Slack in the finals?

[panda]

While using my A with a 42" brush hog slung under the belly their seams to be a lot of "slack" in the rear end/finals area. Really notice it when you change directions from forward to reverse. Is this normal for a tractor that is 74 years old and is it something to worry about? I don't want to cause any damage or tear her apart if this is normal for a machine of this age.

[Matt Kirsch]

What do you mean by "slack?"

Do you mean the finals are visibly moving when you change direction? If so that is NOT normal!!!! Your tractor is falling apart, and desperately needs some bolts tightened.

[panda]

The finals are not moving. By slack I mean it feels like their is to much slop in the gears and their is a clunking sound like you would expect if the gears had to much clearance.

[Matt Kirsch]

Hmm, that's not good either.

The good news is that the gears themselves rarely wear that much. That would be a tractor with 10's of thousands of hours on it.

If the gears are wore that much it would probably be more prudent to find a different tractor. That one would have to be some sort of record-setter, and belongs in a museum as it sits.

The bad news is, it's more likely that the bearings are shot. Cheaper to replace than gears, at least.

[Jim Becker]

Check your lug bolts, rear wheel center bolts and wheel weight bolts. Some of them may be lose.

[SONNY]

All of mine do that ---have been for years! --- thanks sonny

[panda]

Did not think of the wheel bolts. I'll check them out as soon as I can. It's nice to know I'm not alone with this problem. Being a retired heavy equipment mechanic it bugs the heck out of me every time I change directions. I like the kiss plan of attack and would rather leave it alone IF I can use it and not do any further damage. Getting to old to tackle big jobs and the wife is watching the pocket book like a hawk watches a field for supper. Thanks for the info and advice. Great place to come for information.

[Matt Kirsch]

If it's not making any funny noises when you do what you need to do, I wouldn't worry about it.