New Rear U Joints Needed-- Again

Id Have to guess about 400 hours or so and probably 16 feet of snow.It must have been a bad clip and the clips popped off and the caps worked their way out.I chalk it up to my luck and chit happens.But yes the replacement was easy and I triple checked the clips on this one so Im hoping it was just a bad clip on the last one.But I cant complain for the wood I hauled snow Ive plowed and all the playing I did with it.

Mark
 
I was thinking about you guys.....well most of ya run the bigger tires....wonder if that makes em go out faster....driveshaft in my 1995 van I have never replace yet....no grease jerks there....on my 1100 only have 100 hours on it but my friend had one with 500 hours on it with the stock tires and has yet not replace them....mine i can grease by the tranny but not by the wheel....lazy kubota....that is a 2008 or 9 model.
I no my last payment is this Dec.......lol
Probably pay it off earlyer tired of writing it down in my checkbook....lol
 
I am thinking so Art. Back then on the '05, I had some 27" and then 26" tires. I have 26" now for the grippers on the '11 and will use the 25" in dry months.Those u joint angles and all that weight of the tires makes me wonder... enough that I wouldn't ever use 27" with all the driving I do, again. I guess time will tell.I have 870 hrs on this 2011 900 and the joints are still tight.
bordercollie
 
I think U joint wear is more from plowing and from hauling heavy loads also the way the auto break is designed it puts a big backlash on the joints and can raise hell on them.The only time Ive blown mine up were from plowing 12 inch plus snow wet and heavy or getting it stuck and trying to rock it back and forth and that will tear any u joint up fast.The precision 397s came with serk firrings and I add grease 1 to 2 times a year.Just a squirt.You dont want to pump them up where the grease comes out of the sides of the rubber cap as it breaks what little seal is there.Just add enough low temp grease to keep the lubed is all you need.I Have replaced mine a few times only because Mine is part Bull Dozer and army Tank.Ill hook uo on a log 100 foot long and 14 to 18 inches in diameter and snatch it non stop to get it out of the woods.(hanvt made a log dolly yet but will do it soon.As for removing and replacing the joints here re a few tips to help out from expierance. Mark the original position of the splines with a paint stick.Splines MUST be placed in the proper spot as to keep alignment and balance,If not its like driving over a wash board and will vibrate your teeth loose over 5 mph.Also a good floor jack and jack stands arew a must.Use the floor kack to raise up the machiune then add jack stands to hold it up.
Then remove the floor kack.Most floor kacks have a removable center piece or the part that sits on the frame usually round and it just sits in a hole with I think a 1 inch pin.
I remove that and made a piece that fits in the 1 inch hole and a bar on it and a 1.25 inch square tubing welded onto it to slide in the rear hitch receiver.Slide that into the reciever and take up enough pressure and or slack to hold it in place but give your self some wiggle room.Remove the u bolts that bolt the rear end onto the springs.Once bolts removed slide the jack to the leaft ot right to allow the spline to drop out .you may need to lower the jack a tad then slide it in the other direction to slide the spline out of the other side then lower the jack and pull it back to slide the rear end out from under the machine.(thats the easy part. Now from theredepending on what joint let loose inside or outside.If its the outside remoce the 3 side cover bolts that retain the bearing and seal from the trans and that assembly will pop right out.Drop the whole thing in mineral spirits or deisel to clean them up.Scrape off all residual RTV sealant from both the u joint assembly and on the transmission.Pop out the old U joint and replace it with the precision 397 or Kubota OEM gold plated joint.(must be gold lated for the cost of it) then re assemble.Place unit back in the jack if you removed it and slide it back under the machine and make sure your splines are lined up right.Slide one side in all the way as to get the clearance you need to slide the other side in.Line up the spline and slowly slide that side in while raising the jack slowlyso both splines slide in with out having to chase things back and forth.Then re bolt the side plates back maning sure you add a skim coat of RTV sealent to prevent leaks,Once thats done bolt the axel back to the leaf springs.Ive been able to do this in 45 minutes now that I have done it a few times.Be patient and take your time.On a side note get a big pan cause you will loose a lot of the hydro fluid as soon as you pop them side plates.DONT reuse the fluid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pick up 3 to 4 quarts of new fluid to re add and top it off.Then you will ge golden.
I have MS and dont move fast so if I can do it anyone can.It can look intimidating at first but its so easy to do its unreal.I hope this info helps and I didnt to to long winded on you.Good luck and if you have any questions please ask.You can ask here or e mail me direct.Either way you will get an answer from anyone here who has done it or right from me.
Good luck and god bless..Regards

Mark
 
bordercollie said:
I am thinking so Art. Back then on the '05, I had some 27" and then 26" tires. I have 26" now for the grippers on the '11 and will use the 25" in dry months.Those u joint angles and all that weight of the tires makes me wonder... enough that I wouldn't ever use 27" with all the driving I do, again. I guess time will tell.I have 870 hrs on this 2011 900 and the joints are still tight.
bordercollie
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How many hours did you have on the 05 till you replace the rear u joints bordercollie?
You probably forgot by now......lol

I would think if you did a tranny side you could jack the side of the machine on its side so you would not loose much tranny fluid if any....do it on tranny cars when I have to replace the shifter seal....I hate taking that tranny pan off a car.

