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SW48 Drive wheel issue

S

Snowman48

New member
Hello,

Before I tear this down, I'm hoping to make it through the winter. Please look at pics and advise as this is all new to me. I can only assume there is a bearing/seal loose/busted/missing/broken on the shaft for this oblonging to occur. Also noticed the leak below the drive wheel and when I checked the dipstick the oil was slushy....needless to say I have water in my diff. I have a water removal filter to install on my oil cooling system but Im sure it will not last long as water will continue to enter somewhere.
Any advice on what might be the cause or how much damage I will do if I continue to use the machine would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 

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The drive sprocket itself maybe failing or the bolts holding it on are loose. The oil leak could be a separate bad seal issue. Are you driving through allot of over the fenders deep water? The only easy way water can get into the differental iis in the cab through steering links or dip stick penetrations. I wouldn't drive it until you fix it. You can cause more damage or become disabled off road and the problems get multiplied
 
It is possible that the bolts are just loose, but if not,then I would guess the back hub plate has a broken weld
 
That same thing happened to me on my J5 and it turned out to be the back plate broke off the axle and the same thing happened to my buddies J5 when his drive sprocket got loose and spongy and need to be replaced. Mn Outdoors nailed it!
 
All of the bolts were loose. Had the holes filled and the plates clocked and holes redrilled. The sprocket needed bushings installed as they were oblonged pretty bad. Looks really good now and happy with repair. I removed the other sprocket assembly to inspect and ended up completely rebuilding both hubs.
I went to install the axle and noticed some wear on a sleeve and discoloration in the bearing. Interesting thing is it was on the opposite side of my worn sprocket hub. Any idea what may cause this? Do I have to remove the diff to repair? My service manual is not that clear on the procedure.

Thanks

Interesting note: when I drained the diff fluid, it was 90% water !! I have no idea how that much water could get into this housing. But it would explain the overheated parts and discoloration.
 

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Re the last photo: The bearing isn't turning. The discoloration is the heat generated at the contact points. Total rebuild time.


You might be able to salvage the sleeve, but it looks too far gone to me. Loctite bearing retaining compound might buy you a little time. But, to use it you will have to tear it down, and at that point I would just do it right.


Lack of oil probably caused the bearing to stop doing its thing and then the shaft started spinning in the sleeve.
 
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