Farmall A final drive slop

[Owen Peterson]

Winter project addressing oil leaks on rear axle. Also noticed both rear wheels have “slop”. I removed the final drive on the right side. I was expecting worn bearings, but both feel tight. As in inner race doesn’t feel to have any runout. I assembled the shaft out of the housing, and noticed no play or slop. What gives? Also, the spacer tube has “wheatland” on it. Both ends look to a chamfer machined on them. No mushrooming that I can feel.

 

[Owen Peterson]

I must amend the above. Closer inspection shows some axial movement. Guess would be amplified to the outer circumference of the tire when mounted. You can get movement on both rear wheels. Guessing new bearings, in addition to seals, are needed.

 

[wh]

Have fixed a few like that by “peening” where the race goes in housing. This will tighten up the bearing and eliminate the slop. Many many super a’s thru 140’s running in this area with that fix.

 

[Owen Peterson]

May try that. Had a rough spindle on the front that allowed inner bearing race to turn with a little effort. I tuned spindle up with a center punch and used some bearing mount compound. Did the trick. There isn’t a lot of play in bearings. Think a guy should put in new ones since it is apart?

 

[wh]

I redid mine last year. Just peened them and reassembled. Seems fine.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I've done the punch and Loctite program on bearings with good results. I would according to the wear change them If not pitted or rough would probably not change them all according to the duty if just a trailer queen not if a working daily tractor then probably would change them. I would expect some shims are in there to adjust the bearings as needed when being assembled. I would mic them then with the bearings slid together and lightly snug a couple bolts to the appropriate fitting using a feeler gage to check clearance then set up a set of shims and mic them or easier to just add the thickness of them till you get the feeler gage measurement then check the fitment of the bearings with the shims in there and all bolts tightened up to spec.

 

[Owen Peterson]

Thanks for the guidance. It’s not a trailer queen, but gets maybe 20-25 hours a year mowing the yard