Art
 
Art, I went back and found the first replacement was around 2000 hrs the 2nd was at 3859 hrs. I pulled a lot of heavy , skidded mineral troughs so that was probably part of it too. Looking back on my experience, it would not have been a big deal if the shafts weren't so hard to remove- in my case. Some members had them come right out. I think it was Mark and me that had the stuck ones.. Anyone trying this project , don't be intimidated- just take it one step at a time and you should be fine.Put the machine where you can get at it and out of the way and weather . I would check the seals and bearings while it is torn down . bordercollie
 
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I only got 100 hours on mine am not worried there....my neighbor is the one that has 500 hours on it.
Are the 1100 the same precision 397s as the 900s take?
Not looking foward to it cause his is 2 years older than mine with no grease zerts.
Getting old and just not in the mood for that crap much anymore.
He would help me so we would get it done if when....which I hope is never.......lol
I think he will break a fork in the tranny first from forcing it before anything else happens.
I tell him to move the wheel and blurp the throttle he won't listen.
I might adjust his so he has a little rear creep in it so he ...meaning (me) won't have to take tranny apart to fix the dammm thing.
He only has the problem in the snow...just like I do....but I don't get pissed and try and slam it in.....really I have no problem if you just take it easy.
Problem is he knows I no to much......lol
My whole life if I can help someone fix something I never charged em for it....just not the way it is for me....I never make a businessperson huh?.......lol
KUBOTA should have made the RTV tranny like there tractors....a high and low with just a foot pedal to make it go.
Hand throttle....then you could have a snow thrower on the front if you wanted.


Thanks bordercollie......Art
 
Art454 said:
I only got 100 hours on mine am not worried there....my neighbor is the one that has 500 hours on it.
Are the 1100 the same precision 397s as the 900s take?
Not looking foward to it cause his is 2 years older than mine with no grease zerts.
Getting old and just not in the mood for that crap much anymore.
He would help me so we would get it done if when....which I hope is never.......lol
I think he will break a fork in the tranny first from forcing it before anything else happens.
I tell him to move the wheel and blurp the throttle he won't listen.
I might adjust his so he has a little rear creep in it so he ...meaning (me) won't have to take tranny apart to fix the dammm thing.
He only has the problem in the snow...just like I do....but I don't get pissed and try and slam it in.....really I have no problem if you just take it easy.
Problem is he knows I no to much......lol
My whole life if I can help someone fix something I never charged em for it....just not the way it is for me....I never make a businessperson huh?.......lol
KUBOTA should have made the RTV tranny like there tractors....a high and low with just a foot pedal to make it go.
Hand throttle....then you could have a snow thrower on the front if you wanted.


Thanks bordercollie......Art
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I hear ya Art. I am getting too old for that too. Hope this one lasts a long time.... Have a good evening. collie
 
mine were not marked Art.Ill look back as I did a diagram to show how to line them up in the right position with out the spline marks.It may take a bit to find it as it was posted long ago but while im waking up here ill see if I can find it.
 
Mark.Sibole said:
after a long search i find damn i post a lot here lol.
Art here is a write up with pics I did when i had the same issue.Follow the instructions and you should be all set.Maybe we can get someone who knows what they are doing to pin this topic on line ups.
http://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13755
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Thanks for the heads up Mark....I new the u joint had to line up together....but why did they not make the splines go together only one way?
On my Kubota lawn mower deck when you separate the shaft it will only go back together again one way only....which makes the u joints line up.

Art
 
I want to share with everyone so you dont make the mistake I made.
I replaced a rear U joint on my RTV 900 and after I put it back together I had a horrible vibration in the rear.
I removed the rear 6 times and re aligned everything and still vibrated.
I took it to a dealer and he went over it all and told me I needed tires and it was the tires causing the problem.
I bought GRIM reapers and installed them and low and behold the vibration was still there.
Now im fuming and 600 bucks lighter for tires and u joints.

Boy Mark. I be really pissed after 6 times and then taking it to the dealer and they did not see it either and told you it was the tires.

Unbelievable "just" Unbelievable

Thanks for the heads up....cause I may have made this mistake way to easy....thinking they would only go together one way like my mower deck.

Art
 
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