MF1260 (Iseki) MFWD clunk noise

Fighting suburbia in NC · May 9, 2016

Posting for a friend who has an older/early MF1260 MFWD that has developed a clunk that sounds like driveline wrap under load. Seems to be worse going uphill and is definitely front driveline as it disappears in 2WD. We got the front axle off the ground and I listened to all of the rotating assemblies with a stethoscope and could not hear anything that sounded "different" or like a brinnelled bearing or such. Of course the hours are unknown but the tractor is in overall pretty good shape for its age and everything seems reasonably tight.

What should we be looking for as a cause? I checked all of the knuckles and hubs and they seem to be good so I am leaning toward the front pinion being the source of the noise. How do these fixed geometry front drivelines come apart? Looks simple enough and seems to be pretty much identical to JD, Ford/NH, and Kubota's of that vintage and size so what goes south in these setups over time? Any words of wisdom much appreciated.

DavidP, South Wales · May 10, 2016

Hi,
Many of the compact tract tractor 4WD axles are derived from a very similar design. You have not mentioned whether the tractor has a loader fitted. If it has the following will be far more likely to have happened and may be your problem. Does the tractor have big front wheels or are they set so that the track is wider? Certain 'orange' tractor manufacturers will not acknowledge that there is a weakness in the hubs that is made worse if the wheels are set at wide track. The inner stab axle bearing will wear and can break the casing that supports it especially if a loader is fitted. I have recently replaced a hub and bearings on an 'orange' tractor that has only done about 300 hours of loght work on a golf club since the job was done last time. Fitting the best quality bearings makes no difference. I would suggest that you drain or better still remove the outer casing and inspect the oil, gears and bearings. Under load your clonk may be due to a broken tooth but might not be heard when there is no load applied in 2WD. Let us know how you get on.

DavidP, South Wales

Fighting suburbia in NC · May 10, 2016

Thanks. This is a loader tractor so the wheels are stock track width. I am thinking it may be a tire pressure mismatch or slight tire diameter mismatch and fronts may not be matched to rears, at that. I found a parts blowup on the Agco site so I now know what the details inside the knuckles look like. These are fairly lightweight pieces but, for the size/hp/intended use(r)s I suppose they are strong enough. As this tractor is 30 minutes away it will have to wait until the weekend for me to dig deeper into what ails it. At least it is still usable in 2WD with no alarming noises.

MF1260 (Iseki) MFWD clunk noise

Fighting suburbia in NC

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DavidP, South Wales

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Fighting suburbia in NC

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