[miltondc]

Was mowing with my 430 and it slowed to a stop and would not go forward or reverse. Raised the rear of the mower and the axle will engage and turn the wheels both forward and reverse when off the ground. I have added trans fluid and can see fluid in the sight tube.
Any ideas or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

[rfjdarrin]

David,

Here are some things you can do to troubleshoot your hydro problem. One question, does the steering and deck lift work?

 

[knottyrope]

how much did you add? is there a leak?
did you hit anything that could have dislodged the inlet hose of the pump?

 

[trapperjohn]

You have a high/low lever in front of the pedestal which if in the middle, its in neutral, you didn't possibly kick it and it's not fully engaged?

 

[miltondc]

Steering and deck lift both work and I haven't seen any leakage. Put lever in both positions and still nothing. When axle is off the ground it will move but when it is on the ground you can see it try to move and engine is under load but it won't propel the tractor.

 

[jeff_kluewer]

Hit the diff lock and see if it moves?

 

[jdmaninlouky]

Sheered' key at one of the wheel hubs can do that , if it has keys .... I can't remember . And like Jeff said , lock the diff. ; then if one key has sheered' , or axle broken , it should drive with the other wheel with both on ground .

 

[bob_wallner]

Do both wheels turn when off the ground? If not..thinking broken axle.

 

[ddogg]

#2
[URL="http://jdpc.deere.com/pimages/MP69/MP6961_________UN01JAN94.gif[/IMG]http://jdpc.deere.com/pimages/MP69/MP6961_________UN01JAN94.gif[/URL]

 

[geb63619]

If you hit the Dif lock and it goes you broke an axle fairly common on the 430s.

 

[miltondc]

I engaged diff lock and it goes while on the ground. Could it still be a sheer key? I'll remove axle this weekend.

 

[knottyrope]

I would bet broken axle, happens more than the key being sheared.

you can drop the whole rear end and remove the axle tubes in a few hours.

you can see on the 332 tranny swap I did on how to do it.
http://www.wfmachines.com/discus/messages/335/394786.html

 

[mikeduwe]

Arent the axles splined on both ends or is the outer hub keyed? With as hard as it is to pull those things off you would think it would not sheer ever.

 

[miltondc]

Are all 400 series axles the same? Or which ones are interchangeable with the 430?

 

[woodpecker41]

David the way to know on axles if to look up the axle part number at JD parts. On that site there is an option to use a "where used search" and it will tell everything that part number is used on. You would have all the information to do that. I suspect you will need the serial number of the tractor and if it is the right or left side you are looking for. Roger


I had a couple of minutes and the axles are the same right and left and were only used on 430 and 420 garden tractors. Part number M95901. The good news is there is a key in the end of the axle where the hubs fits and hopefully that is your problem. Roger

 

[coalminer16]

The 400 will be different then the 420/420 and different then the 425/445/455. Seen a few threads out there on the 420/430 that the axle had broken and it did drive with the diff lock engaged. Broken axle over a key. Haven't seen the 318/332/322/330/316 with the broken axle. Maybe the longer axles, or the diff lock while one side spinning or both. Who knows. There is a 420 in Alaska on MTF that I remember well along with pictures.

 

[geb63619]

You can only use an axle from a John Deere 420/430. I would be surprised if your issue is the key 9 out of 10 times its your axle.

You can also replace the axle without removing the rear end out of the tractor. They are actually easy to do and can be switched out in a couple of hours unless your brake hub gives you trouble coming off.

 

[miltondc]

Turns out it was the key after all. Thanks to all for the responses. Great group of folks on this site!

 

[newguy]

Gary, can you give me details on the axle removal? I have both of my seals leaking and need to replace then.

 

[knottyrope]

Steve look at my post above with a link, there is steps to remove axle