4020 hubs slipping

Boss Hog

Member
I grew up on MF tractors. But my Dad has one JD 4020 that we're trying to get ready for an auction.

On one of the rear hubs there are a bunch of bolts, or clamps - I'm not sure what to call them. There's a rib on the inside of the rim that they straddle At one point some of them slipped off to the side of the rib. We jacked it up, loosened the things up, and got them back in place.

I thought we had everything tightened back up. But when you move the tractor there are still some noises from the rim. I don't quite know what's going on or what to do about it.

Dad says the tractor knows I don't like it, so that's why it's giving me problems. :wink:


I want to get the thing in decent shape to sell. It could be that no one would know anything about the problem with the rim before they bought it. But I don't do things that way.


Don't have any pictures at the moment. But I can get some Sunday afternoon if that would help.

Any help you could offer would be appreciated.
 
well first thing that comes to my mind is that the BOLTS that are suppose to be square headed in the clamp are siezed
up in the big cast hub. This prevents it from properly pulling tight on the clamp and rim.
easiest way to tell is to take one nut off flush and hit it with a hammer. see if it moves through the big cast hub
if it seems solid then its siezed. you will need a bigger hammer to move these loose just make sure the nut remains on
so you dont damage the threads.
you may have to hammer it back and forth a few times from each side to loosen the rust inside the hub holes.
then remove one completely and power wire brush it with some never sieze and back together.
if you run the tractor with the clamps loose like it is you will end up damaging the rib on the rim, wrecking the
clamps and possibly having the rim come off the tractor.
 
X2, you may need to get some new clamps also. If the clamps were loose for a wile they wear right along with the rim.
 
I think JD has it. More than once I could not budge those bolts going through the hub. I finally had to cut them off flush on each side, heat what was left of the bolt in the hub to cherry red and let it cool for a day. Then the "rust weld" would break and I could pound out what was left of the bolt. I know this sounds extreme but those bolts would not pound out with any amount of penetrating oil and waiting. Paul
 
A air hammer and a little heat would dislodge that rust.
A big hammer or sledge hammer would mushroom them, but the air hammer will not. The vibraytions would turn the rust into powder (and you hand as well)...
 
I went out and looked at them Sunday. There's a gap between some of the clamps and the hub.

Tried to get pictures, but the camera wouldn't focus that close up.

Didn't have time to work on them. I hosed every one of the clamps down with penetrating oil before I left. Hopefully when I can get back out I'll see what I can do.

One quick question - Do you normally jack the back of the tractor up so there's no weight on the rim when you work on the clamps?
 
Kent, I appreciate the offer. But we have a JD dealer in town, and I already bought some.

Tried driving the bolts out. So far all I did was smash the nuts. My son will be in town this weekend. I plan to try again with a bigger hammer, a torch, and his help.
 

Boss Hog I just want to say good on you for not selling someone a problem on purpose. Just think how nice it would be if everyone was that honest. I am always amazed at how people will pass on a hidden problem to someone else and it doesnt bother them at all. Ive always disclosed any issues with something I was selling, and it may have reduced my check a little but Ive never once regretted it. Sharp dealing eventually comes back to you I think and peace of mind means more and more to me as I get older.
 
KYpatriot, thanks for the kind words. I try to treat people like I'd want to be treated.

BTW - Are you the guy that make the KY jelly? I tried it on some biscuits the other day, and it tasted [b:0aee42bc01]awful.[/b:0aee42bc01]



Back to the tractor - Yesterday my son and I worked on it. We used a big punch and a 16# sledge to drive the bolts back a bit. Then used a 3/4" breaker bar and a cheater pipe to tighten them down.

It seemed to work. There was only one of them that wouldn't tight up all the way.

Thanks to all of you for your help.
 

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