Hey y’all, this is my first machine and I thought I was getting a pretty good deal. Now I’m nervous something maybe real bad, hope I’m wrong. It’s a 2014 John Deere 318D, 910 hrs. Had good service history (united Rentals), but I noticed after my first job with it today that the front left wheel is canted/angled in. Somewhat pigeon toed. It doesn’t wabble, it’s a smooth and steady rotation, just not exactly straight. I tried to upload picture from my phone but was too big. So I can email them if someone would like to see it. any advice helps greatly. Thanks
Jack it up and see if you can move it freely could be bad bearing, etc... Welcome to the forum!. What part of Texas?
Thanks. I am in Fort Worth
Push the bucket down and get that wheel removed so you can what the axle stub looks like... should be easy to spot something then...
If the axle or wheel rim was bent it would wobble as the wheel rotated. Look at the axle tube itself as compared to the frame of the machine. JMHO!
yep, that's why I think it would have something to do with the axle stub(axle stub housing) either cracked/bent or coming off the frame... however if this was occurring I think there would be a lot of oil on the ground... unless it leaked out long ago Other possibility is the OP isn't seeing the loose lugnuts and just thinks it is rolling with no wobble??? or same thing with *very* bad bearing in the end of the stub!!! but any way you look iat it there should be oil all over the place!
Agree! I’ve seen outer axle bearings that had failed, but were packed so tight with mud they didn’t wobble much.
This is great, thanks for all this help. Here’s what’s going on now. I ran the machine for about 2 hours this morning when it refused to run over 1600 rpms. It threw a few codes, I called the United Rentals and was not happy about this whole ordeal. They sent a mechanic to the job site and it was fuel filters that were the issue, I had him take a look at the wheel and he had no idea, could only conclude it was the frame bent. So I am taking it back up to United Rentals tomorrow and they’d make everything right, no questions asked.. I did lift front off the ground and there was ZERO play in that wheel.... I’ll see what they say, again I really appreciate all this help
Welcome to the joys of owning machines..
....that was once a rental machine and ran by every “operator”....
Sounds like United Rentals is a class act looking after it for you.
Called them Shotgun Wagons, stick em on every jobsite and every operator wannbe is in them.
May depend on the cost. LOL
Welcome from South Texas!
Yeah, if United is willing to fix the stuff you should shout their names from the rooftops. I think most outfits nowadays would laugh as they sent you away.
A note about UR- I believe they are a very good company. We do A LOT of business with them at work (reach lifts and AWP). In my personal life, when I was looking for a skid steer, they had a S630 with a cab and hand controls (somewhat rare for a rental unit) right around 1000 hrs. Price was good, so they let me try it for a weekend. It seemed to operate fine, but occasionally the park brake would set or be very difficult to release on one side. I called them and they sent a tech out to look at it. He changed all the fluids and it got better, but after he left, it came back. Called them again and this time, the tech lifted up the cap and dug into the chain case. Turns out, the left front drive sprocket had been spinning on the shaft and part of the assembly was down at the bottom of the case. No telling what kind of abuse someone did to that machine to cause damage like that. UR and I mutually agreed that it wasn't the right machine for me and I eventually found a S250 that has been excellent. All that to say, I truly believe UR was not aware of the problem and once they discovered it, were super good to work with. I'd still be squeamish about buying high dollar former rental equipment, but I'm happy to rent from UR when the need arises.
Ok, I picked it up yesterday. Tech told me the frame had been bent, he was able to straighten everything up...I have no idea.... but everything is perfect. They gave me a set of forks and newer wheels and tires for the trouble. Sean, storage manager, told me if there’s ever an issue to give him a call. The techs were CJ and Chad, honestly awesome dudes. It was the Denton TX location. Fantastic service
Awesome customer service!
Good to hear they got you taken care of , not even sure how you could bend one of those... don't think they travel fast enough if you rammed something really hard??? I guess if you ran it off a trailer fast enough and it 'caught' something on the way down it would do it!!! but that would probably leave a mark on the guy inside it or maybe someone didn't tie it down properly for transport??? yeah more likely
I really don’t know, after reading the advice I was given here and talking to some good friends who know way more about this stuff then me, I would’ve bet that it was the axle housing or an awkwardly set bearing. But it looks straight and I’m happy. thanks for all the help