible leak for a few years, would only notice the leak when it was parked on the concrete portion of the barn for a few days at a time. Had it running last night in the barn, didn't even move it, just had it running low rpm as its hooked to the planter and needed to raise and lower it. Went back out there after work tonight and have about 2 gallons of hydraulic on the floor and a nice steady drip every few seconds. John Deere wants to come out in the morning since its April 2nd and this is my planter and essentially everything tractor, I live 45 minutes from the dealer so can't easily take it there. I have heard before that the bolts holding the axle to rear end can stretch over time and cause leak. If it is the bolts, would the normal practice be to take the whole thing apart and replace seal or do they just replace the bolts one at a time? And if so what I am getting at is would it be feasible for them to replace the bolts on a service call and possibly fix the problem, or am I just wishfully dreaming? I may be off on the whole thing though, any ideas? I want to be somewhat informed before the $90/hour starts adding up!