Need help on a vintage Deere LF-8 spreader

Hello -

We recently purchased a property with large pastures needing rejuvenation.

Stumbled across a John Deere LF-8 drop spreader to help us get lime, misc fertilizer and seed spread.

I need help with "unsticking" the left wheel as it is currently locked and the mechanism inside won't turn. I'm not very mechanical but after cleaning the unit it appears that wheel and piece that goes into the box (axle or hub?) needs removed for cleaning and greasing.

How the heck do I get that off? The manual has no directions at all. Sure wish Grandpa was still around!

Please help a girl out - Thank you

Hmmm, you might be in for some fun. When drop spreaders get seized, they can be quite a pain to unseize. I've had a few drop spreaders over the years. Haven't
had a Deere in ages, so I might be mixing up models, but I think you might get lucky with those bearings being split. The top cap (item #22 in link below)
should be able to be removed, which would help you out. Take those caps off and soak what's there in penetrating oil. When you do get it back together, be sure
not to crank down on the caps too hard. If I remember right, they're shimmed to give the right fit on the shaft.

Unfortunately the hubs where the wheel shafts go through will still be seized. Not much more you can do except heat with an O/A torch, penetrant, a big bar, or
some combination thereof. Be careful what you pry on and how card you crank on things. When un-seizing my Cockshutt lime spreader I got frustrated and started
cranking on the shaft with a 5' chain wrench I have. Ended up cracking a casting.

Are the bottom of the box and shutters in decent condition? If it's been used to spread fertilizer and sat unlubricated, this may only be the start of your
problems. If the shutters are rusted out, it might not be worth saving. The old-school thing to do is rinse them after using, let dry, and then soak down
everything in diesel fuel or used motor oil until it's dripping from every orifice. I don't think it's the David Suzuki approved method, but it keeps them from
seizing.

This is all worst-case scenario, and I might be a little too doom and gloom. You might find it frees up pretty easily with the bearings split and some
thoughtful application of penetrant/heat. All depends on what it was used for and how it was stored.
Deere LF Spreader Parts Manual

So it looks like I may have given a bad description of what's going on. The shaft in the picture you sent and all those items pictured are fine and have been removed and cleaned.

I'm trying to describe the remaing mechanism after you remove the wheel. A large "hub" connects the wheel on the outside of the box, then goes through tge box where some kind of wire looking thing is around it. That whole hub needs removed, cleaned and oiled then put back together. I don't know how to get it off without resorting to a hammer or some kind of force - all my instincts said "Stop!" and ask for help.

Further to my last post, I never really answered your question about how to remove wheel/hub. It's a pretty simple unit if I remember right - a big heft cotter pin keeps the hubs and engagement mechanism on. Navigate to the parts catalog for the LF spreaders I sent in last post and hit the page marked 'Rear Lever'. At the bottom you'll see the wheel hub breakdown. Unfortunately I don't think that's where it's going to be seized. Definitely a good idea to tear apart and grease, but I'll bet dollars to buttons it's the actual feed shaft that's seized, which is why I mentioned taking the bearing caps off and heating the hub where the feed shaft goes through the outboard castings. Unfortunately you can't take the feed shaft out/apart until you get it unseized.

I don't think I'd bother taking the shafts apart. Once you get it moving, just hit it with a lot more penetrant to break up the old hardened grease, and keep grease liberally applied to all fittings once you start using it. It's important to grease drop spreaders quite frequently - especially when used for lime. Lime works its way into the bearings and grinds everything apart. Greasing it regularly not only keeps it lubed, but also pushes the old grease (and contaminants) out.

I forgot to mention- you can drive it down the road to move it and the tires move, but once you try to engage the mechanism to actually spin and dispense material, the wheel gets locked up

I forgot to mention- you can drive it down the road to move it and the tires move, but once you try to engage the mechanism to actually spin and dispense material, the wheel gets locked up

Ah! started typing my reply before seeing your second post.

Hello D.. welcome to YT! In case you find it helpful to
post some photos of what you have going on here is
some info on posting pictures on here.

At the end of 2022 the forum host here changed the
requirements to new posters to be able to post photos
from a post count of 5 posts to 1 post. I believe this
change was only made on ..Modern View.. so you need
to post from there. If you see ..Modern View.. in a gray
bar just above the message text click on that it will
take you to Modern View. In Modern View you will see
the Classic View option in a red outlined box at the top,
just adding this as a way to verify you are in ..Modern
View.. Try to post your picture in Modern. It should go
through if you have at least posted once if everything I
understood about the change is correct. This
restriction was a way to keep internet bad guys from
dropping in and posting bad pictures with hidden
viruses. Pictures post through the ..Choose files..
button or some such name just below where it says
..Upload Photos/Videos.. down lower in the ..New post
and reply windows, see picture. They cannot be pasted
into the text area as a file.

(quoted from post at 21:55:39 02/20/23)
I forgot to mention- you can drive it down the road to move it and the tires move, but once you try to engage the mechanism to actually spin and dispense material, the wheel gets locked up

Click to expand...

ry this when when the wheels lock up, back up and see if they roll backwards. If they do the problem is in the cross shafts/bearings/drive chains, ect, and not in the wheel portion of the machine.

Thank you

Were you able to resolve the issue? If so, what did you do? I have an LF spreader with the opposite issue. Left wheel locks up when the feeder shaft is disengaged, but rolls when engaged ( although the feeder shaft doesn’t spin when engaged ).