[AT] Farmall A casting failure

[Ben Wagner]

  On 10/4/2010 10:20 PM, joehardy at epix.net wrote:
>
> I recently discovered a broken final drive casting on left hand side of my tractor. That casting contains the gearing between the transmission&  the rear tire. As I was removing it, I discovered the bottom two stud bolts fastening  the casting to the transmission was totally loose. the next two stud bolts above that were broken off inside the transmission casting. The top of the casting was broken causing the whole rear wheel assembly to be cocked outward. I found a used casting at Marshall Machinery's junk yard. He told me that this was somewhat common to the A's. I'd suggest that everyone who has an "A" to check all those bolts that fasten the final drive casting to the transmission to be sure they are tight. Be sure to check those two bolts directly underneath the casting. They are tough to see because you have to crawl right underneath to see them. I have the used casting cleaned&  existing, rusted parts removed. I was lucky to remove the broken stud bolts without damaging the internal threads. I'm ready to order replacement bearings&  seals. The original gears&  shafts are ok. Kind of a lengthy job!  
>
> Joe Hardisky
>
> Ryman Farm Dallas, PA 
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When I purchased my Super A, someone had taken off and put back on the 
final drive.  They also neglected to reinstall those nuts on the two 
bottom studs.  I finally got a nut back on the studs leaving behind a 
heavy dose of DNA on the underside of the tractor and taking with me a 
few dozen bruises to prove it.

That all being said, I am sure am glad the casting did not crack.  When 
I noticed that the nuts had not been on the studs, probably for a long 
time considering how messy they were, I was greatly concerned.  One of 
these days, I will need to replace the final drive seals again since the 
seal is disintegrating and re thread the studs.

You never know what you will find when you take an old tractor apart!

Ben Wagner