Hi, Purchased a 2014 used unit. Left final had no oil in it. What I could see of gears looked good, had oil sheen on them, no marring or metal shaving. I added oil, and ran for 30 min, then drained. Oil was dark blackish, but no metal. Maybe a little "glitter", but could also be the tiny bubbles from running. Question: How concerned should I be about this final drive? I can't tell that its making any unusual noise and its power seems good and matches the other side, machine tracks straight. Is there someway to know if the gears or bearing have been damaged other than disassembly? NOTE: Ok so withe the plugs removed, the gear I could see in the hole at 12 o'clock I pushed on it and it wiggled a bit. My guess would be that this is NOT supposed to happen but never had one apart so not sure. Anyone with experience with these finals know if this means bad bearing or such? If this gear movement play is bad, do I just run it till it fails and get a replacement or can it be rebuilt for less before more damage might take place to all the gears? Thanks for the help! MP
Well, the oil doesn't just evaporate. Odds are that the duocone seal (floating seal) has failed. The little gears do have some in/out movement, by design. They get expensive fast if left unlubricated. I had to put duocone seals in my TB180FR a couple of years ago. Every dealer look st me like I had 3 eyes. They all said nobody fixes them. Buy a new one. Takeuchi sold me all the parts.
Heymccall, Ok so if these cone seals go bad, do you get an obvious oil leak? From where exactly? And might that be a drip or more of a drizzle? (so far the drive does not appear to be leaking after re-fill and a 30 minute run) I certainly don't want to rebuild or replace the drive if I have my way, but I understand your point, the oil has to go somewhere. Ok so Takeuchi sold you the parts, like a dealer, Takeuchi USA or JAPAN? Thanks for your input. MP
Behind the sprocket, outboard of the frame. Will drip on the track itself.
Thank you sir. Ill keep my eye on it!