4600su

[scoutn4help]

help i have a 78 4600su i have broke 5 spindles off in 4 yrs. i think part of my problem is that my front tires sit like this /--- i know they should be like this ---/ the center part is 2 yrs old along with the pivot pin the down tubes?are not bent or twisted. does anybody have any ideas what it could be

 

[Brian Allen]

scoutn4help
Are we to assume you are using a loader with that much breakage?
Drive slowly & lift lighter(if possible).

A picture would be helpful!
Is it always the same side?
Have you replace the spindle bushings?
If they are worn and loose, it may help to replace them.
Brian

 

[Jerry/MT]

I have no direct kowledge of the 4600SU but I have heard other people state that they were a weaker axle.

The camber is excessive. I think the camber angle should be near zero so the verticle axis of the wheel should be near 90o relative to the horizontal. The tubular piece that supports the verticle section of the spindle is attached to the axle and that sets the inclination of the verticle spindle piece. The angle between the wheel spindle and the verticle piece is set by the way the spindle is forged AND the wear in the bushings in the vericle axle tube. If those bushings are worn then the verticle shaft can wobble and change the camber. Changing the spindle won't correct that problem. You have to rep;ace the bushings.Have you checked the bushings for excessive wear? I would imagine that if the bushing wear is excesive, that verticle piece will wobble in the support tube when you pushed latterally on the wheel with it raised off the ground.
If the bushings are worn, they will need to be pressed out and new bushings pressed in.

 

[RodinNS]

Lose the loader, or whatever else you have hanging on the front of the tractor. Weight on those axles is a terminal disease.

Rod

 

[scoutn4help]

i can not lose the loader it is what i feed my cattle with i can not lift 1200lbs of hay with my back sorry rod

 

[scoutn4help]

yes i use a loader  i need to know what makes the front tires set wrong with new pivot center new bushings and new spindles still set /-- and not the way they should --/

 

[RodinNS]

...then spindles are going to be a cost of doing business. Those axles are just about adequate to carry the tractor, never mind adding the loader and a 1200# bale.

If the camber is off, you can look at the spindle bushings, wheel bearings (for slack) or the bolt holes in the axle where the ends bolt to the center pivot piece. If those holes are worn, elongated, sloppy... whatever, that could allow the axle ends to pivot upwards at the outer end. That would throw the camber off.
I can't see where anything could be bent as nothing would go back together if it was bent. If the spindle bores get bent you can't get the spindles in place.
You might check and make sure that you have the right spindles and such... I don't know if there was more than one variant, but there could have been.

Other than that, I'd suggest that you try to carry the bale on the three point hitch until you get it where you're going, then if you need to lift it high, use the loader then. Otherwise a massive counterweight on the three point would take enough weight off the front to save the axle. I'm talking the kind of counterweight that will lift the front end off the ground when the loader is removed from the tractor.

Rod

 

[Old Ford Mechanic]

You will continue to break spindles using that tractor to lift 1200 lb bales.The SU front axle is not beefy enough for that much weight.Its the front axle that a 3600 uses.You need to trade up to a tube axle tractor such as a 4600 row crop or a 5000.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Buy a bale spear for the 3 point or buy in to a metalurgical company that can make better axles.
Or put a heavier front axle under it. A 3400 front axle would do the job just fine and would be a direct bolt up to your radius rod style steering.

 

[Jeep]

good to see you made it over here scoutn4help hope you get some help Jeep

 

[scoutn4help]

we traded up from a 68 3000 with a ford manure bucket to a 4600 with a loader to do the same job but the 3000 did not bow out the front tires and to replace the 4600 its going to cost me at least $15,000 in which i do not have right now all i need is why my front tires are setting the wrong way as in the camber is backwards

 

[scoutn4help]

the 4600su would be fine to when i can find out why the camber is backwards

 

[scoutn4help]

i have replaced the all worn parts there is on play or slop in anything but the tie rods and that is not very much and as for the boshings you do not press them in you put them in the freezer for about 2hrs then you tap them in with a small hammer and a brass rod or something with soft metal that is blunt on both ends

 

[Brian Allen]

scoutn4help
Please post a picture!
Brian

 

[Jerry/MT]

If that's the case, then you are overloading the front axle. You need a bigger tractor or smaller loads on the loader.

 

[Len052]

If your center cross arm which pivot pin goes thru is in up side down it will cause this problem
Len

 

[Shetland Sheepdog]

(quoted from post at 00:33:40 02/20/09) Buy a bale spear for the 3 point or buy in to a metalurgical company that can make better axles.
Or put a heavier front axle under it. A 3400 front axle would do the job just fine and would be a direct bolt up to your radius rod style steering.

I agree with the suggestion of the 3400 axle, but you may also have to replace or extend the radius rods and drag links as the 3400 axle is one piece and NOT swept back! I have a 3910 which has the same axle setup as your 4600 SU. :shock: I use a Dunham Lehr loader on it and have for about 20 years! :roll: I have broken 1 spindle in that time! The main thing that I have found is to use a little common sense and go slow when carrying a load, also be very cautious on rough ground! A good sign of abuse is if you notice an arch in your radius rods! :roll: As to the camber issue, I have a little in my front wheels, and blame it on the axle adjust bolts as mentioned in an earlier post! However it is not severe enough to be a concern to me. :wink: IMHO the BIGGEST harm is shock loading! If you can avoid that you'll get along fine! :roll:
Dave 8)

green Sugar maple 3 ft long and 3 ft in diameter

 

[Shetland Sheepdog]

(quoted from post at 23:07:21 02/20/09) If your center cross arm which pivot pin goes thru is in up side down it will cause this problem
Len

I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure that the center section is symmetrical, (don't matter which side is up, top and bottom are the same)
Dave 8)

 

[Len052]

I had mine in wrong and wheels layed in at the top Len

 

[Shetland Sheepdog]

(quoted from post at 00:24:50 02/21/09) I had mine in wrong and wheels layed in at the top Len

I'm not gonna dispute you 'cus the only time that I changed one was 30+ years ago! (it broke at the pivot point!) That was on a 4000 SU with a Ford 730 loader picking rocks on plowed ground! :? The radius rods on that one had a pronounced arch! :roll: BTW that tractor got traded for a Ford 515 with loader! :lol:
Dave 8)