Hey guys. 2017 JD 333G, PIN 1T0333GKAGF305099, 2300# I went and looked at this yesterday, hoping to pick it up for use on the farm. I knew beforehand the left final drive was a little wet around the retaining ring. The right final drive was replaced within the last 100 hours, and was told the hydraulic fluid and filter was changed at the same time (I failed to ask if the filter was cut open to inspect contaminates, but a shop did the work so he may not know.) When going through the machine, everything initially looked and felt fine. It tracked OK, 2 speed kicked in fine. I ran it about 200 yards. All hydraulics functioned smoothly. On the way back to the truck, going up a hill, it began popping like worn tracks when you're turning and the inner teeth are popping on the idlers. I asked the owner to jump in so I could expect from the outside, and it went really south, where it was binding. I assumed the final drive was pretty much done at this point and agreed on a price *if* I could load it on the trailer. Well, I couldn't get it on the trailer. Even putting in "H" pattern to drive only the right side but assumed this would not work anyway without something helping pull it. There is essentially 0 power on the left side where it can barely track straight, but any kind of load and nothing is there. I do not know if it's just the planetary teeth shelled or what but sounds like a god-awful "jumping"/clunking like a stripped-out sprocket and motorcycle chain. I had to make the 1.5hr drive back home so was not able to do any testing. The price is right, he's holding for me, and I'd like to go back and check. My concerns are: -if the failure took out the inner seal passing contaminates to the rest of the hydraulics -is it common for both FD to go out with 2300# (I assume "yes" if no one ever changed the gear oil) -is it coincidental that the left side went out shortly after the right side, or could this be from debris in the hydraulic oil that took out the other side, and potentially hit something else in the system My gut feeling is 50/50 on this. If I go back, I'm just going to bring a hydraulic filter and cut the current one open to see what it looks like. If it's free of metal, I'm going to assume it's ok to move forward and just plan on a final drive replacement repair bill. If there is metal in it, I'm probably going to walk away as I do not have the time or money to mess with cleaning out/replacing portions of the entire hydraulic system or dealing with metal that could be lodges somewhere else or caused excessive wear. Is it worth even pulling the plug on the final drive housing to see if there is metal in there if the hydraulic filter is clean? RH side operates fine. Feedback from any of you guys if you'd be concerned about something being damaged passed the final drive, and advise against purchasing this? Thank you in advance, as always appreciate everyone's time and feedback.
If you want a machine for the farm and need it running? Run fast. More than likely, not only will you be doing a drive, you will probably be doing pumps soon.
The most common thing I see on these finals is the sprocket seal goes out, it leaks all the gear oil out, and the planetary fails soon after. If it is the planetary alone, you will not have hydraulic contamination as it is separate from the motor hydraulics. Find the drain plug on the outer cover, if you can roll the final enough to get it at the bottom, pull the plug and look for metal in the final gear oil. Last time I bought a final like this it was a new aftermarket.........was somewhere around $3500 if I remember right. If you find metal in the hydraulic filter, I would definitely sprint away.
This is the 3/8" ratchet head plug, correct? No metal here would be a bad thing in this case, meaning the inner/pump side is shot which would mean metal in the system? Or is it worth even doing this and just cutting the hyd filter alone? Yes, he said the other side was ~$3600 when doing the other side and it came with the drive motor. Cheapest I'm seeing now is in the $3900 range for a reman, or $6k ish for Deere. I have a T66 that has been a great machine. I've been pretty tied up with it and it'd be nice to have a second that is dedicated without having to haul it back and forth all the time. Realistically, I'd use the Deere for a year or two and sell it. It is high flow and just have some improvement stuff I'm working on right now. Completely understand your comment though and that's been a thought in my head.
Not sure if this helps at all, but this was post "final drive went from good to bad in 600ft".
If you do opt to cut open a filter, you can also check the case drain screen in the return manifold in the bottom of the belly. Big chunks will end up there.
Pull the cover off the planetary and inspect. If its busted to hell, pull out all the parts so it will roll, inspect the inner seal, check the hyd filter, and proceed if the price is right. If everything looks good in the planetary, it failed on the motor side, put the cover back on and walk away.