JD - A rear wheel adjustment

[chas036]

I am trying to move the rear wheels on my JD-A from the far outside of the axle towards the inside, but I have not had any success. The wheels have not been moved since I have owned the tractor which is 16 years. I did remove the locking hub that tightens the wheel , but when I try to slide the wheel along the axle, it will not budge.

I have soaked the hub and axle in PB Blaster and beat on the outside wheel weight attached to the wheel with a 50 Lb steel railroad rail and it will not budge a milimeter, nothing.

Is there any secret to freeing up the wheel on the axle so it will move?

 

[Paul from MI]

I have had pretty good luck making a puller using threaded rod and the locking ring. Put some scrap iron between the locking ring and the end of the axle, threaded rod between the wheel and the locking ring. This way all the force is between the locking ring, the wheel, and the end of the axle. No way to break anything internal, like bearings, etc. Tighten it up and keep at it daily for a few days or a week. Tapping on the outside of the wheel hub will jar the rust that's holding it all tight loose. When it moves, take it clear off, clean the splines good, and slide to whereever you want it. Good luck with it, be patient, times's your buddy on this one.
Paul

 

[Rusty wheel]

I wouldn't pound on the wheel. As tight as it is, you might as well be pounding on the end of the axel as far as the bearings are concerned and that will put flat spots on them.

 

[Len, New Haven, VT]

Once you get them free, put some Never Seize (sp?) on them! It saves HUGE amounts of work in future!

Good luck.

 

[chas036]

My wheel is right at the outer edge of the axle already , so there is no room for it to move more without comming off. If I put a piece of metal between the locking hub and the axle, the edge of the wheel will be hitting the metal also.

I noticed there is a small hole in the end of the axle. was put there so you can use a regular puller, and can you buy a puller to pull someting that big?

Also, if I take that wheel completely off, how in the world will I ever lift it back to slide it on again?

 

[jdhbag]

I use an automobile motor lift to put on and take off my wheels on these tractors. Have also used a tractor loader in the past which worked fairly well.

 

[kseaton65]

it is not to much work to dissasemble the wheel, remove the rim from the centre, then the centre from the hub, the hub will be easyier to work on without the wheel in the way, working on wheels should almost always be a two person job, dont let one of those get away from you, but if you take them apart they are more manageable, i have used an ATV jack to lift the centres back up with the hubs installed, then installed the tire and rim by rolling it up a couple of pieces of wood and working it over the centre, worked well but was still a two person job,

 

[James Howell]

Several good suggestions/points made below.

Take a look at an earlier post on <a href="http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/viewit.cgi?bd=jd&th=265030">moving wheels</a> from over 2 years ago.

Hope this helps.

 

[BushogPapa]

Chas..what we have always done is to get that squeeze-ring off..as you already have..
Jack up one wheel...Spin it by HAND and hit the brake, to get it loosen up..(you already have penetrant on it)..
Now, we slip a light to Medium sized chain thru 2 opposite slots in the wheel, so it can catch the implement attaching bolts on the axle-housing.
Just turn the wheel until the chain "bumps" the wheel and it will move in..
You may need to adjust the chain length as the wheel moves in..
Always works for us..
Never grease the Axle, either...!!!!
The wheel won't stay where you want it to stay..!!
Ron..

 

[BushogPapa]

Chas..what we have always done is to get that squeeze-ring off..as you already have..
Jack up one wheel...Spin it by HAND and hit the brake, to get it loosen up..(you already have penetrant on it)..
Now, we slip a light to Medium sized chain thru 2 opposite slots in the wheel, so it can catch the implement attaching bolts on the axle-housing.
Just turn the wheel until the chain "bumps" the wheel and it will move in..
You may need to adjust the chain length as the wheel moves in..
Always works for us..
Never grease the Axle, either...!!!!
The wheel won't stay where you want it to stay..!!
Ron..

 

[chas036]

I would have never thought of rhar method. Will this work if the wheel hub is rusty and the axel is rusty? Right now there is no movement in the hub after three days of soaking with PB Blaster. I have tried beating the outside of the wheel with a 50 lb railroal rail and not a budge or a movement. Using your chain method will be any better?

 

[BushogPapa]

If it is really rusty, I would wire brush the axle as clean as I could, they use more PB Blaster and use the method of rotating the wheel, while jacked-up and hitting the brake, to jar the hub..
This can put a good Jar into it and should work the PB Blaster into the splines.
Several times on this and then I would try the chain and rotate the wheel to get the chain to jar it..
I would not (and have never had to) use a beater on the axle end..to move one of these..
To pull the wheel OUT, we run a loop of chain from the jacked up wheel to another JD and rotate the loosened wheel to wind the chain up and it pulls the wheel right out...

Good Luck...!!
Ron..

 

[chas036]

I tried spinning the wheel while in nuetral but can"t get it spinning fast enough to really get a good jolt. There is resistance in the transmission so it will not spin real freely.

Also how much lag do you use when you attach the chains to the frame bolts?

 

[ArnieinChesterfieldVa]

I'm not a pro at this.....and in fact I've never moved the wheels on my 60 (i'm a newbie and only had the 60 since last fall) but in reading the forums, one fellas solution when reading an earlier post on this subject was he found it easiest to slightly loosen things up and just take the tractor for a little spin turning right, turning left, etc. to let the weight of the tractor do the job itself. It worked for him every time....but with your wheels already being all the way out, might not be a good idea. You wouldn't want the wheel to fall off the end of the axle.
Arnie

 

[BushogPapa]

You should not need to "spin" the wheel..just pull on the tire, then hit the brake with your hand to jolt the hub..

Leave enough slack to be able to turn the wheel about 60 to 90 degrees, to give it some leverage on the chain..

Has it move yet..??

Ron.

 

[chas036]

I tried last night with the chains and I would spin the tire 90 degrees until the chains took hold and nothing. I tried for about an hour and nothing.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Heres what I did with my A, I had the same problem,remove the clamp , clean the splines as best you can, pour some oil around the hub and on the splines, start the tractor and drive it, not in 6th gear, but drive it on some rough ground and the wheels will break loose.

 

[Water63]

I fabbed up a puller to use the lock collar bolts. Once the hub started to move I just worked it back and forth it finally moved faily easy a 2lb hammer and block of wood. It did take a pretty good pull to get it started The chain Idea should work also.